Swim Team Mamas

[icedcoffee]

DS is 7.5. He’s a pretty strong swimmer and has taken a lot of lessons. He’s shown some interest in swim team. For various reasons, summer swim team doesn’t work for our family. I told him he can do winter swim team and now I’m freaking out a little. It’s twice a week for an hour plus meets. As/if he gets better he will need to do more. Are meets terrible? Am I going to hate myself?

I just want him to try all the things and now I’m scared we will be over scheduled. Mostly because we are already over scheduled and this is on top of that.

Also are most swim meets Saturday or Sunday?

He will likely be the most novice team to start. Minis?

I already scheduled his tryout. Why?!? 😂

[icedcoffee]

Oh also…1 day a week my 4 year old must take a lesson (non negotiable) so we will already be there once a week for him. So maybe this won’t be so bad?

[mccallister84]

We only did summer swim so I can’t speak to what your experience would be like but yeah they were pretty terrible. When my daughter would only swim free and back we could leave halfway but if she swam a relay we were there the whole time. Check in was at 7:30, meet started at 9 and would run until around 1. Also they need a ton of volunteers to make the meets happen - each family had to have one adult volunteer at every meet.

Again, my only experience is summer swim so maybe year round swim is a completely different beast but man I was glad that it was only a five week season.

[icedcoffee]

Oh god. Though maybe I’ll make some new friends? 😬

I have trouble saying no to my kid. I always think of The Dirty Dancing quote “Quite the little joiner aren’t we?”

[mccallister84]

Jul 28, 2024 17:25:33 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oh god. Though maybe I’ll make some new friends? 😬

I have trouble saying no to my kid. I always think of The Dirty Dancing quote “Quite the little joiner aren’t we?”

Yea I joke that my 7.5 year old would join a “watching paint dry club” if someone wanted to start it up.

[iknowthismuchistrue]

We’ve done summer swim and school year (club) swim for many years.

Summer swim while on paper looks like “more,” it tends to be way more relaxed, low key, fun. Totally understand why this doesn’t work if there isn’t a stay at home parent, teacher parent or summer babysitter.

Club swim will expect more commitment as they age and skill up. Find a team that isn’t insanely intense. Swim meets are very often Friday, Saturday AND Sunday but at least our team does not have them scheduled nearly as often as other sports have games. We usually only sign up for Saturday OR Sunday, very rarely both day, but never all 3 days. Meets are long. Bring a book. And buy a comfy bleacher seat.

[joy]

I was the child swimmer!

We did summer swim as it was easiest. I started at 8 and we had practice daily then meets on Saturday. Once I got into winter swim, I only did practice twice a week and no meets.

My meets did conflict with vacations and my parents worked around it. My mom was very involved, though, so she enjoyed being there.

Your kid will be bored during meets. Cards, games, music, books, crafts were all good time passers. I think my mom got involved because sitting and watching wasn’t super fun.

I swam from 8-18. I have many fond memories!

[gerberdaisy]

DD has been doing swim team here for a couple year. For us they have two teams, the regular team and the "pre team". Shes just on the pre team. The regular team is very intense, practice 5 days a week, tons of meets...

The pre team has been amazing. They have the option to practice up to 4 days a week, expectation is 2 though. Meets are completely optional, and we only do a couple. Shes become a really strong swimmer, and loves it for the friendships. We took spring and summer off because of other activities, but are starting back up in the fall.

I think its a great sport. For us its the easiest one we do, I usually just drop her off and pick up, don't stay unless DS is taking a lesson or wants to swim in the kids pool.

[icedcoffee]

Jul 29, 2024 8:15:20 GMT -5 gerberdaisy said:

DD has been doing swim team here for a couple year. For us they have two teams, the regular team and the "pre team". Shes just on the pre team. The regular team is very intense, practice 5 days a week, tons of meets...

The pre team has been amazing. They have the option to practice up to 4 days a week, expectation is 2 though. Meets are completely optional, and we only do a couple. Shes become a really strong swimmer, and loves it for the friendships. We took spring and summer off because of other activities, but are starting back up in the fall.

