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Breeze · 07-25-2012, 10:04 AM

Next Season Plans...

We'll it is time to sign up for next year (actually it is past time) and we have some very difficult decisions to make...

Brett is the easy one. He has improved so much and his confidence is so much higher now that he is part of Chattahoochee Gold that there is no question he'll be returning there. He'll be on the Region team (which is like a promotion for him from SA). His practices will be 1.5 hours long accept on Saturday when they are 2 hours. He'll be expected to go to practice 5 days a week...(we'll see how well that works out). Brett has been very excited about the team and has been urging Bear to switch over and swim with him. Notice, he hasn't talked to Bailey about joining...he'd rather Bailey stay away, as the two of them have a very competitive relationship...

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Bear is the frustrating one...We received news from SA that they'd like to move Bear up a level to AAG (Advanced Age Group), which is very rare for any 10 year old, but extremely rare for a 10 year old boy. Part of the impetus for this promotion in my opinion is SAs move to get younger and open some lower level spots with the bump in enrollment they will see with it being an Olympic year. That isn't to say he can't do the practice, he can, but I'm not sure a 10 year old should be doing it.

We would prefer that he move to Chattahoochee Gold for several reasons. One it is potentially more convenient for us. Two it is about $40 cheaper per month. Three the coaching of fundamentals and technique is much better (which Bear could benefit from...as effort and conditioning isn't his problem). However, Bear isn't much for change, so he's not really interested. We are still trying to determine where he'll end up...

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Bailey is the difficult one. Bailey has also been told that she'll be moving up to AAG (see above comments about age and reasons for promotion). This is more problematic for Bailey because she also plays USTA tournament level tennis, and AAG will require more time. Ideally, the coach would like for the twins to be at practice 5 of the 6 days that it is offered, but said 9 days in a two week cycle would be ok for now. That still limits the days where Bailey can practice tennis. Moreover, we really can't afford to pay the higher fees for both boys and Bailey, plus pay for Bailey's tennis lessons. Ideally, we'd keep her back for another year so as not to force her to make a swimming vs. tennis decision as a 10 year old (it's really a shame that kid sports have become so specialized that in order to compete you have to dedicate yourself to a sport so early). However, all of her friends were promoted to AAG as well and she'd be left behind if we do that (and if we move her to another SA facility in the area, she wouldn't be with her close friends that way either). We are still looking for a solution here...but at best we'll be able to hold off the tennis vs. swimming decision for 1 year, then she'll have to choose (and if you are wondering...in my opinion she has a much higher upside in tennis).

We need to get the twins signed up somewhere tonight (or risk losing out on a spot)...I'll update the thread once we've decided what we are going to do...

07-25-2012, 10:04 AM	#122
Breeze Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL	Next Season Plans... We'll it is time to sign up for next year (actually it is past time) and we have some very difficult decisions to make... Brett is the easy one. He has improved so much and his confidence is so much higher now that he is part of Chattahoochee Gold that there is no question he'll be returning there. He'll be on the Region team (which is like a promotion for him from SA). His practices will be 1.5 hours long accept on Saturday when they are 2 hours. He'll be expected to go to practice 5 days a week...(we'll see how well that works out). Brett has been very excited about the team and has been urging Bear to switch over and swim with him. Notice, he hasn't talked to Bailey about joining...he'd rather Bailey stay away, as the two of them have a very competitive relationship... ---------------------------------------------- Bear is the frustrating one...We received news from SA that they'd like to move Bear up a level to AAG (Advanced Age Group), which is very rare for any 10 year old, but extremely rare for a 10 year old boy. Part of the impetus for this promotion in my opinion is SAs move to get younger and open some lower level spots with the bump in enrollment they will see with it being an Olympic year. That isn't to say he can't do the practice, he can, but I'm not sure a 10 year old should be doing it. We would prefer that he move to Chattahoochee Gold for several reasons. One it is potentially more convenient for us. Two it is about $40 cheaper per month. Three the coaching of fundamentals and technique is much better (which Bear could benefit from...as effort and conditioning isn't his problem). However, Bear isn't much for change, so he's not really interested. We are still trying to determine where he'll end up... -------------------------------------------- Bailey is the difficult one. Bailey has also been told that she'll be moving up to AAG (see above comments about age and reasons for promotion). This is more problematic for Bailey because she also plays USTA tournament level tennis, and AAG will require more time. Ideally, the coach would like for the twins to be at practice 5 of the 6 days that it is offered, but said 9 days in a two week cycle would be ok for now. That still limits the days where Bailey can practice tennis. Moreover, we really can't afford to pay the higher fees for both boys and Bailey, plus pay for Bailey's tennis lessons. Ideally, we'd keep her back for another year so as not to force her to make a swimming vs. tennis decision as a 10 year old (it's really a shame that kid sports have become so specialized that in order to compete you have to dedicate yourself to a sport so early). However, all of her friends were promoted to AAG as well and she'd be left behind if we do that (and if we move her to another SA facility in the area, she wouldn't be with her close friends that way either). We are still looking for a solution here...but at best we'll be able to hold off the tennis vs. swimming decision for 1 year, then she'll have to choose (and if you are wondering...in my opinion she has a much higher upside in tennis). We need to get the twins signed up somewhere tonight (or risk losing out on a spot)...I'll update the thread once we've decided what we are going to do...