Swim Team

Our coaching staff has a combined coaching experience of over 60 years. We offer a competitive swimming and diving opportunity with a focus on fun. The Sea Dogs compete in weekly Tuesday afternoon diving and evening swimming meets with other teams in the Country Club League. Members may choose to be a member of the swim team, dive team or both. Practices are on Monday - Friday mornings from early June until mid-July.

Swim Team Philosophy

The Swim Team at Kinsale is a summer club sport. In no way should it be confused with an Olympic training facility. Thus the focus of our swim program will be the following in order of importance:

1. Fun
2. Sportsmanship
3. Good Swimming Techniques
4. Fast Swims

Over the past 40+ years that I have been coaching, I have found that number 4 above usually results as a natural by-product of a strict adherence to numbers 1-3 above. I do not want to push children at such a young age to the point where they feel the sport not something they want to do anymore. It is my intention to expose your children to what I feel is one of the best sports. I feel it is one of the best sports for the following reasons:
1. It is a sport in which one can participate for a lifetime.
2. It is a sport with few injuries because the body’s weight is supported by natural buoyancy.
3. It can be done without having to get others together to form a team.
4. It allows accomplishment on an individual basis so one can measure their own progress.
5. Being an able swimmer opens the door to other sports and activities such as: water polo, scuba diving, water skiing, boating, fishing, surfing, sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, body surfing, diving, etc.
6. When your child goes to High School, they will find a group to belong to in order to fit in. I challenge you to find a better group in any High School than the swim team. Every team I have encountered has been hardworking, disciplined, and quite frankly too busy to get into trouble!I have had many swimmers go on to great accomplishments in the sport but they did so only after enjoying their first experiences. This is why I feel it is important that we establish realistic expectations for our swimmers and our program.

Interested in Swim Team?

Please contact Sara Kelly, at [email protected]
Please Include
Child's First and Last Name:
Gender:
DOB:
Parent Name(s):
Email Address:
Member ID #:

Developing Swimmers
- Most of our swimmers, regardless of age, are still developing swimmers. While it is a great experience to be on the team, it can not replace the small group instruction of the lesson program. Almost all of the swimmers on the team would benefit from either SwimAmerica or private lessons. Unless your swimmer has mastered all four competitive strokes, they are required to be taking lessons to become better swimmers. See Cost Below.
  
  Swimmers will be placed in the meets according to their ability. The coaches will determine which swimmers are eligible for each event based upon their ability to complete the event with a legal stroke. We feel it is a negative experience for a child to compete in an event if it is apparent based upon practice they cannot complete the event legally and would be disqualified.
Cost
- The fee for being a member of the Kinsale Swim or Dive Team is $220 for the season.
  Cost to be on both teams for the season is $325.
  A credit of $10 will be given to your account for each shift you work at a meet.
  (No more than 3 times per the season.)
  
  Developing swimmers, those who are in need of group or private lessons, will be assessed an additional fee of $125.00, if NOT enrolled in 3 weeks of group lessons or 2 private lessons each week during the season.
  
  Coach Thom will notify the parents of swimmers in need of lessons.
  Please contact him with any questions.
  [email protected]
Uniforms
- No team apparel is required. Caps and Goggles are available in The Signature Shop! The team suit is a solid blue suit that can be ordered online at multiple sites.
Attendance
- Summer is a busy time for us all and each family has different time requirements. For this reason I set forth no requirements for attendance. This being said, a swimmer’s achievements can directly be tied to their level of effort in practice. In the past we have had parents ask me why their child could not perform a skill, such as the butterfly stroke, and our answer sometimes is that we have done it in practice several times but your child was not in attendance. It is our recommendation that you establish a goal with your child that they will attend 2, 3, 4 or 5 practices a week and stick to it. You can use this as a way to teach your child the important skills of commitment, discipline and scheduling. Each Sunday you may want to discuss with your child which days that week they will be attending, set the schedule for the week, and then work with your child to adhere to it. It really can be a great way to develop an important part of your child’s maturing process.
Meet Participation
- It is very important that you sign your swimmer up to participate in every meet. The coaches make the lineup well before the day of the meet. Due to problems in the past, we have found it is best to have parents sign up for meets they will attend rather than those they will not. Sign up list will be on a Google Doc that will be sent to you and you need to sign up by Thursday before the next Tuesday's meet. If your swimmer is not signed up they may not be able to swim in the meet. After the lineup is made, we will send it out so you can verify your child's entries.

Swim Team

Swim Team Philosophy

Interested in Swim Team?

One Marquee Membership, Two Great Clubs!