I think its a great sport. For us its the easiest one we do, I usually just drop her off and pick up, don't stay unless DS is taking a lesson or wants to swim in the kids pool.

This is encouraging!  Thanks!  I'm glad she had such a good experience.

[imimahoney]

Meets are long (3ish hours) and boring. But if you become friendly with other parents or volunteer the time can go ny quicker.

[Susie]

The experience varies quite a lot with the level of seriousness.  My DD (8) is currently on a team that participates in both summer league and also US Swimming meets.  The more serious kids are doing USS year round; the younger, more developmental, and less serious kids are mostly just doing practices in the winter and summer league meets in the summer.

The summer league level is pretty chill.  She practices 3 times/week, and meets are over in about 2 hours.  Some are Sat AM's and some are weeknights.  I'm into swimming so I don't mind it at all.  I usually volunteer to time the meets, it helps out and gives me something to do where I'm engaged in the meet (without being too stressful, lol.  I don't want to DQ a kid!)

USS is much less chill.  Meets grow pretty quickly to being whole weekend affairs, multi-session, hours per session.  IDK if DD will head in that direction.  Obviously since she's already on a team that does it, it will be an easy transition (for her).  I don't plan to make it until she's serious about wanting it, and she has all her strokes legal and is ready to swim at a more serious level than she's currently doing (which is completely fine - she is 8!)

I did summer league and USS myself as a kid, and then high school and college swimming, so if DD wants to, I'll support it.  But particularly as this was my sport, I'm making sure she is driving it, not me.  

She also does track in the spring and XC in the fall.  Both of those have much shorter seasons than swimming, so she just prioritizes those when they're in season, and swimming gets priority when running is off season. 

[AdaraMarie]

I love watching my kids swim but I have sought out low stress rec leagues to keep the pressure down. My older kid (14) is interested in a variety of sports so I won't commit all my time and money to a club. I offered to let my younger kid (11) go to a club team since it's her only sport, but she wasn't interested in working that hard.
My kids have been in summer swimming and sometimes winter/spring swimming for 4 years. I am curious how it will play out for dd1 joining the high school team this year but it is a no cut sport at her school so however it goes will be fine.

[AdaraMarie]

Jul 29, 2024 10:55:36 GMT -5 AdaraMarie said:

I love watching my kids swim but I have sought out low stress rec leagues to keep the pressure down. My older kid (14) is interested in a variety of sports so I won't commit all my time and money to a club. I offered to let my younger kid (11) go to a club team since it's her only sport, but she wasn't interested in working that hard.
My kids have been in summer swimming and sometimes winter/spring swimming for 4 years. I am curious how it will play out for dd1 joining the high school team this year but it is a no cut sport at her school so however it goes will be fine.

ETA: The kids on club teams here seem to travel out of state for meets frequently so that is a factor for me for sure.

[niq]

I did summer swim league from 6-16, swimming on the school swim team 11-14, and year round swimming from 11-15. That's in order from least to most serious in terms of practice.

The summer swim league held practice 2x/day M-F and Saturday late morning, but there was no required attendance and they were short. Meets were Thursday nights and they were looong. Part of the appeal was low-key child care for SAHMs and cheap activities for bored teenagers. Parents weren't required to stay, but this was in a neighborhood where ~all the moms were SAHMs. There was a lot of socializing among the parents, plus you could volunteer as a timer or bullpen manager (basically nagging the kids who are on deck to wait in the right place). At the end of the season there was a big 2-day county championship. Lots of fun for the kids, but that was a huge commitment for the parents. They were either waiting for ages to watch their kid, or volunteering for an entire day (I think maybe they had you volunteer in shifts?). Either way, bring a book lol.

The school swim team had practice 3x/week right after school. Meets were once a week during the school week. I think that's high commitment for a middle school these days -- the school sports teams here practice 2x/week. No parent commitment other than picking up at a different time. My mom made it to maybe 1/2 of the swim meets and my dad made it to 1 or 2 per year.

