Hi all! Apologies in advance for this likely-stupid question from a newbie.
I'm a 21 year old, post-college swimmer who wishes to return to competitive swimming after a years-long hiatus. I did not swim competitively in high school or college. Thus, my only experience is with USS age-group swimming.
I've spent the past two months training on my own (6-7 days per week/2 hours at a time). Although I have a demanding job, I want to push myself to swim at the highest level I can; my goals are purely competitive, not recreation or fitness oriented. I want to join a team of like-minded people.
So, my first question is basic: USS or USMS? I've heard that USS is 18 and under; USMS is 19+ - USS also seems to administer the national competitions. Does this mean that the sole option for a swimmer 19 or over is to join a USMS team, compete in Masters meets only, and (if/when) they make national cuts, switch over to USS somehow? Or, do the USS teams also take swimmers over 18? If so, what would be the pros and cons to joining a masters team versus a USS team?
Also - I'm assuming this is true, but are USMS times automatically valid for USS purposes and vice versa?
Any help is appreciated. I'm sorry for how obvious the answers to these questions might be for someone who's been swimming for a while, but I've been trying to bend the powers of Google to my will for two weeks and yet haven't found the answers yet. Thanks. RH
Parents
Former Member
Hi NK --
Thanks for a very helpful post - that goes a long way towards answering my questions. A couple of follow-ups:
1. Do USAS teams typically accept new people over 18, or do they encourage people to go to USMS? Are USAS teams likely to be encouraging of, or at least accepting of, someone who wants to straddle both USAS and USMS? (I’m asking about USAS because frankly, it sounds as though USMS teams are more encouraging overall of swimmers who have been away from the pool for a few years. :) )
2. To be honest, I don’t have 15-16 “A” times...yet. But I will get there, as quickly as I can. At the same time, I definitely don’t want to get in the way of much faster high school-age swimmers, or to feel demoralized when I see them swimming faster than me, until I’m at (at least) that level - and from what I remember of Seniors groups, people are often well past “A” times and looking to Nationals cuts. I’ve seen that some teams seem to operate both an “age group” and a Masters team, with some overlap between coaches. I wonder whether it would be a good idea to join the Masters group of such a joint team and ask the coaches at the outset whether it would be possible to switch into their Seniors group when my times merit it. Does anyone have experience with this?
3. My last concern about USAS teams: it seems as though many of them schedule their practice times around the swimmers’ schooldays. That’s perfectly logical, but it’s a potential obstacle for someone who has to work a traditional workday (“Sorry boss, I know it’s 3:45 PM but I have to head out for my swim workout,” probably not going to cut it.) In fact, because of the previously mentioned “demanding job,” I honestly have the same concern about being able to make it consistently to a Masters workout that begins at 5:30 or even 6:30 in the evening. How understanding would a coach be if you needed to get the workout and do it later at night (or early the next morning) on your own? (Again, I suspect that Masters teams, geared towards employed adults, will probably be more forgiving.)
In fact, this is my biggest concern. I’m a (very young) attorney who works long hours. When training on my own, the only difficulty has been prolonging an already long day (i.e. if I leave work at 9:45 PM, I still go to the pool and work out from 10-11 PM, returning to work afterwards if necessary.) I have been disciplined enough thus far that I trust myself to swim at least 5-7 times a week once I join a team. And, I’m switching jobs and taking two months off between this fall, so I will have a 7 1/2 week concentrated period to focus on swimming without job demands. But when I begin my new job, I am very concerned about how to navigate its demands and remain true to my swimming goals. Any advice from people who’ve been there (or are there) is much appreciated.
RH
Hi NK --
Thanks for a very helpful post - that goes a long way towards answering my questions. A couple of follow-ups:
1. Do USAS teams typically accept new people over 18, or do they encourage people to go to USMS? Are USAS teams likely to be encouraging of, or at least accepting of, someone who wants to straddle both USAS and USMS? (I’m asking about USAS because frankly, it sounds as though USMS teams are more encouraging overall of swimmers who have been away from the pool for a few years. :) )
2. To be honest, I don’t have 15-16 “A” times...yet. But I will get there, as quickly as I can. At the same time, I definitely don’t want to get in the way of much faster high school-age swimmers, or to feel demoralized when I see them swimming faster than me, until I’m at (at least) that level - and from what I remember of Seniors groups, people are often well past “A” times and looking to Nationals cuts. I’ve seen that some teams seem to operate both an “age group” and a Masters team, with some overlap between coaches. I wonder whether it would be a good idea to join the Masters group of such a joint team and ask the coaches at the outset whether it would be possible to switch into their Seniors group when my times merit it. Does anyone have experience with this?
3. My last concern about USAS teams: it seems as though many of them schedule their practice times around the swimmers’ schooldays. That’s perfectly logical, but it’s a potential obstacle for someone who has to work a traditional workday (“Sorry boss, I know it’s 3:45 PM but I have to head out for my swim workout,” probably not going to cut it.) In fact, because of the previously mentioned “demanding job,” I honestly have the same concern about being able to make it consistently to a Masters workout that begins at 5:30 or even 6:30 in the evening. How understanding would a coach be if you needed to get the workout and do it later at night (or early the next morning) on your own? (Again, I suspect that Masters teams, geared towards employed adults, will probably be more forgiving.)
In fact, this is my biggest concern. I’m a (very young) attorney who works long hours. When training on my own, the only difficulty has been prolonging an already long day (i.e. if I leave work at 9:45 PM, I still go to the pool and work out from 10-11 PM, returning to work afterwards if necessary.) I have been disciplined enough thus far that I trust myself to swim at least 5-7 times a week once I join a team. And, I’m switching jobs and taking two months off between this fall, so I will have a 7 1/2 week concentrated period to focus on swimming without job demands. But when I begin my new job, I am very concerned about how to navigate its demands and remain true to my swimming goals. Any advice from people who’ve been there (or are there) is much appreciated.
RH
