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Swim Moms! (s/o of gym moms)


Stayseeliz
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I thought I'd throw out a thread to see what the swim families are up to! Our life revolves around swim practice so I'd love to chat with others about it? What are your kids focusing on? How many meets will you compete in this season, etc etc? Found any great bathing suits? Gear??

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We just joined another swim league on top of the YMCA league we've been on for a year. This new league is USA Swim certified and swims year round. The basic plan is to swim for both leagues since our YMCA league only  swims for about 7 months out of the year. The pros with the YMCA league are that it's small and literally RIGHT around the corner from my house. The coaching is good but not professional I'd say. The new league is run by a father/son team and they've been coaching for a LONG time. The son held national titles for 15+ years. They are pretty hard core. There are a lot of homeschool families I already know and some new homeschoolers on this new team. It's fun meeting new people. The only downside is that it's 30 minutes away but it's not a bad drive at all! We're enjoying the team.

 

DS12 cut 48 seconds off his times during the summer swim season. He really buckled down and got serious about swim this past season. He's got a lot of cathing up to do since he just started swimming last year but he really loves it!

 

DD9 is my one that got us into swimming! She loves it but she isn't as competitive as DS. It seems to come naturally to her. She's a good bit taller than the other girls and does well. I think with some great coaching on this new team she will really do well!

 

DD5 has started swimming too. She says she wants to compete but it will be a little while. She has gotten so much stronger and braver though. She jumped into the deep end several times yesterday. I'm hoping she'll be brave enough to jump off the block into the deep end today!

 

We are so loving this sport! It's just so great for the kids in many ways!!

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My oldest (13) is our swimmer. He had 2 weeks off in August and just started his stroke and turn clinic on Monday. It lasts 2 weeks and regular swim practice starts after Labor day. He swims on a year round USA competitive team. He most recently swam at the State Games of America in Hershey, PA, about 3 weeks ago. His team will swim in a meet most weekends in the short course season. He is a hard worker and loves swimming. We love watching him swim :)

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My 5yo just swam at his first state competition a few weeks back. He was very excited to earn a few medals. :) For his 50 free, his goggles popped off after he went off the blocks. He stopped and treaded several times to try and fix them. Even after that, his time was faster than his recorded seed time. So he's definitely improving! Lol. We had never discussed what to do if that happened, so now he knows. His coach had him swim the next practice entirely without goggles.

 

He's serious about swim. As his mom, I am not nearly as happy about him speeding up his times as much as I am happy about the things swim teaches him: perseverance, listening to his coaches, teamwork, etc. I'm also happy it's proving to be less expensive than the gymnastics my oldest is enjoying.

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...

 

He's serious about swim. As his mom, I am not nearly as happy about him speeding up his times as much as I am happy about the things swim teaches him: perseverance, listening to his coaches, teamwork, etc. I'm also happy it's proving to be less expensive than the gymnastics my oldest is enjoying.

 

This may sound a little odd.

 

One of the lessons I've really come to appreciate is how to fail.  So many sports in my area give everyone a medal and tell every one they are the best.  Well I think there is a place and an age for that kind of encouragement, the kids are getting into junior high NEVER learning how to lose.  Never learning how to try again.  Never learning to work a little harder.

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My DD (9) is more of a B\C level swimmer.  She doesn't have a competitive drive to push herself to higher levels.  My DH sees more of her practices and thinks she's a late bloomer but, really swimming is for fun and exercise in our family.  Well see where she is after puberty.  

 

My DS (4) is about half way through swim lessons and is way more competitive.  I'm guessing he will join the swim team next year.

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I agree that swimming teaches SO MUCH! Hard work, dedication, sportsmanship, grace in defeat, etc. The kids have done football, gymnastics, etc and they've always gotten medals and trophies. I told them that they should be VERY proud of the ribbons they earn in swimming because instead of just getting a ribbon for showing up they had to EARN them!

