So, my granddaughter is a freshman in HS. She is swimming on a USA team and her HS team. The HS team has about 60 swimmers--walk on, no try outs. Of those 60 only 4 girls (3 seniors & my DGD) are truly competitive. There are some who can not yet swim a complete lap(pull self along on lane ropes). Some team members haven't paid their booster fees.
The coach insists on taking the WHOLE team to every meet so everyone can have the "meet" experience. Because some members haven't paid booster fees there isn't enough money for the WHOLE team to go to large/competitive meets and the coach refuses to leave the 'non swimmers' or deadbeats at home. He has cancelled every out of town large/competitive meet that requires an over night stay. I don't believe this is fair to the few competitive swimmers on the team who are hoping to be seen by colleges.
Any thoughts on how to approach the situation?
Thanks!
Former Member
The team is allowed two fund raising events a year. Already been done. I only mentioned my family's philanthropic deed to demonstrate we realize not everyone can afford to have their child participate in sports.
My DGD's goal is to qualify for state in *** and back. If she isn't given the chance to swim these events as many times as possible then how is she going to qualify?
Thanks everyone for your input. I will definitely pass along your thoughts
I had not thought about suggesting she write coaches at the colleges/universities she is interested in attending!Before she starts contacting coaches and gets too too excited about college swimming, I suggest she and you check out USA Swimming’s College Swimming 101
She is only a freshman so she has a couple of years before she needs to get REAL serious about contacting schools, but Freshan/Sophmore years are a good time to start searching. In the mean time, she should be working with her USA Swimming coach to set goals that will get her to where she wants to be.
I doubt the situation this year is any different from previous years on this team. With such a small group of year-round swimmers, it is unlikely they will be the least bit competitive so the focus of why she is doing HS swimming should change from "me,me,me" to "team,team,team."
What can she do to assist the coach and program to making it a better team? This will look far better on her college admissions than simply being on the team. Can she be team captain? Can she make the team more competitive? The kids that have impacts on HS teams are the ones that make the whole team better, not just the ones that whine because they aren't getting what they want.
When she is a senior, what will be more satisfying - looking back on her 4 years and being proud she quit because she didn't get her wishes, or helping build a struggling program that is well established going forward? And, which scenario looks better to colleges?
And, walking around calling other kids/families deadbeats won't make the team any better. Nor will refusing to swim on team relays, which score double points.
High School swimming is about team,letter jackets,sports assemblies,pep rallies etc.It is not going to build a base for college.
In most cases, especially this one with an already elite sounding swimmer, this is true, HS isn't going to build a base because the base is already there for an elite. You can and will see HS build a collegiate base for a previously inexperienced swimmer though... so I don't agree with this statement 100%.
Deadbeat is my word not hers. What else would you call someone who doesn't pay fees? And, before you come back with maybe the parents can't afford the fees, let me tell you what her parents have done. They sponsored 10 swimmers who couldn't afford the fees to the tune of $500.00
Yes, Geek, I agree it is about the team, but there needs to be some middle ground. I suspect she wouldn't have complained if her events had been 2 relays and 2 individuals.
