USA and HS Swim Teams (house, transfer, neighborhoods)

[Bmlove]

We are moving to COS from overseas and trying to get a good picture of the HS Boys and USA Swimming Clubs in town. We will have a Sophomore who focuses on sprinting. We unfortunately will need to make decisions about where to live before we arrive and need to figure out which schools are best (academic and sports) so we can pick neighborhoods, etc.

Option #1: live on FT Carson or West of 115 and attend CMHS and swim for either Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics or CSST

Option #2: live just South of AFA or Briargate area and attend Air Academy High and swim with Falfins.

Opinions on these HS or club coaches would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bmlove]

Oh and how hard is it to get into CMHS or Air Academy HS after open enrollment has ended? We won't be able to enroll until July/Aug....will all of the available slots be taken??

Thanks!

[otowi]

If you will be living in their attendance areas, it wouldn't be an issue.

[Bmlove]

If we take quarters on Carson we wouldn't be within CMHS attendance boundaries. How difficult would it be to get a spot if we don't arrive until after open enrollment closes in early Spring? Also, we are considering living up North but if we find a house in say Briargate he'd prefer to attend Air Academy. Do you have a better chance (higher priority) if you are a within district transfer vice out of district? Living in Carson I believe we'd be District 8

[otowi]

I don't know how all districts work, but in my district it makes no difference whether you're in or out of district, spots are first-come, first-served. I don't know if those schools will take you in July - some places are happy to have kids at any time if they have room, others are happier to turn you down if they don't have to take you. There are swimming programs in all the schools - would it be so terrible if son swam at his local school for a year? Oh, but just be careful about transfers - I don't know all the details but I know that sometimes people transferring in from out of area are ineligible to compete for a year....

[Bmlove]

Thanks…good to know. We'd like to avoid having him move schools during HS…we're military and he's already had to chance schools so much during his life. As I understand it if he transfers schools (without us moving) then he would loose a year of eligibility to play Varsity sports (this would kill him) so we'd like to get him settled into his school and keep him there until graduation. I also understood that if you lived in the boundaries for a school they had to take you, is that not correct?

Not all swim programs are the same. He's a highly ranked swimmer so he would be swimming for a USA Swimming club team as well as his high school team.

[Bmlove]

**change schools

[ebbe]

Why don't you check out the club team websites and you can get a feel for the coaches and the level of swimmer. Check out some finals results and see how the swimmers rank. This will give you an idea who is consistently making top tier/zones/jr olympic times, and lead you to the club that will offer what you want.

You know the USOC training center is in Co Springs.

[Bmlove]

Thank you ebbe. We've looked over the sites for CMA, CSST and Falfins and have spoken with the coaches via email but that only gets you so much. We have a good idea about their level of swimmers what I was really hoping for was that personal insight from families familiar with the teams…sort of the Paul Harvey "rest of the story"… i.e., this guy produces great swimmers but they all burn out and quit by college, or this guy is shady and gives us the willies, etc. :-)

[klawed]

I would choose Air Academy and Falfins over CMA.

I think it would be quite difficult to get into the HS after the enrollment window closes. If you live in the boundaries there won't be a problem. However, if you don't then you don't get to choose what school he will be assigned for swimming. There is a lottery and they have very strict rules about recruiting.