 

My kids are really starting to realize what swimming does for them physically too. My 12yo is getting muscles and he likes that. :)

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My 5yo swam the length of the pool last night!! That is the requirement for her to officially be on swim team so we are all excited! I wasn't sure she could do it and I told her she'd earn a My Little Pony once she was able to swim the 25 yard pool without stopping. Well, she showed me by swimming it five different times last night! I won't underestimate her again! She needs to work on form big time but I'm a proud mama!

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This may sound a little odd.

 

One of the lessons I've really come to appreciate is how to fail. So many sports in my area give everyone a medal and tell every one they are the best. Well I think there is a place and an age for that kind of encouragement, the kids are getting into junior high NEVER learning how to lose. Never learning how to try again. Never learning to work a little harder.

This has been good for my dd (9). She is the same size as her 12yo brother. He is very small for his age and she is rather tall. They are both very competitive with each other. Because she can beat him sometimes she thinks she can beat anyone. It has been very good for her to lose!

 

This past summer is the first time she was on a team. She did very well and absolutely loves it. Right now she is only doing practices. (Her practice and then swims with her brother's class too!). She could swim from the first time she went into a pool. We've started looking into competitive leagues. There is a USA team nearby. Expensive though! She definitely has the drive and talent so I'm thinking we need to make it work.

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I thought I'd throw out a thread to see what the swim families are up to! Our life revolves around swim practice so I'd love to chat with others about it? What are your kids focusing on? How many meets will you compete in this season, etc etc? Found any great bathing suits? Gear??

 

We are in a swim lull right now.  Summer swim team ended and the club team does not start up until September 16th.  My kids won't admit it but I think they are itching to get back into routine.  I am looking forward to the routine since this year they both practice at the same time.  Yay, me!

 

My oldest swims for the club team and the high school.  It makes things a bit crazier between November and February.  I am hoping my dd will make the high school team when she gets to 9th grade.  It should be easier for her since I forced the homeschoolers on the team issue with ds.

 

Both of mine are always working on speed and on improving their butterfly (weakest for both of them). 

 

I order the grab bag suits from swim outlet.  Rarely have an issue, although I am looking at one suit that I need to pack up to return because it didn't fit.

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Do any of your kids use special goggles for those with prescriptions?  My son is just starting but he really doesn't like to wear goggles.  I'm wondering if it's because they restrict his vision more than just not being able to wear his glasses and perhaps getting special goggles would be helpful? 

Also, do you do anything special for their hair and skin because of the chlorine?

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I thought I'd throw out a thread to see what the swim families are up to! Our life revolves around swim practice so I'd love to chat with others about it? What are your kids focusing on? How many meets will you compete in this season, etc etc? Found any great bathing suits? Gear??

 

Our 16-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son compete year round and play water polo club team year round.  They just had a two week break from swimming and are back in the water doing both sports 5 days a week and couldn't be happier.

 

New gear ... my son just moved up to the senior's group so he started using a snorkel in practice.  He was used to all of the other equipment (paddles, buoy, fins, etc.), but he hadn't used the snorkel yet and he is happy now.

 

I am a super happy Swim Taxi Mom because now that my daughter has a car, she drives them to swim and water polo 4 days of the week and I only have to drive once a week.  WOOT!!!  :hurray:  :hurray:   After 7 years of driving to swim practice, I am now cruising to the lazy life ...   :laugh: ... or I would be lazy if I didn't keep volunteering for projects and/or trying to now do all of the things on my lengthy To-Do list.  

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Do any of your kids use special goggles for those with prescriptions?  My son is just starting but he really doesn't like to wear goggles.  I'm wondering if it's because they restrict his vision more than just not being able to wear his glasses and perhaps getting special goggles would be helpful? 

 

Also, do you do anything special for their hair and skin because of the chlorine?

 

My daughter wore the goggles before she got contacts last year.  You probably know this, but I didn't:  you can get them on Amazon or swim sites; you do not have to have an actual prescription for them--just match your kid's prescription to the goggles.  They were better than non-prescription goggles, for sure, but not as good as contacts with regular goggles.  Goggles take some getting used to, but if it is not his vision, try playing around with the strap tightness or the type of goggle to get something that isn't too uncomfortable.

