Frequently Asked  Questions

Table of Contents

1. Does my child have to know how to swim to join?
2. Does my child have to attend all practices?
3. May my child use floatation devices such as "bubbles" or "floaties"?
4. My child is screaming/yelling/bothering other children and coaches - should I take him/her out?
5. I don't see practices for 3 & 4 year olds.  When are they?
6. Why does the 3 - 6 year old group have less practice time yet cost the same?
7. My child swims better than most his or her age.  Can we practice with the older age groups?

8. Walk-in registrations are accepted, however swimmers ages 3 – 6  may not begin practice until the next scheduled practice.  Why?

9. Can my child swim in the meets?

Does my child have to know how to swim to join?

No.  Children start at 3 years old and it is instructional until they are able and want to compete.

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Does my child have to attend all practices?

No.  Practices are not mandatory.  Please attend as many practices as possible within with your schedule.  It is to your child's advantage to attend as many practices as possible.

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May my child use floatation devices such as "bubbles" or "floaties"?

No.  I feel that use of such floatation devices instills a false sense of security.  Floatation devices fall off, deflate and typically do not fit properly to allow your young athlete their full range of arm or leg motion.

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My child is screaming/yelling/bothering other children and coaches - should I take him/her out?

Absolutely not!  By taking your child out you are only reinforcing the yelling for the next practice.  Don't let your child believe that yelling is the key to getting what he or she wants, in this case - getting out of the water.  Your child will adjust to the water and perhaps the separation from mom and dad in due time.  Some just take longer than others.  My coaches and I have learned to handle the noise simply by seeing the end result - a child that can swim and is confident in and around the water.

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When are practices for 3 & 4 year olds?

Classes for the 3-4 year olds will start in Jan. The reason for the change
is that the pool was too crowded for the older ages.  I felt the swimmers
would get better training if I broke the groups down.  I tried to get
Wrentham for Dec but they close their pool down for maintenance.  I can't
start them in Nov because my High School girls team is coming to an end and they still have practice until Thanksgiving.  The 3-4 year old group has
gotten so popular that I needed to separate them from the 5-6 year olds which in return will give me more coaches.

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Why does the 3 - 6 year old group have less practice time yet cost the same?

There are several factors involved in this. 

• One, pool time is at a premium in our area and there simply is no additional pool space/time to be had.  Since we are geared for a more competitive format, as opposed to a learn to swim program i.e. Red Cross & YMCA, I don't want to drop the younger group all together.  These kids are an asset to our program and competitiveness.  (Some teams have a qualifying test to weed out the non-swimmers to avoid instruction as opposed to training)
• Two, younger and less experienced or non-swimmers require far more coaching staff than accomplished swimmers.  The swimmers to coach ratio is far higher in this age group.

It simply comes down to a matter of economics, it costs more to instruct the younger children.

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My child swims better than most his or her age.  Can we practice with the older age groups?

As of right now I'm making no exceptions to the ages.  Last year the groups were too big and the lanes too crowded.  I'm sure there will be others that want to do the same so if I do it for one then I have to do it for everyone and that defeats the whole purpose.. Maybe later in the year if it's not so crowded then I can make some changes.  I also have less coaching staff this year so the groups need to be smaller so that we can train them effectively.

• Within each age group there are several ability groups, generally these groups are broken out and practice within the same lane or two.
• By a more competent level in the 3 -6 year old group I need to see the ability to swim the length of the pool without assistance and handle the increased yardage and practice time.
• Please do not bring your child to a different practice group without my asking you to.

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Walk-in registrations are accepted, however swimmers ages 3 – 6  may not begin practice until the next scheduled practice.  Why?

There are several reasons for this.

• We do want to check each child in and out at the front desk, pre-registration allows us to accomplish this in a much more organized manner.
• Children will get in a full practice and be on deck at the start of the lesson for instructions such as which lane to go to, goals that may be set for the day, etc.
• Lastly, and I'm sorry to say this is happening, there are those that are not registering and skirting their children around the desk during the confusion.  They are taking a practice or two on the house to see if their child and they themselves like the experience enough to stick with it for a season.  This could truly hurt our program if something were to happen to one of these children and they are not on my registration list, which our insurance company maintains a copy of.

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Can my child swim in the meets?

If your child can swim the length of the pool in each stroke, yes!  The strokes don't have to be perfect.

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Cheryl Cavanaugh
Walpole Swim Team
Revised: 09/10/07.

Send mail to webmaster@walpoleswimteam.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 08/03/07