Looking for gifted swim teacher/coach near Fairfax Station (appointed, club)

[cowanddog]

Hi,

We left Vermont (and a gifted swim teacher) 6 months ago. She had a great sense of humor, knew just when to 'push', made the kids feel great and obtained amazing results.

I am wondering if anyone knows of someone like this in the area. I am not looking for my kids to become Olympians...I am hoping they can improve and learn some better stroke techniques, etc.

My 10-year-old daughter was on the swim team this year and had fun but was disappointed because she could not do flip turns and other stuff that kids here appear to learn at an early age. My son (7) was a very unenthusiastic participant after realizing his peers were doing butterfly while he struggles to swim across the pool.

So, is there anyone who makes swimming fun (while teaching some, too)?

Thanks!

[choff5]

Originally Posted by cowanddog

Hi,

We left Vermont (and a gifted swim teacher) 6 months ago. She had a great sense of humor, knew just when to 'push', made the kids feel great and obtained amazing results.

I am wondering if anyone knows of someone like this in the area. I am not looking for my kids to become Olympians...I am hoping they can improve and learn some better stroke techniques, etc.

My 10-year-old daughter was on the swim team this year and had fun but was disappointed because she could not do flip turns and other stuff that kids here appear to learn at an early age. My son (7) was a very unenthusiastic participant after realizing his peers were doing butterfly while he struggles to swim across the pool.

So, is there anyone who makes swimming fun (while teaching some, too)?

Thanks!

There are a number of year round club teams in the area you can check out. I believe the Sea Devils practice at South Run Red center which is near you and Mako practices at George Mason. Potomac Valley Swimming is the governing board for this area and here's a link to all their clubs, PVS Member Clubs. I know there are current swim parents on here who can give specifics. If this was 15 years ago I would have had the perfect person but he has long ago retired (Victor for any "old" swim people out there).

Sounds like you were on a summer swim team. They can be a lot of fun but you may have discovered just how popular, and potentially competitive, it can be, depending on the summer team sometimes. Summer swimming is big in this area. The other thing that happened this summer for the first time is the 8 & Under Fly was added to the competitive meets on Saturday if you were involved in NVSL. I have my personal opinion of this change but am no longer involved so stay out of it. Besides the club teams you may want to check with the local rec centers through Parktakes, Parktakes Online*- Fairfax County, Virginia for swim classes that teach the strokes. It would be lower key than a club, but also not the same fun of a club either. Either way, you have the right attitude, keep it fun and enjoyable. That's what counts.

Okay, not sure if the links work, you can always google them.

[cowanddog]

Thanks for your help!

[claremarie]

I second the suggestion about the Rec Centers. Although there are many great year-round swim clubs here, they tend to cater (despite their assurances to the contrary) to kids who learned the basics in summer swim leagues beginning at age 5 and are proficient in all four strokes by age 10. The swim lessons at the rec centers will have more kids like yours -- they know the basics but haven't had enough experience yet to be proficient.

Many of the larger NVSL summer league teams also have once a week "winter swim" programs, usually held on Sunday evenings at the rec centers after they have closed to the general public. We had good experiences with two of these programs. Most of the hard-core swimmers will be in club programs rather than the winter swim program, so there is more chance for the coaches to work with the less-experienced kids. The coaches are often, but not always, drawn from the same group who worked with the kids in the summer, so if that wasn't a good fit for your kids this option might not work for you. These programs are usually open to anyone, not just to members of that particular summer team.

[cowanddog]

Thanks for the good advice. We'll give those a try!