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I am a super happy Swim Taxi Mom because now that my daughter has a car, she drives them to swim and water polo 4 days of the week and I only have to drive once a week.  WOOT!!!  :hurray:  :hurray:   After 7 years of driving to swim practice, I am now cruising to the lazy life ...   :laugh: ... or I would be lazy if I didn't keep volunteering for projects and/or trying to now do all of the things on my lengthy To-Do list.  

 

I am counting the days until my 15 yo can drive herself to the gym.  It has been taking me 3 hours a day--2 there and 1 back.  I am down to 63 days!  So I get it.  Still almost 3 years before my swimmer can take herself to morning practices, though.  But one day!

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We will be new to swim team this year.  Ds did swim lessons this summer to learn the strokes officially, lol, and fell in love with it!  We did more lessons and sure enough he kept begging to go swim laps.  So he's doing a YMCA team this year.  He starts in 2 weeks and is very excited.  I have no clue what to expect....he only swims 3 times a week.  I think he's slow so hopefully he will speed up a little :-)

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I have prescription goggles (from swimoutlet) and they are great.  I can actually see the pace clock with them.

 

Most of the kids on the high school team wear contacts and regular goggles but younger kids won't be too good about jumping in without their goggles on or taking their goggles off to kick.  Every year someone (or several someones) loses a contact at practice.  I would expect that to happen more frequently with a 9 year old.

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My ds12 and dd9 swim year round. Their summer rec league ended at the end of July, and USA swim began practice this past Monday. We will probably only do one meet a month. We are hoping to get parkas this year, so that will be their new thing for this year.

 

My son wears prescription goggles. His came from swimoutlet.com.

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:seeya:

My ds just had his Swim Team barbeque/end of season party last night, so they are on break from now until September 3rd when the new season starts. Ds swims year round with our YMCA USA swim team. This will be his second year, and he absolutely loves swimming. We weren't able to do any away meets last season and I'm not sure yet what we will do for the up coming season. He will at least participate in the local meets for sure. My oldest dd is in the top swim lesson class which is kinda of a transition between swim lessons and team. I'm not sure yet if she wants to go on to team when she passes Shark but she is working hard at her strokes. My younger dd swims like a fish and is doing lessons too. I have a feeling she will be to team level younger than my older two, she is really good. My youngest will start lessons when he turns 4 I have been taking him to open swim a couple times a week this summer to get him used to the water. He started out being really scared and now he loves it.

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My older dd is a rising senior so this is the last year we have to travel 1+ hour to 5:30 am practice. Woot!   I pray I can survive this last year.  My dh doesn't want her to drive herself yet because the drive involves going over a massive mountain at 4 in the morning. 

 

She is actually a little burned out though and swimming is no longer the priority it was.  She is actually looking a college without a team (and some others without a good team, hehe), whereas this time last year it was a major factor.  We will see though; she has gotten some growth and I think she will pick it up nicely after they are broken down and start build back up (I forget what they call that, lol). 

 

Her coach sort of dropped the ball last year due to personal problems, and to some extent so did she, so she is not positioned as well as she would like, but she is being courted by some good schools. I soooo wish we could afford to have her to move for this year, but it ain't happening and she does love her team. Plus her track team, high school swim team and CAP is up there, so we are there for this one last hurrah.

 

So what will be, will be!

 

My younger dd swims with a much less competitive team just 15 minutes from our house. They are US Swim but don't even HAVE am practice, they are so little and relaxed.  So wonderful, lol.

 

Wishing everyone the very best as they get back into the swing of things. May you survive and thrive in dryland and those early AM practices this year!  :laugh:

 

Train hard/Swim fast, (and don't breathe off the turn, LOL)

Georgia

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Wishing everyone the very best as they get back into the swing of things. May you survive and thrive in dryland and those early AM practices this year!  :laugh:

 

Train hard/Swim fast, (and don't breathe off the turn, LOL)

Georgia

:) My ds isn't to the level that requires dry land or AM practices yet. Sounds crazy. lol

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The more my kids swim the more we all love it. It's just an amazing sport. And I can't say how much I love the fact that they get out of it what they put into it! There is no relying on a team to show up, etc. If YOU work hard, you get results!!

