Anonymous wrote:Are there locations that have better coaching for particular strokes?
Anonymous wrote:Any one can you give insights in regards to Bronze program for 10 year old at GP. We are offered a spot but after reading this thread I’m confused whether I’m making the right decision or should I look out for other team/ clubs. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Bumping this topic, can anyone give feedback on NCAP Tysons Bronze program? I have a 9 year old who is not the most competitive swimmer. Our goal for him to join a swim club is fitness and continuous exercise to work on his techniques and strokes. Would that be a good fit for NCAP Tysons or any swim club? I have an impression that all swim clubs have very intense training and are full of competitive kids.
You may want to look at Machine (Gears program) at Tysons. Sounds like that would be a good fit for what you are looking for. You can pick 2x or 3x a week practices. Registration has already opened for returning families, but this site usually doesn't fill up as quickly. You'll need to schedule an evaluation as well.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?
No, NCap is a centrally-run team despite all the different locations, so they all practice the same amount. However as a 9 yo, they won’t be swimming after June. They are expected to join a summer swim team, however. The 11 month commitment is for 11 yos and up. A lot of 11/12 yos will go to a few weeks of camp here and there but they too go summer league + NCap.
When you get to around 13, you can choose your commitment level- there are two different groups, one that practices 3 or 4 x week so that kids can do outside sports, and one that practices 5-6 x week with early morning practices and has a lot of meets (the kid has to be fast to get into this group, tho.) High school is same thing- but the highest group is a big time commitment including travel and very few days off- but most kids quit by then!
There are other teams in the area that are less intense- Sea Devils and Tollefson (sp?) come to mind. It will be easy to tell if your kid is a fit for NCap- they’ll either love it or they won’t, and the ones that do, well, the parents seem to make it work.
At our NCAP location everyone swims until the end of July (including my 8 yr old). Only one group for older kids is 9 months.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?
No, NCap is a centrally-run team despite all the different locations, so they all practice the same amount. However as a 9 yo, they won’t be swimming after June. They are expected to join a summer swim team, however. The 11 month commitment is for 11 yos and up. A lot of 11/12 yos will go to a few weeks of camp here and there but they too go summer league + NCap.
When you get to around 13, you can choose your commitment level- there are two different groups, one that practices 3 or 4 x week so that kids can do outside sports, and one that practices 5-6 x week with early morning practices and has a lot of meets (the kid has to be fast to get into this group, tho.) High school is same thing- but the highest group is a big time commitment including travel and very few days off- but most kids quit by then!
There are other teams in the area that are less intense- Sea Devils and Tollefson (sp?) come to mind. It will be easy to tell if your kid is a fit for NCap- they’ll either love it or they won’t, and the ones that do, well, the parents seem to make it work.
Anonymous wrote:Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?
Anonymous wrote:Bumping this topic, can anyone give feedback on NCAP Tysons Bronze program? I have a 9 year old who is not the most competitive swimmer. Our goal for him to join a swim club is fitness and continuous exercise to work on his techniques and strokes. Would that be a good fit for NCAP Tysons or any swim club? I have an impression that all swim clubs have very intense training and are full of competitive kids.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Bumping this topic, can anyone give feedback on NCAP Tysons Bronze program? I have a 9 year old who is not the most competitive swimmer. Our goal for him to join a swim club is fitness and continuous exercise to work on his techniques and strokes. Would that be a good fit for NCAP Tysons or any swim club? I have an impression that all swim clubs have very intense training and are full of competitive kids.
NCAP is a competitive club, so not all 9 year olds are going to make it. If my kid was not competitive and didn’t have an interest in becoming a competitive swimmer I would not go with NCAP. That said, Tyson’s has a Bronze 2 program for kids 9 and under that he can try out for, and if he makes it see if that is a good fit or fosters a desire to be more competitive.