How does a child who loves swimming become a competitive swimmer?

Some children have natural talent that allows them to skip from basic skills swim classes right into the first level of swim team. More often, however, children need a special program to bridge the gap between basic skills and competitive skills swimming. The West Essex YMCA offers the Pre-Team Swim Program to bridge that gap for children ages 6 through 16.

...And our Pre-Team has had so much success in recent years that we now, for Fall 2007, merge the Pre-Team into "Swim Team Training Group Bronze I"!!! Read our Team Info page to see how Pre-Team has merged with swim team as Training Group Bronze I.

Pre-Team / Bronze I Program Details
Pre-Team / Bronze I is an eight-week swim program with three (3) one-hour training sessions per week. Our two weekday sessions begin with 15 minutes dryland exercises and/or classroom time, and continue with 45 minutes of swim training. Our Saturday session is a full hour of swim training. Pre-Team / Bronze I focuses on competitive skills without the full commitment of swim team. Sessions are taught by WEY swim team coaches, who introduce competitive stroke technique, racing starts, turns, and USA Swimming rules to children in the Pre-Team / Bronze I. Coaches like to tell their Pre-Teamers that they must also learn “Coach English” in order to prepare for higher levels of swim team. Just when the very bright group of novice swimmers thinks they already know what this means, the coach challenges them with a new workout like, “8 x 50 on 1:20, Odd 50’s-25 Catchup-25 Swim, Even 50’s Stroke Sprint.” They all laugh in agreement that they still have more to learn, so they study the workout together, then perform it, and discuss their accomplishment afterward. Several successful members of the West Essex YMCA Swim Team graduated in recent years from Pre-Team, such as Alexandros Pandazis (Eight & Under High Points Winner 2006), Deanna Tran, Christina McDonald, Christina Qiu, Jeanna Qiu, Harry Xu (member of the Livingston High School State Championship Swim Team of 2006), Kenny Yanga (Junior Olympics and YMCA State Championship qualifier), Ellika Salari (Coaches’ Award recipient 2006), Tina Xia, Saagar Deshpande, Kieran Tonero, Alyssa Egner, and many, many more..

Bridging the gap: Pre-Team to Swim Team… and having fun all the while.

Who qualifies for the Pre-Team / Bronze I?

The Pre-Team / Bronze I Intro to Competitive Swim Group at West Essex YMCA is appropriate for those who have completed the YMCA Porpoise class or equivalent level at another swim school. Generally, instructors of the Porpoise class (or equivalent class) will recommend children to try the Pre-Team if they are ready. Ask your swim instructor what he/she thinks about advancing to the Pre-Team.

The following are guides to our pre-requisites, but if you are unsure, it is wise to attend WEY Swim Team Try-Outs for an evauation. Or make an appointment for an evaluation with a swim instructor or swim coach by calling us at 973-992-7500 x222.

PRE-TEAM / Bronze I Basic Pre-Requisites: Correctly swims 100 yards front crawl and back crawl, 50 yards Breaststroke, 25 yards Butterfly. Pays attention well in class and follows detailed instructions. Familiarity with diving and flip-turns is desired but not required.

Schedule, Fees, and More Details of the Pre-Team

Pre-Team / Bronze I is designed for ages approximately 6-16. Swimmers can expect a daily workout to include up to 2000 yards (80 lengths of the pool).

SWIMMERS SHOULD WEAR A CAP AND GOGGLES for EVERY practice as well as a training swim suit (Speedo, TYR, or the like. Girls, no two-piece suits. Boys, preferably no surf shorts or loose shorts).

All swimmers in Pre-Team / Bronze I are asked to purchase Zoomers brand fins. These training fins as well as several optional team equipment items and apparel are available from our team vendor Ultimate Swim Shop (call 800-628-SWIM).

Pre-Team / Bronze I Session for Spring 2008 runs for 8 weeks, three classes per week*: April 28 - June 22, 2008.
* Changes of schedule for swim meets or other special events will be emailed to program members, and can be found at this website's Daily Calendar and Meet Calendar. There will be a Pre-Team swim meet in this Spring 2008 Session - more info coming soon!

Pre-Team / Bronze I Spring Session II 2008 schedule and fees:
April 28 through June 22, 2008 (note: Pre-Team does not run June 23-Sept 7)
Mondays 5:45-6:45pm + Wednesdays 5:45-6:45pm + Saturdays 2:00-3:00pm
Facility Members: $156, Program Members: $312
Register the same way you would for other swim classes, but be sure to provide your email address. Additional swim team related information will be emailed to you.