 

DD5 just blew my away in practice today. 3 weeks into swim team and she's just  a workhorse. I love it!!

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:) My ds isn't to the level that requires dry land or AM practices yet. Sounds crazy. lol

 

 

Yeah, crazy like a...wait, it IS actually crazy, lol.

 

Still, i wouldn't trade a minute of it and neither would they.  They started on the tiniest summer league team ever (they swam in the village POND in NH)  and moved to US Swim, then to a USA/YMCA team and along the way added high school swimming. My older dd has never taken more than the short team breaks between courses since 2003.  Right now is the longest break she has had in years 'cause some of the Y pools have to be re-tiled or some such.

 

She.is.driving.me.crazy.

 

Mine have met the most interesting people, learned to push themselves both physically and mentally, been places we would never have gone otherwise, and had an all around great time.   Even the crazy people were interesting, lol. 

 

I really love this sport.

 

Georgia

 

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My youngest DD is the competitive swimmer in the family, swimming on two teams; the state disabilty swim team and a local USA swim team. Her disability coach has been working with her for five years and feels like she has a good shot at the 2016 Paralympics. Despite her disability, she is the youngest one in her able-body swim group (yep, Mom brag time).

 

My older DD loves to swim but doesn't have a competitive bone in her body. She swims for enjoyment but prefers coaching the younger kids, teaches lessons, assisting on the disability swim team. She should be driving in a few months which will be nice since we drive 25 minutes each way 5 days a week, 2 hours each way one day a week.

 

For fun/cross training , both girls also like to participate in triathlons :)

 

Swimsuits get pretty pricy for my little one since she wears kneesuits in competition related to her disabilty. If anyone has any hand-me-downs I'd love to talk to you :).

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My youngest DD is the competitive swimmer in the family, swimming on two teams; the state disabilty swim team and a local USA swim team. Her disability coach has been working with her for five years and feels like she has a good shot at the 2016 Paralympics. Despite her disability, she is the youngest one in her able-body swim group (yep, Mom brag time).

 

 

:hurray:  :hurray:   BRAG away!!!  Please keep us posted on this amazing opportunity.  I'm positive the Hive cyber-family would become her biggest fans.

 

I am a USA Swim deck official (referee) and I always feel so honored to watch differently abled swimmers compete with mainstream swimmers and I fall in love with swimming and swim families more and more every time I watch them clapping and sending encouragements.

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This is our first year for year round, will start in 2 weeks. I am excited though the scheduling aspect has my head spinning, travel soccer for 1, rec soccer and dance for the twins and scouts for my DD. I have always been more productive when very busy, hoping that is the case still!

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We actually decided to drop American Heritage Girls since the kids will be swimming for two teams. With swimming, a small co-op with friends, library days, field trips, etc I think we're good. I feel good about our decision. I had forgotten that I hadn't told the girls about dropping AHG. I mentioned it to a friend while I was helping DD5 put her cap on before swim yesterday. She looked at me and said, "We aren't doing AHG??" and I said "No, I think we're just going to focus on swimming!". She smiled and said, "Okay, Mama! I'm getting in the pool!". That was a relief. I was worried she'd be upset but that girl is loving swim team.

 

Any suggestions for good youth goggles for DD5? She is wearing a pair of TYR youth goggles and they are okay but I need to get her a really comfortable pair.

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Do any of your kids use special goggles for those with prescriptions?  My son is just starting but he really doesn't like to wear goggles.  I'm wondering if it's because they restrict his vision more than just not being able to wear his glasses and perhaps getting special goggles would be helpful? 

 

Also, do you do anything special for their hair and skin because of the chlorine?

 

 

No prescription goggle knowledge. I do know that most of the kids who need correction wear daily or weekly contacts. 

