9 year old wants the competitive swim group. Coach says not yet

basil_quilt_141126 Sept 2026

My daughter has been in the evening swimming batch for about a year, three days a week. Last month she watched a district meet, came home and asked to move up to the competitive group. The coach says maybe next term, she needs to work on her turns first. She is crushed, and has found out that another academy would take her straight into their squad. I'm not sure what to do: push the coach for specifics, wait a term, or let her switch? I also don't really know what a competitive group involves beyond the word. For those whose children moved up around this age, what changed in practice?

4 comments

linen_notebook_490526 Sept 2026
my older one was in a squad from about 11 to 12. the swimming was never the problem. the sunday meets in exam months were. one term of waiting won't hurt her
- maple_sketch_833226 Sept 2026
  Did he keep going through the exams, or take a break and go back? That's the part I'd want to plan before she moves up anywhere.
teal_window_713626 Sept 2026
The real cost is the evenings. If the squad trains five days till 7.30, dinner and homework move to after 8. Try a week on that schedule at home before next term and see if she still wants it.
breezy_lantern_221227 Sept 2026
Ask the coach what 'not yet' means. Specific things, or just age?
- gentle_compass_35727 Sept 2026
  We asked exactly that for my daughter's athletics batch. The coach gave her two things to work on and a date to try again. It made the wait feel less like a no, for all of us.
fern_piano_581927 Sept 2026
Before switching, ask both places for an actual week: distance or sets, how many meets a year, and what happens if she misses sessions during exams. At some pools 'competitive' mostly means longer. At others it means a meet every month. Those are very different commitments.