Swim Team

EVALUATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS FOR THE SPRING/SUMMER 2024 SEASON!!

Any and all who would like to register for FCA or Team Phoenix, who are new, will need to complete an evaluation with an FCA Coach.

Evaluations can take up to 10 minutes between the swimming portion and the explanation of the registration process.

Please click here to sign up for an evaluation! We will have evaluations at the following times:

Monday, February 26th 5-6pm

Wednesday, February 28th 5-6pm

Friday, March 1st 5-6pm

SEASONS

The FCA Swim Team has two seasons each year:

2023-2024 Dates
Fall/Winter: September 11th through March 22th (non-championship swimmers)
Spring/Summer: April 8th through July 11th (non-championship swimmers)

MEETS - 2023-2024 Spring/Summer Schedule Link (NEW!)
All FCA swimmers must be registered with USA Swimming through the Middle Atlantic Swimming LSC. Meets are typically once a month and could require travel outside of the Greater Philadelphia area. The meet schedule page will breakdown which age groups or ability levels should attend each meet.

FCA operates under the assumption that your swimmer(s) will attend each age/ability appropriate meet. If you cannot attend the meet or can only attend certain days, you must complete the google decommit form prior to the deadline. If you do not complete the form prior to the deadline, you will be entered into the meet and charged the appropriate amount of meet fees. Two exceptions to this rule:

All Championship Meets will require you to confirm your participation rather than decommitting.
9-10 year old swimmers: Coaches will communicate prior to the end of September/April if your swimmer(s) should attend development meets and/or A/BB/C meets

Payments are to be submitted online through a payment link or via check. Failure to submit payment for swim meets in a timely manner will result in the coaching staff not entering your swimmer(s) into future meets and/or inability to register for future team programming.

Swimmers and families who are new to year round competitive swimming are expected to participate in home FCA meets and are encouraged to participate in at least one travel meet.

GROUPS - Practice Schedule Link (updated 4/3/24)
Breakdown of groups, ability required, and pricing are below. Ages listed are a guideline and not always followed as it is generally more important to place swimmers into the group that fits their current skill level. However, the top end of the age range is typically followed.

All new prospective team members must have an evaluation before joining the team. Please email fcaquatics@friendscentral.org to schedule a day and time if it is outside of our normal evaluation periods. Based on this evaluation we can determine which group or program would be the best fit for your swimmer(s).

The most up to date practice schedule can be viewed on our Practice Calendar page.

Mini's (8 & Under)
The Mini's swimmer must be able to complete 25 yards of freestyle and backstroke without stopping. Swimmers must be comfortable with swimming with their face in the water and demonstrate the ability to breathe to the side on freestyle. Swimmers should be able to demonstrate a steady flutter kick with little knee bend and toes pointed. Emphasis will be on making swimming fun while working on developing basic stroke fundamentals through drills. Freestyle and backstroke will be the primary focus before introducing breaststroke and butterfly.

Currently four practices a week are offered. Attendance at two practices a week is required. The more we see a swimmer at practice the more they will progress. For families looking to only swim once a week, we recommend registering for Swim School.

Novice (10 & Under)
The Novice swimmer must be able to swim 50 yards of freestyle and backstroke without stopping to be considered. Swimmers should be able to demonstrate a correct flutter kick for both free and back with the ability to bilateral breathe when swimming freestyle. Some knowledge of breaststroke and butterfly is helpful and typically required. Drill progressions in each practice will be used to continue to create a solid foundation that will be built upon as they progress.

Junior I (9 to 12 yrs old)
The Junior I swimmer must be able to swim 75 yards of freestyle and backstroke along with 50 yards of breast and fly. Practices will continue to focus on stroke development through drills while interval training is introduced. Competition increases as additional meets and events become available. Swimmers will begin to be taught about race strategy, and goal setting. Some dryland practices will be introduced.

Currently five practices a week are offered. Attendance at four practices a week is encouraged, especially for second year Junior I swimmers. Minimum attendance of three practices a week is required. For families not looking to make a commitment to practices, we recommend registering for Team Phoenix.

