I would not make him do it.

Anonymous wrote:Please advise! DC has been taking group lessons on & off for a few years, and 1 year of private swim like 1x/week. His level is he can float and swim lap slowly for great form of backstroke and not a legal form of freestyle. He does not want to do tryout for swim team because he says it is hard and he does not like to swim laps. I think he can make it to the summer swim team last from late May to mid July. He loves to take swim lessons in group and in private. He loves to go to outdoor pool in summer. He just does not like to practice his forms.

Should I push him or not for summer swim team or just let him be? He will go to day camp in summer. He is going to be 10 soon. He won't die in a pool.

How old is he? I wouldn't push him into summer swim until 7 or 8.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. He can swim backstroke across the pool in legal form slowly, and swim freestyle across the pool in semi legal form slowly. His lower body is weak and he has no strength in body, so probably he can't swim fast without more practices. I have seen him do the spring diving board into deep water with foot down into 16 feet or so. He hates washing short hair, and he does not wear swim cap. Do kids wearing swim cap need to wash hair every time after they are done with swimming in pool?

I’m a little confused about this part. In freestyle the only things that really keep it from being legal is if the swimmer is fully submerged or propelling forward by pushing off the bottom or pulling the lane line. He could do backstroke if he wants.

Respectfully, are you actually confused? Or, are you proud to point out your understanding of swimming rules? I don't mean that rudely. I don't think it's unreasonable that someone less familiar with swimming doesn't understand what counts as legal freestyle. My kids all swim, so I'm familiar with the rules. I don't claim to know the rules about most other sports other than the basics.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. He can swim backstroke across the pool in legal form slowly, and swim freestyle across the pool in semi legal form slowly. His lower body is weak and he has no strength in body, so probably he can't swim fast without more practices. I have seen him do the spring diving board into deep water with foot down into 16 feet or so. He hates washing short hair, and he does not wear swim cap. Do kids wearing swim cap need to wash hair every time after they are done with swimming in pool?

I’m a little confused about this part. In freestyle the only things that really keep it from being legal is if the swimmer is fully submerged or propelling forward by pushing off the bottom or pulling the lane line. He could do backstroke if he wants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has OP come back to say why exactly she wants him to join swim team? There are lots of other ways to work on muscle tone and swim team is absolutely not for everyone. The whole family really needs to be into the whole dynamic and schedule.

Op here. I know a few kids making awesome progress over one summer swim team season. Their moms told me that how much they regretted spending thousands on goldfish swim or county swim lessons for years. I want my son to make more progress but I can only afford 1x/week at most for private swim lesson, and they are right that he does not make much progress through county swim lessons. I also hear summer swim is supposed to be more fun and it lasts for like 6-8 weeks only. I know 1 kid in middle school feels embarrassed for not able to swim. I don't know my son to be teased by others with his swimming abilities.

I didn't "force" my kids to do it, but I did strongly encourage them to try it for just one summer. I told them I'd never ask again but to just give it one summer. They very reluctantly joined and after a week, they were hooked. Their swimming ability improved dramatically after a couple weeks of daily practice (after years of a Goldfish equivalent). But more than that, they just loved being part of a team - competing as a team, the social activities, attention from older swimmers and role models, etc. It's a LOT of time and volunteer work crammed into a short season, but a lot of kids absolutely love it, for reasons that have nothing to do with swimming. And for some, it also fosters a love of competitive swimming that then transitions into a club swimming career. There's a spot for everyone and there are a lot of different benefits, some physical and others social. I've never heard of a summer team that does cuts. They just have to safely (not legally) swim across the pool, otherwise, they join the development team. Doesn't sound like an issue for your child. All that to say, I wouldn't "force" your child, but I think strongly encouraging is okay. Also, I'm not minimizing the expense, but relatively speaking, it's a very low cost of entry. If your kid hates it and only goes to an occasional practice but does the social stuff, it might still be worth it. Good luck!

It’s ok. Not every child likes swimming as their daily sport. Help him find another. We know kids that absolutely hated swim team. They were forced to do it. They hated the cold early swims. They hated swimming laps. They hated doing it daily. They couldn’t wait for it to be over. This pushed them away from swimming.

Join summer swim? Ours filled up in the first hour back in April. Surely there's none still with spots?

Our summer swim is super fun. We have the top swimmers and there's still room for bottom swimmers like your son. He likely wouldn't compete (they only need like 4 kids each meet from the age group) but would still get to practice with everyone. They are right that it helps with ability a lot. I do not think anyone would ever notice your kids lack of swimming. I hang by the pool all summer and see roughly zero kids actually swimming with proper form. Mostly it's dog paddling to swim after balls or diving for toys at the bottom.

I think instead of swim lessons you should do something about low muscle tone. We aren't drill sergeants or anything, but our kids run with us, sprints, and also do pushups. We go on long bike rides that help with leg muscles. In middle school we'll allow some weights if they want it. My one child had asked us to help him get better since he wasn't as athletic as his peers in soccer. I wouldn't push any of that on a kid who wasn't interested, but ours were (as a kid I wouldn't want any of that! DH is the athletic one)

Just go to the pool and have him swim daily or every other day. Mini laps at least.

Anonymous wrote:Has OP come back to say why exactly she wants him to join swim team? There are lots of other ways to work on muscle tone and swim team is absolutely not for everyone. The whole family really needs to be into the whole dynamic and schedule.

Op here. I know a few kids making awesome progress over one summer swim team season. Their moms told me that how much they regretted spending thousands on goldfish swim or county swim lessons for years. I want my son to make more progress but I can only afford 1x/week at most for private swim lesson, and they are right that he does not make much progress through county swim lessons. I also hear summer swim is supposed to be more fun and it lasts for like 6-8 weeks only. I know 1 kid in middle school feels embarrassed for not able to swim. I don't know my son to be teased by others with his swimming abilities.

Has OP come back to say why exactly she wants him to join swim team? There are lots of other ways to work on muscle tone and swim team is absolutely not for everyone. The whole family really needs to be into the whole dynamic and schedule.

He needs to do some sort of exercise after day camps and not just screen time if he has low muscle tone. It doesn't have to be swimming but screens every day after camp should not be an option. If you wet hair in shower before getting into pool it doesn't get as much chlorine in it. It seems he is very particular about everything and you're just going with it. That's fine but realize some kids will always opt out of anything hard unless cajoled/bribed until they get better at whatever the activity is.