 

Hair and skin, no special treatment. Lots of lotion and conditioner. Most people seem to start off trying to take extra care with special products, but all of them give it up fairly quickly. It is just too expensive, and it doesn't really make that much of a difference. Your child will start smelling like they wear chlorine as perfume. it never goes away.

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My kids have all grown up swimming. The eldest started on summer league team at 5, the other three at 4ish. We moved to a USA team an hour away from the house when the girls were 9 and 7. Eldest had to drop at 16 due to a wrist injury that was difficult to diagnose, but is considering joining the Masters group at her new school. The twins will be swimming in college this year. Ds dropped swimming when he was 11. He started back up with summer swimming this year, and has expressed an interest in year round with a little USA team that is starting up closer to home (with summer coach). 

 

My advice to young USA swim families: don't let them go to practice too much. I see it all the time. The parents are so proud that their kiddo wants to practice every single day. 3 a week is plenty for 10 and unders. 4 a week for 10-12. (This is not true for summer swim leagues and possibly Y leagues. Daily is just fine there.) Do your best to keep them from doing two a days until they are in high school. While swimming is a low injury sport, over practicing is a tremendous issue that does terrific damage to their little bodies over time. It is okay for them to miss practice! It is GOOD for them to have multiple sports when they are little. Try to avoid sports that are hard on the shoulders like volleyball and tennis. You want to keep them from having that same motion that swimming uses in their other sport. Overall, cross training helps to avoid injury. Do NOT assume that the coach knows to keep them from repetitive movement injury. Even if they seem to be the world's best. 

 

Suits, caps, and goggles: Speedo Endurance are the longest lasting. Skinny straps tend to be the most comfortable.Try to keep your dc from buying suits that are too big. Consult with a real swim shop to size. An 8 yo isn't likely to need a 30 suit. A suit that is too large will wear out very quickly. If your dc are going through suits too fast, it is probably because they are a few sizes too big. Parents of older girls, please go to practice and check on your dd's suit fit every now and again. They are often too small....on purpose. (Your 15 yo probably doesn't wear a 24 or 26 in a practice suit.) They are sometimes see through. Not on purpose, but everyone is too embarrassed to mention it to them. Silicon caps last longer than latex and are more comfortable. Goggles: whatever works for them. Like suits, it is a good idea to consult with a swim shop to fit at first. Keep a spare handy. They will get lost, they will be accidentally stolen (everyone tends to the same style). When your dc becomes good at holding onto their goggles, check them for mold growth inside the eyepiece every now and then. Same for caps that hang around a long time. 

 

Do your very best not to coach your dc. You are the cheerleader. At meets, a time drop is anything from 0.01 improvement and is to be celebrated. If they are a full second slower on sprints, it is holding their time. Distance times can be considered to be holding for even longer. Expect some long droughts where they seem to go backwards in time. Girls often will stop having time dropping at about 12 or 13. They may go a year without any improvement. Sometimes when your dc grow, it will mess their strokes up and they will not be as fast for a while. When the coach is working on a stroke and making changes, they may not be as fast. It is okay. It is more important to focus on the change at that point. Once it is engrained, their time in that stroke will most likely suddenly drop. While they are still having to think about the change, it won't. Also, just because your dc is a fantastic breaststroker at 9 doesn't mean that is their stroke when they are 15. Their bodies change. Try not to pigeonhole them. (My dd who was breaking records in backstroke at 12 rarely swims it anymore. It is now her worst stroke?) 

 

Looks like I am writing a novel. Guess I should stop!

 

 

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We have just moved this summer from a town with a seasonal team to a town with a year round. All 5 kiddos will be doing an evaluation next week and we will be getting back into the swing of practices. Thankfully the pool is 5 minutes from our house. Definite bonus when we looked at this house. One more year till the oldest can take herself to morning practices!

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  • 5 months later...

We are now swimming in Italy...let's just say its ummm different.

 

Oldest two were used to 90 minute practices (an hour in the pool, 30 minute dry-land) 5-6x a week, with doubles during school breaks, long course in the summer (50 meter pool), etc.

