Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Robinson cut a ton of kids. Lots of very fast club swimmers did not make the team. Coach was very kind about it and kept reminding them that cuts weren’t personal - it’s a matter of space. He only takes 30ish boys/30ish girls - far more than that tried out.

How fast is fast though? What are some of the approximate times of kids who didn't make the cut?

My kid just said that her friend who was an NVSL all-star didn’t make it. She also didn’t make the team but that was less of a surprise. I don’t know if the coach told them what the cut times were - just that LOTS of talented swimmers got cut. At such a large school, it’s tough to make it with so few spots.

It's quite intimidating when you see pool records held by Katie Ledecky and school records are held by Tori Huske. How do mere mortals have a chance?

I think the bottom line is that it is not accurate to suggest very fast club swimmers are being cut at these schools even when a 1:00 100 free as the benchmark. That time is just not especially fast for a 13 and over girl, let alone a 13 and over boy.

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Anonymous wrote:Have a swimmer on a HS team and she is saying that no one makes it who doesn't have at least a 1:10 in 100 free (women's). Not sure how accurate that is.

For my kid's school it's 1:02. And yes, there will be cuts to get down to 30 girls, and yes some kids who swim club will be cut.

1:02? Is this a local school - that seems very fast.

Good 10 and 11 year olds are swimming that fast so it doesn't seem like an unreasonable cut for high schoolers to me.

I don't know about that. For an 11yo to swim sub 1:02 would be excellent, and a 10yo would be absolutely exceptional.

1:02 is fast for a 10 year-old.

Currently there are 16 11 year-old girls under 1:02 in PVS. There are many more that currently have last year’s PB relatively close that will go sub 1:02 next time they swim the 100 free.

It’s good for an 11 y/o girl but it’s not crazy. Last year at ISCA, a meet referred to as a mid-tier money grab by some on this board, 1:02.00 got you 25th place. You’re not dreaming of sniffing the finals with that time.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a swimmer on a HS team and she is saying that no one makes it who doesn't have at least a 1:10 in 100 free (women's). Not sure how accurate that is.

For my kid's school it's 1:02. And yes, there will be cuts to get down to 30 girls, and yes some kids who swim club will be cut.

1:02? Is this a local school - that seems very fast.

Good 10 and 11 year olds are swimming that fast so it doesn't seem like an unreasonable cut for high schoolers to me.

I don't know about that. For an 11yo to swim sub 1:02 would be excellent, and a 10yo would be absolutely exceptional.

Whitman has cuts. Top 24 boys and 24 girls make it based on their 100 free and then the others are brought back for a second day to swim a stroke of their choosing. Most kids who make the team swim club and can swim the 100 free in 1:00

Anonymous wrote:Our MCPS HS had 50 kids show up for try outs today with the school only being allowed to use TWO lanes at this pool.

I get that some other teams might be that big, but at some point it’s dangerous to have that many kids squished together at once.

Very few of those kids will get back in the water for practices after this week. At least at my kid's school, which had tryouts today and very well could be the same school, only non-club kids get in the water during practice.

Our MCPS HS had 50 kids show up for try outs today with the school only being allowed to use TWO lanes at this pool.

I get that some other teams might be that big, but at some point it’s dangerous to have that many kids squished together at once.

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Anonymous wrote:Teams that are 95 kids? How the heck does that work for practices? How lanes does your HS team get?

Not enough to have 95 kids in the water at once, that's for sure. I think four.

Some of the 95 are dive and the club swimmers only go once a week so it should be fine.

Is this Woodson with 95 on the roster?! How does it work if a freshman is faster than a senior -- do they swim the freshman?

In general, yes. Swimming is a timed sport. They aren’t going to sit a faster kid just because they are a freshman and need to pay their dues. We have a fast freshman club swimmer on our team who is displacing a senior from relays, she’s just faster, it is what it is. There is some strategy though in terms of what events each kid should swim to maximize points.

I've seen this happen in club swim and summer swim as well. Some kids are very fast in their individual events (e.g., 50y/m, 100y/m), but in relays those same swimmers can choke and swim slower. The opposite is also true, namely, some kids swim slower in individual events but swim much faster in relays because they don't want to let their team members down. The coaches know who is fast individually and who is fast in relays, and group the relay teams accordingly. Unfortunately, many parents don't understand this distinction and think that their kid should be in the relay because they're fast individually (even where their kid knows the truth and isn't bothered by sitting out the relay team). Swimming is often characterized as an individual sport ("just you and the black line beneath you, back and forth, flip turn to flip turn to flip turn to rest" - Michael Phelps. But relays ARE a team sport.

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Anonymous wrote:Teams that are 95 kids? How the heck does that work for practices? How lanes does your HS team get?

Not enough to have 95 kids in the water at once, that's for sure. I think four.

Some of the 95 are dive and the club swimmers only go once a week so it should be fine.

Is this Woodson with 95 on the roster?! How does it work if a freshman is faster than a senior -- do they swim the freshman?

In general, yes. Swimming is a timed sport. They aren’t going to sit a faster kid just because they are a freshman and need to pay their dues. We have a fast freshman club swimmer on our team who is displacing a senior from relays, she’s just faster, it is what it is. There is some strategy though in terms of what events each kid should swim to maximize points.

And it’s HS girls, so with body development times don’t always drop through HS. So it’s possible that the same girl who bumped a senior from an event her freshman year could be bumped by a freshman a couple seasons later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Robinson cut a ton of kids. Lots of very fast club swimmers did not make the team. Coach was very kind about it and kept reminding them that cuts weren’t personal - it’s a matter of space. He only takes 30ish boys/30ish girls - far more than that tried out.

Be realistic, if there are 30 girls and 30 boys, “very fast” club swimmers did not get cut. Mid level club swimmers sure, but actual carry fast club swimmers, no.

+1. Any club swimmer with AAA times likely didn't get cut.

Anonymous wrote:Robinson cut a ton of kids. Lots of very fast club swimmers did not make the team. Coach was very kind about it and kept reminding them that cuts weren’t personal - it’s a matter of space. He only takes 30ish boys/30ish girls - far more than that tried out.

Be realistic, if there are 30 girls and 30 boys, “very fast” club swimmers did not get cut. Mid level club swimmers sure, but actual carry fast club swimmers, no.

Anonymous wrote:Robinson cut a ton of kids. Lots of very fast club swimmers did not make the team. Coach was very kind about it and kept reminding them that cuts weren’t personal - it’s a matter of space. He only takes 30ish boys/30ish girls - far more than that tried out.

How fast is fast though? What are some of the approximate times of kids who didn't make the cut?

Robinson cut a ton of kids. Lots of very fast club swimmers did not make the team. Coach was very kind about it and kept reminding them that cuts weren’t personal - it’s a matter of space. He only takes 30ish boys/30ish girls - far more than that tried out.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teams that are 95 kids? How the heck does that work for practices? How lanes does your HS team get?

Not enough to have 95 kids in the water at once, that's for sure. I think four.

Some of the 95 are dive and the club swimmers only go once a week so it should be fine.

Is this Woodson with 95 on the roster?! How does it work if a freshman is faster than a senior -- do they swim the freshman?

In general, yes. Swimming is a timed sport. They aren’t going to sit a faster kid just because they are a freshman and need to pay their dues. We have a fast freshman club swimmer on our team who is displacing a senior from relays, she’s just faster, it is what it is. There is some strategy though in terms of what events each kid should swim to maximize points.

Except for senior night. On senior night every senior will swim-- but that could be the only meet they do.