I am pondering to join the YMCA swim team or not. I am a 14 yr old male, who's been through all the swimming lessons starting at age 5. I have done little competitive swimming, but I know all the competitive dives, strokes etc. I am curious if the YMCA is even a good place to master my skills, or if I should find another place. I also don't want to be blasted away by everyone else either.
Also, do many swimmers have stretch marks? Because I have those from a MAJOR growth spurt during one summer - and I need some suggestions for covering them up.
I’d recommend taking a look at the programs offered at your local YMCA(s). The Y can be a great place to develop your swimming skills or it can turn you off swimming completely.
There are large differences in swim programs at Ys. Some Y’s have excellent swim programs, and dedicate resources (coaches, pool time, separate competitive pools, etc) to support a number of workout groups/teams suitable for a wide range of skill levels. Others Y’s are limited to a single pool, shared among recreational swimmers, lessons, aquatic classes, etc, such the environment is not conducive for competitive swimming (insufficient pool time, water temperature too hot, etc)
Personally, my family had a bad experience with the Y swim team. When my local Y opened and started a swim team, they couldn’t decide what level swimmer they wanted to cater to. They advertised competitive swimming for all levels and attracted over 100 swimmers, with skill ranging from barely able to keep their head above water to a few that made state cuts in several events. But they didn’t want to commit adequate resources. My son had up to 17 swimmers in his lane making practice pretty much useless. The max in my daughter’s lane was 7 but she was in a lane with the state cut swimmers. The workouts were tended to be geared for the higher level swimmers where she couldn’t come even close to making the intervals, was constantly lapped, often before she had her initial sendoff. She left many a practice in tears. As if that wasn’t enough, she was 13 swimming in a Mixed 13-18 age group, meets were limited to a single official heat, thus she never got an official swim in a meet. Needless to say, my kid swam only one season at the Y, and from what I heard the next season was even worse. I admit that much of the problem was growing pains of a new swim team but it was enough to turn my (any other) kids away from swimming for the team.
However, while the experience with the Y swim team was a bust, the Y offered fitness/conditioning, and stroke clinics throughout the year that worked out well for my kids. The coach was great and size was limited based on the number of lanes dedicated clinic. Practices were only twice a week, both kids had dramatic improvements and were well prepared for their High School, Junior High School and Summer swim teams.
It seemed that our experience was not unique, and the Y is making some major changes in the swim program. The coach who ran the clinics is going to be the swim team coach, and has been courting my kids to come back, but they’ve moved on to other activities, and are interested in only the clinics rather than the swim team.
I’d recommend taking a look at the programs offered at your local YMCA(s). The Y can be a great place to develop your swimming skills or it can turn you off swimming completely.
There are large differences in swim programs at Ys. Some Y’s have excellent swim programs, and dedicate resources (coaches, pool time, separate competitive pools, etc) to support a number of workout groups/teams suitable for a wide range of skill levels. Others Y’s are limited to a single pool, shared among recreational swimmers, lessons, aquatic classes, etc, such the environment is not conducive for competitive swimming (insufficient pool time, water temperature too hot, etc)
Personally, my family had a bad experience with the Y swim team. When my local Y opened and started a swim team, they couldn’t decide what level swimmer they wanted to cater to. They advertised competitive swimming for all levels and attracted over 100 swimmers, with skill ranging from barely able to keep their head above water to a few that made state cuts in several events. But they didn’t want to commit adequate resources. My son had up to 17 swimmers in his lane making practice pretty much useless. The max in my daughter’s lane was 7 but she was in a lane with the state cut swimmers. The workouts were tended to be geared for the higher level swimmers where she couldn’t come even close to making the intervals, was constantly lapped, often before she had her initial sendoff. She left many a practice in tears. As if that wasn’t enough, she was 13 swimming in a Mixed 13-18 age group, meets were limited to a single official heat, thus she never got an official swim in a meet. Needless to say, my kid swam only one season at the Y, and from what I heard the next season was even worse. I admit that much of the problem was growing pains of a new swim team but it was enough to turn my (any other) kids away from swimming for the team.
However, while the experience with the Y swim team was a bust, the Y offered fitness/conditioning, and stroke clinics throughout the year that worked out well for my kids. The coach was great and size was limited based on the number of lanes dedicated clinic. Practices were only twice a week, both kids had dramatic improvements and were well prepared for their High School, Junior High School and Summer swim teams.
It seemed that our experience was not unique, and the Y is making some major changes in the swim program. The coach who ran the clinics is going to be the swim team coach, and has been courting my kids to come back, but they’ve moved on to other activities, and are interested in only the clinics rather than the swim team.