 

Here...the only time I've seen my son swim anything over a 50, it was a misunderstanding (he thought the coach said to swim an IM...which he gladly did). I'm trying to get them to focus on finer points (thinking about their strokes, making sure they finish and turn properly), but that only goes so far. My son's lane does the same set of drills every day (they do an IM in a 50...1/2 length fly, back, breast, free) multiple times.  If they are lucky, they *might* swim a whole length of fly.  No one does proper turns...and forget about finishing the length...they usually stop at the flags.  DD's lane isn't much better, but at least they do decent drill work (focusing on stroke/kick). OTOH, they are GREAT with my developing swimmers.  My 10yo has come further here than in YEARS with USA/YMCA or Summer Swimming...and my 5yo can now float and kick and is not afraid to get her face wet...7yo is now confident in backstroke and is turning her head to breathe.

 

I keep hoping we just picked the wrong pool, but this one came highly recommended (I have also been told that it's just not that difficult here...).  I will be checking out some other teams and see what I can find.  We were hoping to swim with Coach Jane and the Tiger Sharks, but they were full...so this was our plan B.

 

There is a 50 meter pool about 100 yards from where I'm sitting -- but we aren't allowed to use it.  It's for NATO members only :sigh:  Man, I could make good use of THAT pool for my older two!

 

In the end, there are no meets on my horizon...but hopefully we'll swim with the sharks NEXT season (begins in August).  Coach Jane is amazing, and even if the practices aren't what we're used to, at least the coaching is top-notch (kids got more feedback from her in one session than in a year back home).  Time will tell!

 

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Wow--that's too bad that anything over a 50 isn't happening! Our "H*ll Week" this past week was 8000+ yards a day, spread over two practices. We're to taper now, so the girls will only swim about 4000 today--but those will be long sets. A half length and then switching strokes? No wonder they don't have good turns! They don't do a 500 warmup or something similar?

Nope.  They do some jumping jacks and light stretches...and then hop in the pool.   I'm seriously tempted to grab my old drill book and drive everyone to the base pool.for a real workout.  My dd is a distance swimmer...easily would h ave gotten an "A" time in the 500 this past fall.   My son in an IMer, and had been making serious drops in his fly and 200IM.  His summer coach was very encouraging about his future in swimming...more worried about son burning out than anything.    But I know Italy has Olympic swimmers...and my oldest two aren't too young for more difficult training.  Of course this next year for my son would be interesting....as he'll probably grow about 5-6 inches (he's officially taller than me and now climbing percentiles on the growth chart vs.dropping them..he is very happy, and needs new shoes and pants again).  So anyhow, once we move into our house, I'll start looking at other programs.  I think ds is almost insulted by the practice...and I know dd is very frustrated. 

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Yes, this is the site we've been using to help us locate programs (it's a bit more complicated than in the US...the squares tell you what programs, but those programs may be geared to little kids, adults or not have competitive teams...and there is a dearth of website information).  We have about three we are trying to find more information about and set up a time to visit the pool (supposed to go during practice times).

 

I have questioned the placement of the older two, but I've been told that swimming here just isn't that difficult (one of the other swim moms I know takes her kids to the base pool and gives them an extra practice 3x a week...and I may do that too.

 

Lisa

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My youngest DD is the competitive swimmer in the family, swimming on two teams; the state disabilty swim team and a local USA swim team. Her disability coach has been working with her for five years and feels like she has a good shot at the 2016 Paralympics. Despite her disability, she is the youngest one in her able-body swim group (yep, Mom brag time).

 

My older DD loves to swim but doesn't have a competitive bone in her body. She swims for enjoyment but prefers coaching the younger kids, teaches lessons, assisting on the disability swim team. She should be driving in a few months which will be nice since we drive 25 minutes each way 5 days a week, 2 hours each way one day a week.

 

For fun/cross training , both girls also like to participate in triathlons :)

 

Swimsuits get pretty pricy for my little one since she wears kneesuits in competition related to her disabilty. If anyone has any hand-me-downs I'd love to talk to you :).