The year round team expected some number of practices per week based on age and experience (you got credit for your school's practices during the school year, but you still had to pay full price). I joined in the summer, when practices were more chill, and the first few months of practices were at just the right level. I think I topped out at 5x/week (Monday-Thursday + Saturday), and I never did the super early morning before school practices. We only had 1-2 meets per year, and they were paid multi-day bus trips to other cities. The drop off/pick up schedule got to be a grind for my parents, especially once my sister had her own activities. By 9th grade I would take the city bus from my high school to swim practice for the weekday practices.

Both the school team and the year-round team were great experiences in terms of challenging myself. I was friendly with the other kids on my year-round team, and it was fun to see them at summer meets or school meets, but I didn't really make friends there. The school team was nice for friendships and the summer team was great for that, because it was all neighborhood kids so we could hang out at other times easily.

[niq]

Jul 28, 2024 17:25:33 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oh god. Though maybe I’ll make some new friends? 😬

I have trouble saying no to my kid. I always think of The Dirty Dancing quote “Quite the little joiner aren’t we?”

I definitely do a lot of school-related stuff (PTA, Mathcounts coaching) to have an opportunity to meet and hang out with other parents. It definitely works! But I didn't grow up here, and my before-kid adult friends have either moved or their lives have gone in different directions.

[frlcb]

My daughter is a competitive year round swimmer (she is 13 and has been on the year round team since she was 6, and is ranked nationally in several events), and also does Summer swim. They are two entirely different beasts. At his age I wouldn't stress too much about it, 2 practices a week and a meet at his age is pretty low key. The meets will almost certainly be on Saturdays, and maybe Sunday. My daughter has Fri evening/Sat/Sun meets. At his age it is just prelims, not prelim/finals (which means if you are top 10 or 20 you come back at night and swim the event again). Also his events would just be relays (if he is put on one), 25s of the four events, 100 free, 50 free, and 100 IM. He wouldn't be put in all of them. Are meets horrible? Truthfully, kind o, but you figure it out. They are just really long and a lot of time in between events so just bring snacks/books/etc. We travel out of state for meets 4 or 5 times a year but kids under 10 never go.

Swimming is such a fun sport to watch, don't let the meets steer you away!

[icedcoffee]

Jul 30, 2024 8:07:50 GMT -5 frlcb said:

My daughter is a competitive year round swimmer (she is 13 and has been on the year round team since she was 6, and is ranked nationally in several events), and also does Summer swim. They are two entirely different beasts. At his age I wouldn't stress too much about it, 2 practices a week and a meet at his age is pretty low key. The meets will almost certainly be on Saturdays, and maybe Sunday. My daughter has Fri evening/Sat/Sun meets. At his age it is just prelims, not prelim/finals (which means if you are top 10 or 20 you come back at night and swim the event again). Also his events would just be relays (if he is put on one), 25s of the four events, 100 free, 50 free, and 100 IM. He wouldn't be put in all of them. Are meets horrible? Truthfully, kind o, but you figure it out. They are just really long and a lot of time in between events so just bring snacks/books/etc. We travel out of state for meets 4 or 5 times a year but kids under 10 never go.

Swimming is such a fun sport to watch, don't let the meets steer you away!

Awww--thanks.  This was really helpful actually. I'm glad it's been so good for your daughter.  

[puppylove64]

Around here, winter swim is intense. They practice 3-4 days a week for about 1.5 hours and meets last allllllll day. Meets are all day events where you sit around a lot waiting for their specific event.

[minzy]

Just make sure your kid is serious about swimming before you do the four hour stroke and turn judge training on a Saturday and buy a little outfit you’ll never wear if they decide to quit… shakes fist. Lol.

