Plebe summer swimming

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HopefulMid

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So USNA is my first choice for college and I was wondering what some of the swimming workouts entailed over plebe summer. I just wonder if they will be extremely hard even if you are on a competitive swim team like me, or if they will be accommodating to the people who may not be the best of swimmers, or if the intensity just depends on your ability to swim. Thanks!
 
If you are a competitive swimmer you will be fine. Plebe Summer swimming is pretty easy. A lot of stroke fundamentals, some lap swimming, floating, treading water, etc. If you are comfortable in the water it’s actually really easy and more than anything is nice to cool off and give your body a break. It’s really more an intro to the future swim classes, identify those who needs remedial (or can’t swim) and a wake up for some that they will need to work on their swimming as they enter the ac year. As a competitive swimmer you will have no issues.
 
NavyHoops said:
If you are a competitive swimmer you will be fine. Plebe Summer swimming is pretty easy. A lot of stroke fundamentals, some lap swimming, floating, treading water, etc. If you are comfortable in the water it’s actually really easy and more than anything is nice to cool off and give your body a break. It’s really more an intro to the future swim classes, identify those who needs remedial (or can’t swim) and a wake up for some that they will need to work on their swimming as they enter the ac year. As a competitive swimmer you will have no issues.
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Thank you so much!
 
You will also be able to help classmates, a good thing to have in your tool kit, as they may be able to help you in another area during the 4 years.
 
NavyHoops said:
If you are a competitive swimmer you will be fine. Plebe Summer swimming is pretty easy. A lot of stroke fundamentals, some lap swimming, floating, treading water, etc. If you are comfortable in the water it’s actually really easy and more than anything is nice to cool off and give your body a break. It’s really more an intro to the future swim classes, identify those who needs remedial (or can’t swim) and a wake up for some that they will need to work on their swimming as they enter the ac year. As a competitive swimmer you will have no issues.
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Concur. The swimming program in general is not too difficult for most but also not a cakewalk either although the more difficult aspects are well after Plebe Summer as the program has pieces in each year's Phys Ed classes.
In my day, one of the roughest parts of plebe summer swimming was the ridiculously small speedos that were issued to us.
 
txfwindian said:
my DD is in this category and if she earns an appointment she plans to go thru some swim lessons and get feel.
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Great plan. Gaining confidence and comfort in the water is a great foundation.

Even if she doesn’t earn an appointment, it’s a good idea to have basic water skills. The Y always has good classes, especially for adult non-swimmers.
 
My son wasn’t a good swimmer. He was going to practice it beforehand but didn’t. He was fine PS and has improved since then. Academic year you have to take swim classes if you don’t validate. Competitive swimmers will validate.

If you have a fear of the water, I would recommend practice to overcome that fear before the summer.
 
txfwindian said:
my DD is in this category and if she earns an appointment she plans to go thru some swim lessons and get feel.
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Yes like Capt MJ said, the Y is a wonderful place to learn to swim and to competitively swim. It’s where I learned to swim and I haven’t stopped since then.
 
🙋‍♀️ Owner of an Aquarock here. He did fine. And he isn’t alone in his Aquarock class.
 
If the problem is lack of technical skills, going without any prep is fine.
If the challenge is fear of the water, trouble putting the head under, breathing or getting in the deep end, jumping in and going under, some classes or lessons in advance would help with managing some of that.
 
If someone is not comfortable in the water or doesn’t know how to swim I would say to take classes. It will make life a lot better at USNA. If you can stay afloat and won’t panic in the water, you will be fine and can work on it there. For anyone that is comfortable in the water, you will be fine and have no issues. I did not swim in high school, but grew up in the pool and at the beach. I love the water. I never did conditioning swimming a single time at USNA. I actually only swam in PE class if I didn’t have a game that day. I still managed a B on the 40 year and other swim classes.
 
Plebe year swim class was hard for my son. He thought he was a strong swimmer (did mile swim in Scouts, lifesaving etc.) but he cut body fat down dramatically and became an aqua rock. Since our Y just opened back up he is in the pool doing laps to prep for Youngster swim. Also, he put in an hour in the (not so nice) MacD pool every day to make it thru Plebe swim. For many, it was a cakewalk but not for him. Some (like DS) validated wrestling and others validated swim.
 
If you have never had swimming lessons as a kid, if you have no idea how to do strokes other than freestyle (i.e., backstroke, sidestroke), if you aren't comfortable in the water . . . I suggest taking lessons between appointment and I-Day. [Obviously, this is for future candidates.]

I showed up at USNA having had swim lessons and having spent much of my youth at the community pool during the summer.s Never swam competitively. I had no trouble with USNA swimming -- earned Bs but wasn't good enough (i.e., fast enough) to earn As. Unless things have changed, if you've swum competitively, you will likely either validate swimming or earn easy As.

If you've never swum, USNA will teach you. Had friends in this position -- came from an area where no one swims so it was all new. They got through but really hated every moment of swim class. Try to avoid that if you can.
 
"Comfortable in the Water" is really the key -- during the 4 year USNA swim program, you will learn to do all sorts of things in the water. It gets even better if you go Aviation, where mad scientists have come up with a variety of devices designed to drown you ! There is plenty of opportunity to learn to swim at USNA , and they are prepared to work with anyone from the Aquarock to Swimming superstar.

The competitive swimmer will not have any issue with either Plebe Summer swimming, or the swimming curriculum. In fact, they give you an opportunity to validate most of the swimming classes .. I was not a competitive swimmer (at least after about 12 years old ), but was comfortable in the water and a strong swimmer back in the day....and I validated each swimming class . (You show up the first day of PE class, pass the test and then get to skip subsequent classes -- that extra 2-3 hours free time each week was great, particularly during Plebe year).
 
ders_dad said:
Some (like DS) validated wrestling and others validated swim.
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Just curious- does this mean they get to choose between them? I've heard about plebe wrestling, boxing and swim and thought they had to do all three. Do they choose / get assigned just one?
 
BrightSide said:
Just curious- does this mean they get to choose between them? I've heard about plebe wrestling, boxing and swim and thought they had to do all three. Do they choose / get assigned just one?
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You either validate them or you take them.

My son took all three.

He would take me in a swim race now. He can’t take me in boxing or wrestling still. ;)
 
During Plebe Summer at swim DD's instructor asked if she had ever had training No but Dad showed me. Never had instruction but she grew up in the Ocean and any water available. Comfortable is the operative word. One year at Cherry Point tour I was talking to the rescue aircraft commander while the crew was doing the talk. He said Do you see that Kid? When he joined the Marines he wanted to be a rescue swimmer. He failed two years in a row. Went to YMCA for a year and then qualified. That last year he had pulled two pilots out of the Ocean off Carolina. I think the drop off the (semi) big board is worse.
 
I gleefully ran off the 10-meter platform in my 20's. Not afraid of heights at all. Those were the days when I was bulletproof and beer was a food group, however. I must admit that it may give me a bit of pause now, though. :)
 
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