I know this is an old thread, but are you still on here and looking for hand me down kneeskins? We have one looking for a new home. Probably too big for your daughter (it is too big for mine, hence the new home!), but PM me if you are still looking. Worn for one long, miserable meet...

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Yes, this is the site we've been using to help us locate programs (it's a bit more complicated than in the US...the squares tell you what programs, but those programs may be geared to little kids, adults or not have competitive teams...and there is a dearth of website information).  We have about three we are trying to find more information about and set up a time to visit the pool (supposed to go during practice times).

 

When we went overseas, we looked up which teams were closest, then looked through meet results to find swimmers similar to ours.  There is a wide variety of teams there, just like here.  Good luck finding one.

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I know this is an old thread, but are you still on here and looking for hand me down kneeskins? We have one looking for a new home. Probably too big for your daughter (it is too big for mine, hence the new home!), but PM me if you are still looking. Worn for one long, miserable meet...

YES, YES, YES!!! We traveled almost 600 miles this past weekend for the first disability swim meet of the year and she has qualified for the US Paralympics Spring CanAm Championships in Miami in March in the 50 fly, 50 breast and 400 free (brag time!!!). She will probably be the youngest swimmer there.

 

All that to say, it gets expensive quick as between suits and travel you can see where our money goes. Oh, and although she is young, she is built like a Mack truck so in regular suits she typically wears a 30, technical/kneesuits a 26. And of course she can grow into anything offered.

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YES, YES, YES!!! We traveled almost 600 miles this past weekend for the first disability swim meet of the year and she has qualified for the US Paralympics Spring CanAm Championships in Miami in March in the 50 fly, 50 breast and 400 free (brag time!!!). She will probably be the youngest swimmer there.

 

All that to say, it gets expensive quick as between suits and travel you can see where our money goes. Oh, and although she is young, she is built like a Mack truck so in regular suits she typically wears a 30, technical/kneesuits a 26. And of course she can grow into anything offered.

 

Think she can squeeze into a 25? It is Speedo Lzr something or another--the one with the yellow stitching on the seams.

 

ETA:  it is this one.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Whew...so we finally got everything straightened out for my oldest kiddos.  Practice is 90 minutes in the water (any dry land we do will be on our own) Monday-Saturday (we'll probably start off with 5 days though, until the dust settles).  My 2 youngest can probably swim the first part of their session, and my middle son will swim afterwards.. so about 2 1/2 hours at the pool for me (not too bad!)  I may have DH drive by on his way home from work, so I can leave with the other 4 kids.

 

Feeling better...of course first day at competitive practice, oldest ds has a miserable cold.

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Whew...so we finally got everything straightened out for my oldest kiddos.  Practice is 90 minutes in the water (any dry land we do will be on our own) Monday-Saturday (we'll probably start off with 5 days though, until the dust settles).  My 2 youngest can probably swim the first part of their session, and my middle son will swim afterwards.. so about 2 1/2 hours at the pool for me (not too bad!)  I may have DH drive by on his way home from work, so I can leave with the other 4 kids.

 

Feeling better...of course first day at competitive practice, oldest ds has a miserable cold.

 

I'm going to revive this thread because I was thinking about a couple of things.  First, re the bolded above, my 13 year old has never been a backstroker.  She is short and has muscles you wouldn't believe (seriously--no one believes me when I say that, until they see her), so she looks like a butterflyer and has never had the shoulder flexibility the top backstrokers seem to have.  Anyway, she changed teams in October and has been hurt for much of the season, but her backstroke has taken off.  She suddenly had her first Sr sectional cut in the 200 back.  For the first time in her swim history, her backstroke time is faster than her 'fly time.  Her new coach says she has tremendous potential in backstroke, and that she looks "long and lean" in the water when she does backstroke.  Important note:  she is not long and lean.  She mentioned this to her physical therapist, and the PT says it is probably because of the extra ab work my daughter is doing in dryland.  Her former team almost never did dryland; this team does lots of it, very systematically.  So go dryland!