[ilikedonuts]

Jul 30, 2024 8:07:50 GMT -5 frlcb said:

My daughter is a competitive year round swimmer (she is 13 and has been on the year round team since she was 6, and is ranked nationally in several events), and also does Summer swim. They are two entirely different beasts. At his age I wouldn't stress too much about it, 2 practices a week and a meet at his age is pretty low key. The meets will almost certainly be on Saturdays, and maybe Sunday. My daughter has Fri evening/Sat/Sun meets. At his age it is just prelims, not prelim/finals (which means if you are top 10 or 20 you come back at night and swim the event again). Also his events would just be relays (if he is put on one), 25s of the four events, 100 free, 50 free, and 100 IM. He wouldn't be put in all of them. Are meets horrible? Truthfully, kind o, but you figure it out. They are just really long and a lot of time in between events so just bring snacks/books/etc. We travel out of state for meets 4 or 5 times a year but kids under 10 never go.

Swimming is such a fun sport to watch, don't let the meets steer you away!

Are you YMCA swimming?

My kids do USA swimming. There is a definite difference between YMCA and USA swimming at least in my area. My kids have been swimming 100s and more since they were under 10. We are leaving for Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday for our Zones meet. My 10 year old is swimming the 100 fly and 400 free along with other events.

That being said on most teams around me, the parents pick how involved their kids are and what meets they do. So it can be super low key if that’s all the family wants. Nothing is required.

[lilac05]

I love LOVE swim meets! I’ve made some great friends and have a blast cheering for their kids, too. I think the secret (beyond making friends) is to print out the heat sheets so you can see who is swimming, what their entry times were, and celebrate their time cuts, even if you have no idea who they are.

I think it would be close to other sports as far as competition times for a season, but it’s fewer days. This works REALLY well for our family (especially as I have two swimmers, so their practice times and meet days are basically the same).

I can’t say enough good things about the swimming community, the skills my kids learn, and the incredible sportsmanship that I see in and out of the pool. I hope my kids continue to love it.

[waverly]

I am not an experienced swim mom, but I am friends with a couple of them. Meets can be super early in the morning say 6-7 am at the pool and yes last a long time/ all day with your kid only swimming for a few minutes. 

I imagine that the practices are a bit annoying, but overall 2 hours per week is really that not bad.  Kids in other sports are spending way more time especially if they are in dance/ gymnastics/ competitions teams or older kids of course have longer practices.  Yes most meets are on the weekends. 

I think it will be good!  

[frlcb]

Jul 31, 2024 8:23:26 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Jul 30, 2024 8:07:50 GMT -5 frlcb said:

My daughter is a competitive year round swimmer (she is 13 and has been on the year round team since she was 6, and is ranked nationally in several events), and also does Summer swim. They are two entirely different beasts. At his age I wouldn't stress too much about it, 2 practices a week and a meet at his age is pretty low key. The meets will almost certainly be on Saturdays, and maybe Sunday. My daughter has Fri evening/Sat/Sun meets. At his age it is just prelims, not prelim/finals (which means if you are top 10 or 20 you come back at night and swim the event again). Also his events would just be relays (if he is put on one), 25s of the four events, 100 free, 50 free, and 100 IM. He wouldn't be put in all of them. Are meets horrible? Truthfully, kind o, but you figure it out. They are just really long and a lot of time in between events so just bring snacks/books/etc. We travel out of state for meets 4 or 5 times a year but kids under 10 never go.

Swimming is such a fun sport to watch, don't let the meets steer you away!

Are you YMCA swimming?

My kids do USA swimming. There is a definite difference between YMCA and USA swimming at least in my area. My kids have been swimming 100s and more since they were under 10. We are leaving for Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday for our Zones meet. My 10 year old is swimming the 100 fly and 400 free along with other events.

That being said on most teams around me, the parents pick how involved their kids are and what meets they do. So it can be super low key if that’s all the family wants. Nothing is required.

No, USA Swimming. She swims for a top 5 age group club. I made the statement about the events based on two days a week practice, for a 7 year old. For kids under 10 at our club they wouldn't put them in 400 free or 100 fly at 7. Obviously for long course there are no 25s so it would be all 50s or higher but LSC is usually April through July, so for Winter I would assume it is SC.

[calamity]

My kids started around that age on a YMCA team and it was great for them. Not too much stress or pressure. It's mostly been covered, but yes meets are long and all weekend. But you don't have to do all the days or all the meets.

Honestly it really depends on your kid and how much they like it and want to get involved. Swim is a mentally 'hard' sport in that you're in your head a lot of the time, especially in practice.

