Swimming at NASS

sturner11

5-Year Member
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Mar 9, 2010
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I have heard from a few people that it would be wise to come to NASS ready to swim.
How much swimming actually goes on at NASS?
Are there any tests or things of the sort involving swimming?
 
Unless NASS has changed from when my Mid was there, you should bring a swimsuit, but don't worry too much if you don't know how to really swim. They realize that lots of people don't know how to swim. They did NOT do any sort of swim test. They did do PT in and around the pool.

Even during Plebe summer, they did more water safety drills (drown-proofing) than anything. At the end of Plebe summer, my Mid had the chance to validate out of Plebe swimming, but wasn't quite fast enough. She did validate Youngster swimming, since that's a longer distance with a bit slower pace.
 
We didn't "swim" last year at NASS. We did do a lot of PT and competitions in the water in our sweats during mock sea trials, though.
 
DD reports that from last summer's NASS that they did "water push-ups" which means that with both hands on the side of the pool they went up and down a whole bunch of times. They also had to tread water for a period of time - she can't remember duration. She says there were kids who had a very difficult time with the water tread...there were clip boards with notes being taken by the detailers.

Part of the overall evaluation? Could be.
 
We didn't "swim" last year at NASS. We did do a lot of PT and competitions in the water in our sweats during mock sea trials, though.

Really? That's surprising. My son's squad leader sent the parents a bunch of pics he'd taken and most of the ones of my son are in the pool or on the pool deck. Think they did a lot of swimming!
 
we did do a significant amount of swimming at NASS last year. It wouldn't have been bad at all but we did a lot of pushups before going in the pool and we had to lift ourselves up on the edge of the pool (kinda like a vertical pushup). Those things made the swimming pretty difficult. oh and just for fun we had to walk around the pool while crouched down with our hands behind our head and quack like ducks. That part was pretty funny but it's a thigh burner. I'm an average swimmer that only swims at pool parties and stuff and I did fine without any training. You should realize though that this is the NAVAL Academy and being in the Navy means potentially having to jump off a boat to save yourself so you should at least know how to swim before going to NASS. Hope this helps :thumb:
 
I agree as far as the ability. My son said that there were a few people who couldn't swim at all and were taken to a different group, but most people were only average swimmers at best. My son swam competitively when he was around 7 or 8 years old and never has really done anything since then and he said he was one of the better swimmers there. So you don't need to be world class or on a swim team, just comfortable in the water.
 
I went to NASS last year and there were two parts to the swim phase of mock sea trials. The first part was swimming as fast as you could in a relay with your squad. The second part was treading water for 15 minutes (just a guess, felt like forever though). You also had to dive underwater and move an object across the bottom of the pool as a team. And we had to do at least 14 deck pushups, which were pretty hard too.
 
Wow, I totally blanked about that part of mock sea trials! Yes, we did "swim" in the pool. It wasn't really difficult swimming, though. They were more tests of endurance, such as treading water and pushing weights on the bottom of the pool floor. I was also surprised by the lack of some of the attendees' swimming abilities. One guy who told me the day before he was hoping to become a SEAL could barely swim at all :eek:.
 
So what type of swim suit is appropriate...son knows how to swim, has never done it competitively but like most teens has long wild looking swim trunks, longer the better. I know speedo not right, but should he get something a bit more cozy?
 
Always cracks me up that people join the Navy but can't swim. I know it is pretty common because my older son was a swim instructor when he was at boot camp. (That is, he helped teach others who were weak or non-swimmers so they could pass their tests.) Both of my boys love the water but were never competitive swimmers, and both say that the required swimming is not difficult, though it can be exhausting.

DS says he didn't take a swimsuit to NASS. They swam in PT gear.
 
My son just brought his basic "jams type" swimsuit. Yes, the "longer is better" style. From the pics I saw, seems like most the guys had those, not the speedos or shorter suits. Sure that changes at the academy!
 
I went to NASS last year and there were two parts to the swim phase of mock sea trials. The first part was swimming as fast as you could in a relay with your squad. The second part was treading water for 15 minutes (just a guess, felt like forever though). You also had to dive underwater and move an object across the bottom of the pool as a team. And we had to do at least 14 deck pushups, which were pretty hard too.

14 deck pushups? You got off easy! My platoon was one of the last to go through the pool phase last year and all we did was deck pushups, flutter kicks, and regular pushups!

I wouldn't worry about the swimming too much at NASS if you're competent. I'm a decent swimmer, but I couldn't tread water to save my life. I was still able to get an appointment, so the swimming phase isn't a deal breaker for your application.
 
for the girlsswim wear i know it said one piece, i'm nt like a competetive swimmer so i don't have a one piece and all the ones i've found aren't very well i guess you could say appropriate for something like this. does anybody know if we HAVE to have one or can we just wer like shorts and a shirt or something?
 
for the girlsswim wear i know it said one piece, i'm nt like a competetive swimmer so i don't have a one piece and all the ones i've found aren't very well i guess you could say appropriate for something like this. does anybody know if we HAVE to have one or can we just wer like shorts and a shirt or something?

Definitely need a swimsuit, though the only time I used one was during mock sea trials. I didn't have a one piece either so I had to go out and buy one.
 
Goggles

I know the packing list has a one piece swim suit listed-for girls, but says nothing about goggles. Can you bring, and if so are you allowed to use? Or, would bringing goggles be a complete NASS fopaux?
 
DON'T bring goggles!! They will probably get lost in the shuffle, and you'll also probably get laughed at - just saying. Don't worry about not being a good swimmer, but at the very least, make a legit effort to do everything they ask. It won't look good if you are sitting out.
 
This may not be the right thread to post this in, but how hard is it to join the swimming program at the naval academy? Currently, I do club swimming and my fastest 50 is 25.6 seconds. Is it possible to get scouted or anything like that during NASS?
 
There is an opportunity to meet the coaches during a "meet the coach" session at NASS. You could ahead of time, fill out the information on the USNA/Athletics website and forward specific info to the coaches. If you prepare a swimming "resume" with your times, this gives the coach an idea if you would fall into (or onto) his recruited athlete pile of swimmers. If that is the case, you could be invited to a recruited athlete weekend in the fall. The swim coaches recruit for a specific event, so hopefully you would fall into a category he is looking to fill.

Don't forget, not every swimmer will be in the "A" relay, the coaches need that next tier swimmer on the team as well. You could fill that slot.

Good luck.
 
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