Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 21:30     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

I am a Team Rep. I was asked to be one because I have an A meet swimmer. I did not feel like I could say no. I don’t mind doing it but I did not “covet” the job, angle to get it, or strategize about how to get it. I don’t consider myself to be part of any “clique” but if you are calling the volunteers who have gotten to know each other through doing these jobs a “clique,” well, okay, but I assure you that at our pool anybody who steps up to take these bigger volunteer roles is embraced and welcomed wholeheartedly to the so-called “clique.”
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 20:58     Subject: Re:Summer swim brings out the crazy

My kids’ team is not very competitive, although there are some strong individual swimmers. But it’s not at all like some are describing- maybe because it’s not competitive. I’ve never seen any parent act out or cliquey.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 20:49     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.


Lol. Getting volunteers is like pulling teeth. Which are the coveted positions? Are you one of the pools with table workers in the air conditioning??


I’m well aware. So are all the other parents. We don’t want to volunteer at meets and events with the snobby, immature, cliquey, gossipy, drama filled volunteer “leaders” who do take over the head positions. They do “covet” these positions (because they need a life and) because they want influence so their kids are favored or hired as coaches. They are on power trips. In my years of experience, normal parents don’t want to be around or volunteer with the crazy swim parents.



Are you in the DMV? In all the ridiculousness that passes for summer swim in the DMV, this doesn’t sound even in the ballpark of ridiculousness that I’ve seen or heard.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 20:26     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.


Lol. Getting volunteers is like pulling teeth. Which are the coveted positions? Are you one of the pools with table workers in the air conditioning??


I’m well aware. So are all the other parents. We don’t want to volunteer at meets and events with the snobby, immature, cliquey, gossipy, drama filled volunteer “leaders” who do take over the head positions. They do “covet” these positions (because they need a life and) because they want influence so their kids are favored or hired as coaches. They are on power trips. In my years of experience, normal parents don’t want to be around or volunteer with the crazy swim parents.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 20:20     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:News flash…nobody is lining up to volunteer! Every meet, multiple emails go out begging people to fill volunteer positions. As far as season-long volunteers, same deal. Lots of begging and cajoling. Team reps are drafted from families who have fast kids because they will be at the meets anyway. Nobody is falling all over each other trying to get these positions lol!


Our team requires parents to sign up for a certain number of volunteer spots each season. There are definitely some favored jobs. The timing positions always go first.


Timing why do Amy of these parents fudge times?
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 19:45     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:News flash…nobody is lining up to volunteer! Every meet, multiple emails go out begging people to fill volunteer positions. As far as season-long volunteers, same deal. Lots of begging and cajoling. Team reps are drafted from families who have fast kids because they will be at the meets anyway. Nobody is falling all over each other trying to get these positions lol!


Our team requires parents to sign up for a certain number of volunteer spots each season. There are definitely some favored jobs. The timing positions always go first.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 19:31     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.


Lol. Getting volunteers is like pulling teeth. Which are the coveted positions? Are you one of the pools with table workers in the air conditioning??


Wait...there are pools with air conditioning?


There are some pools with fancy clubhouses where they put the tables inside. Truro and Brookfield are two that come to mind that we've raced.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 19:27     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:News flash…nobody is lining up to volunteer! Every meet, multiple emails go out begging people to fill volunteer positions. As far as season-long volunteers, same deal. Lots of begging and cajoling. Team reps are drafted from families who have fast kids because they will be at the meets anyway. Nobody is falling all over each other trying to get these positions lol!


They should force parents to volunteer. We were on one team where the expectation was one parent volunteer, baring reasonable reasons. They just assigned tasks. My spouse volunteers at every meet. The team rep at our last pool did not have fast swimmers or even good ones and it was an issue.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 19:25     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.


Lol. Getting volunteers is like pulling teeth. Which are the coveted positions? Are you one of the pools with table workers in the air conditioning??


Wait...there are pools with air conditioning?
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 19:06     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

News flash…nobody is lining up to volunteer! Every meet, multiple emails go out begging people to fill volunteer positions. As far as season-long volunteers, same deal. Lots of begging and cajoling. Team reps are drafted from families who have fast kids because they will be at the meets anyway. Nobody is falling all over each other trying to get these positions lol!
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 18:10     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.


Lol. Getting volunteers is like pulling teeth. Which are the coveted positions? Are you one of the pools with table workers in the air conditioning??
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 18:06     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.


Oh yeah, those coveted volunteer positions that everyone fights over

Lemme guess, you are a family who thinks you shouldn’t have to volunteer like everyone else for some reason.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 18:01     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


That number alone would be about 2/3 of our entire team.
Anonymous
Post 06/21/2025 16:32     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


Yes one of my kids is done year because even though they are a 2 stroke A meet swimmer who never really felt part of the age group clique because they don’t swim year round. They do two other sports very seriously and they just felt it wasn’t worth the time of it’s not fun.

My other kids division only has a a few ok year round swimmers and a lot of just good all round athletes and they are still having a great time at the A meets. It is what it is, I don’t have any gripes and I understand the dynamic of the club kids being super close friends.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2025 22:01     Subject: Summer swim brings out the crazy

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:On big teams a lot of younger kids could care less about A meets


Agree. When they are younger, there are just as many non-A kids as A kids. They all have a good time. It's about 13+ where the divide starts. The kids at A meets and all the adjacent extra meets spend hours and hours together. Of course they are a clique. The social dynamics of older kids also get more complicated. At our large higher division pool, most non-A meet teens just drop out.


I hazard to say older kids drop out of swim there are a multitude of reasons including other interests like other sports where there's a big summer season component (e.g., lacrosses, baseball), other camps. I don't know that i would pin the the reason why older kids drop out solely based on "oh, I'm not fast enough to swim in A meets".


Long time summer swim parent here. I don't know. The same names show up year after year for the A meet. You can watch them age through the team. If what you were saying was the main cause and it had zero to do with being in A meets, an equal proportion of the A kids would end up dropping out. Seems kind of notable that the A meet kids all stay and the B meet kids mostly drop out as teens.

It is what it is. It's a structure that creates 2 different experiences kids are having. What teenager is going to keep hanging around to spend a long evening at a B meet with a silly theme and go to some pep rallies. Most of them aren't. The B meet swimmers who stick around as teens on our team end up junior coaches. Which that makes sense to me. A paid job and leadership opportunity.


Do the same names appear at A meets year after year because those are the kids who do year round swim? While other kids do travel baseball, travel hockey, lacrosse, etc. Because that's what it seems like at our pool - and the older kids drop out because they're busy with other commitments rather than being disappointed in not going to B meets.


At the very strong pools there are plenty of kids doing year round swim who still don't make A meets. I don't think kids at any age drop out because they are disappointed about not going to B meets. I think they start to not feel part of the team and cliques form just because they are not there for a lot of meets. Some B meet kids have strong friendships and still keep on with it.


We have 54 club swimmers on our team and trust me - there are MANY of them that don’t make the A meets.


Right. The summer swim clique includes some swimmers who don’t do club swim. It’s all about the parents who are brown nosers and take over all the volunteer positions.