Junior II (10 to 14 yrs old)
The Junior II swimmer who has been on FCA previously has demonstrated the ability to excel during the Junior I workouts. New Junior II swimmers should be able to successfully make 5x100's Free @ 2:00 and/or 5x1:00's IM on 2:15. The Junior II swimmer must be able to complete practices consisting of more interval training and up to an hour and a half. Drill progressions and technique will still be emphasized. Race strategies and goal setting will be expanded. Ideas of work ethic, accountability and commitment to practices will be discussed. More advanced dryland workouts will be introduced.

Currently five main practices a week are offered with the option to attend a morning practices on Tuesday and Thursday. Attendance at four practices a week is recommended. For second year Junior II swimmers hopeful to move to the Senior Group the following year, four practices a week is required. Minimum attendance of three practices a week is required.

Senior (13 & Over)
The Senior swimmer must demonstrate the physical and mental maturities necessary to complete intense practices of up to 2 hours. Swimming, dryland/weight lifting, and mental training opportunities will be provided, giving participants the opportunity to improve and strengthen on a holistic level. Various training plans will be developed for the different skill levels within the group. Coaches will work with swimmers through goal meetings to help them realize their potential.

Attendance expectations: We want our swimmers to be accountable for their practice time with our program. Committing to a rigorous swim schedule is not easy, but constantly showing up is the first step in the pursuit of excellence.

We offer 20+ hours of available practice time per week. The variety of practice options is unique to the FCA program and provides our seniors swimmers with ample opportunities to create their own schedule and meet our practice attendance expectations. For this season, attendance will be based on the total number of practice hours per week. The expectation for swimmers interested in swimming in college or at a higher club level is 11 to 14 hours. The minimum expectation for swimmers is 9 hours/week.

These expectations are flexible during the high school season or for an additional sport season (Water polo, field hockey, basketball, etc.), but swimmers should still be between 6 to 9 hours. We know that some of our swimmers participate in extracurriculars or other seasonal sports and that is why we have the flexible schedule.

We understand that some swimmers who attend other schools may need to leave early from morning practices and that is completely understandable. Please communicate this with Coach Jack or Coach Will ahead of time.

Breakdown of the senior practices on a weekly basis:

Primary Practices (12 hrs)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 7:20pm-9:00pm

Tuesday, Thursday - 5:45am-7:45am

Saturday - 6:00am-9:00am-One hour dryland (8:00am-9:00am)

Additional Practices (4 hrs)

Tuesday, Thursday - 6:30pm-8:30pm/One hour dryland (6:30pm-7:30pm)/One hour swimming (7:30pm-8:30pm)

Optional/Makeup Practices (5 hrs 45min)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 6:30am-7:45aM

COST
USA Swimming Registration: USA Swimming has changed their registration process and all families will now be responsible for self registering for USA Swimming at the beginning of the season. All swimmers must be registered by September 30th.

FCS STUDENTS

	Mini	Novice	Junior I	Junior II	Senior
Fall/Winter	$965	$1045	$1125	$1185	$1300
Spring/Summer	$700	$765	$880	$955	$1060

NON-FCS STUDENTS

	Mini	Novice	Junior I	Junior II	Senior
Fall/Winter	$1020	$1095	$1175	$1240	$1355
Spring/Summer	$740	$820	$930	$1010	$1115

- Program fees include 2 FCA shirts & 1 FCA Cap (once for whole 2023-2024 season)
- Fees above do not include swim meets entry fees or USA Swimming Registration fee.
- Some practice groups will be required to purchase own training equipment.
- All swimmers must wear a team suit at all meets besides when wearing a tech suit. Team suits are not included in prices above. A team store website is located at the top of the web browser.

DISCOUNTS
Families with multiple kids on the team will receive $50 toward swim meet credits for 2nd and 3rd kids (each).

REGISTRATION OPENS
Fall/Winter: Monday, August 14th @ 10am
Spring/Summer: Monday, March 11th @ 10am

REGISTRATION DEADLINES
Fall/Winter: Sunday, August 27th. Late registration begins Monday, August 28th.
Spring/Summer: Tuesday, March 26th. Late registration begins, Wednesday, March 27th.
Late Registration Fee: $50

REFUNDS
Refunds: No refunds will be given after week four of each season. From registration to the end of week one, refunds will be allowed minus 10% of program costs. After week two 25%. After week three 50%.