We are involved in USA Swim now and travel for meets, buy the $500 tech suit, etc. but there is a whole range in the swim world. Welcome

[icedcoffee]

Jul 31, 2024 15:50:39 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

I love LOVE swim meets! I’ve made some great friends and have a blast cheering for their kids, too. I think the secret (beyond making friends) is to print out the heat sheets so you can see who is swimming, what their entry times were, and celebrate their time cuts, even if you have no idea who they are.

I think it would be close to other sports as far as competition times for a season, but it’s fewer days. This works REALLY well for our family (especially as I have two swimmers, so their practice times and meet days are basically the same).

I can’t say enough good things about the swimming community, the skills my kids learn, and the incredible sportsmanship that I see in and out of the pool. I hope my kids continue to love it.

Ok this got me excited. 😊

[calamity]

icedcoffee, the swim community really is awesome. I think you will love it.
I've made some really great life long friends from swim and I know my daughter has too.

They generally practice for a while before they get into meets so he will have some time to get used to all of it. Make sure he has some good goggles that don't fall off when he dives in. And don't stress about him having to dive off the blocks if he's not ready yet, but they do get the hang of it quickly!

There is an app called MeetMobile that you can get for $10 a year instead of buying heat sheets too, it just depends on your club so definitely ask or just look around in the stands. When they are younger a lot of the kids write their race # and heat on their arm in sharpie so don't be surprised if you see that. The older kids help them out in the beginning.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions

[edwardo123]

I have a 15 year old that has been swimming year round since she was 5. We started out small with two days a week and only home meets. Now, we’re all in with 3 hour practices, early mornings, and travel meets. As an introvert, I love swim meet weekends. I find a quiet place outside or in a hallway to read, journal, listen to podcasts, etc and go in just to watch my kid swim. It’s really nice and much better than my other daughter’s dance competitions.

[SusanBAnthony]

I am on the far end of the "do not commit time, money, or energy to kids activities" spectrum. As in, I dont want to. I swam as a kid, and now my daughter does. My daughter is definitely a joiner but she is happy joining whatever so we have always directed her to closer, cheaper, and more convenient things.

When i was a kid i did whatever our city league was, and we practiced 2-3 nights a week and rarely did meets. I have many fond memories.

Now my kid is swimming and all we have ever done is the parks and rec swim team, and now high school. Our athletic dreams are firmly in the "have fun and hopefully dont get cut from the HS team" variety lolol. Our parks league is 1, 2, or 3 days a week (you choose), and one fun meet a year. Its glorious. Now that she is in HS she will probably make the JVA team her freshman year (there is also a JVB team).

She wanted to do a summer league in theory.... but we couldnt do the logistics (both work FT) and she didn’t actually want to give up all other summer stuff to swim daily.

Your kid can be a successful swimmer (defining successful as having fun and learning) just doing rec swim IF there are rec leagues available where you live. The problem is that they can be super hard to find. But it moght be worth checking!

[edwardo123]

I have a 15 year old that has been swimming year round since she was 5. We started out small with two days a week and only home meets. Now, we’re all in with 3 hour practices, early mornings, and travel meets. As an introvert, I love swim meet weekends. I find a quiet place outside or in a hallway to read, journal, listen to podcasts, etc and go in just to watch my kid swim. It’s really nice and much better than my other daughter’s dance competitions.

[icedcoffee]

Update-ish: He made the minis team! It’s a no cut team but you basically have to at least get through the try out which holy shit was a lot of laps! (One kid I saw was highly encouraged to sign up for lessons instead) He was exhausted after but I’m really proud of him. I kind of thought he might get outta the pool and be like hell no. I would have! 😂 He and the kid who got “cut” were definitely the only ones who didn’t do summer team as evidenced by their attire. LOL

Anyway—any recs for gear or is cheap stuff off Amazon fine? Sounds like he will need jammers, swim cap, kickboard, pull buoy, fins, snorkel and goggles. Anything that might make our lives easier?

Here goes nothing!

🏊‍♂️