 

Second, we had age group state this weekend, and my daughter, who has been hurt physically and emotionally (emotionally from her old team, the coach and the girls), rocked this meet.  She had almost plateaued with the old team, and the coach was unsympathetic, but she dropped significant time in 8 of 9 events this weekend, finished high in the points totals and came away with multiple second and third-place finishes. She now has a respectable handful of Sr sectional cuts and is creeping towards Jr National cuts.  For a 13 year old who is 5'1" on her tallest of days and isn't going to get any taller, that is an incredible success.  We love the coach on her new team; he is the exact opposite of her old coach, and that is precisely what she needed.  He does things like give her a strategy in the 200 IM that fit her swimming strengths and weaknesses and led to a three-second drop between prelims and finals.  Her old coach would have just said, "Try harder."  He also talks TO her and listens to HER--I know this shouldn't be shocking behavior, but it is not what we are used to.

 

Anyway, hope everyone else's season is going well.  We're a happy swim family this week, and I hope the rest of you are also.

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Great to hear, Plansme!  Our home-based dry land is usually either Pilates or The Shred.  We usually focus on core muscles, and things that help the kids stretch/lengthen muscles. We'll also have to figure out a place to run...which may mean going to the park. Otherwise, they'll have to do something more like suicides in our yard.

 

Oldest really wants to play water polo, so swimming competitively may be short-lived.  But...I can't complain too much.  I love water polo, too

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Silly question: Should a child take swim lessons first?

How do I find a swim team?

Is it ever too late?

 

Any other tips for a newbie mom looking into swim?

 

 

Each team is going to have their own requirements. Some may simply be that the child can swim all the way across the pool...using any stroke (I doggie paddled). Others ma want freestyle, with proper breathing and backstroke. In general, yes your child should be able to swim. You can find clubs in your area at SWIMming.com. Many YMCA clubs have teams, too. Also..summer recreational teams are fun for kids just starting out. One of our coaches doesn't think young kids should do USA swimming at all until they are 11. Just depends on the club. I can say great coaches are few and far between....and coaches who are great with developing new swimmers have been even more difficult. We've had experience with 10 coaches. Two of those were really good. I'm not including any coaches here, yet. Too early to tell. But so far, they seem to be pretty good...the fact that they are watching the kids swim vs. Talking on the phone is a welcome change.

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We're between seasons here, waiting to see if we're even going to HAVE a boys' team from the high school. We had a coach bail on us yesterday. The ps will not help with a single CENT, so we really can't pay a coach more than a token. We have 5 swimmers, but we'll see... We're scheduled to host two meets. This is all so frustrating.

So sorry, Margaret. That would be horribly frustrating.

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We're between seasons here, waiting to see if we're even going to HAVE a boys' team from the high school. We had a coach bail on us yesterday. The ps will not help with a single CENT, so we really can't pay a coach more than a token. We have 5 swimmers, but we'll see... We're scheduled to host two meets. This is all so frustrating.

hope you find one!! Any current teacher swimmers?
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Wow, Margaret, that really stinks.  I feel bad for those kids.  Maybe you should find a coach, and tell  her you really don't like him/her, and she would let that person coach.  Is there no other option? 

 

We finished up High School swim season about 2 weeks ago, both of my girls lettered as Freshman (Yay), and we are enjoying not having to run to a swim meet every weekend for a while. 

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The real stinker is that one boy is good enough to swim in college, but now he won't be swimming as a junior. Senior times are too late for boys, so he's stuck. It doesn't really matter for ds; he won't be swimming in college.

 

He can be recruited off USA Swimming times.  He doesn't need high school swimming. Large areas of the country (and lots of power-trip coaches) don't allow kids to do high school and USA at the same time anyway.  (Up here, both boys and girls high school swim season is the winter, just like USA Swimming.)

 

He should check out the College Swimming website and fill in the recruiting forms on the college's website.

 

There is a team for everyone.  He might not be recruited to USC but he can still swim in college.  I coach high school swimming and had one of my swimmers walk on to a Div III team a few years ago.  This kid had showed up at high school barely able to swim a length and  only swam high school.  

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