YNS Competitive Aquatics

YMCA of the North Shore Competitive Aquatics

The YNS Sharks is the YMCA of the North Shore Competitive swim team organization. It is comprised of an Age Group Swim team with approximately 340 swimmers from age 5 to age 18 as well as another approximately 75 adult Masters swimmers.

We are a multi training site team. Our training sites for the Age Group team are:

• Beverly

• Ipswich

• Marblehead

• Salem

Our training sites for Masters:

• Beverly

• Gloucester

• Marblehead

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Program Leadership

You should never hesitate to direct questions to me or anyone on this list. 

Program Structure & Philosophy

What is the mission and vision of our competitive aquatics program?

YNS Mission Statement

Through its key strengths of innovative coaching techniques and strategies and supportive parental involvement, the YNS team is driven towards developing the best combination of competitive swimmers and human beings. The YNS team maintains a strong integration of the core values of the YMCA – Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility while helping to build strong families and strong communities.

 YNS Philosophy

The North Shore YMCA Sharks subscribe to a philosophy of teaching and training that    provides for the maximum long-term performances for its swimmers both in and out of the pool. We are divided into seven (7) different groups based on a variety of factors that include age, ability, maturity, performance and attitude. The center of our coaching philosophy resides with the building of a foundation of strong technique and a love for racing through a strong aerobic base. Leadership and accountability are two essential "life skills" we strive to develop in our athletes.

As swimmers progress through the program they will be given more responsibility for their swims and performances. Swimmers learn self-discipline, time management, sportsmanship and goal setting - important lessons that will help prepare them for life, as well as swimming.

 We’re not just a YMCA Swim Team

The North Shore YMCA Sharks are both a YMCA and a USA Swimming team. That means that we have two governing bodies and can compete in both realms. All of our team members who are competing against other teams are members of USA Swimming and as active members of the Y are also YMCA competitors.

 We are a YEAR ROUND TEAM

Our competitive year is broken down into two components. Short Course (September through March) and Long Course (April through August).

As such, our team tuition is an annual tuition and is not pro rated or adjusted in the vast majority of cases. There are always extenuating circumstances but the main goal behind this is twofold. First, so that our business operating costs are covered for the full year. And second, so that the athletes are taught to make the commitment to the sport and team so they can optimize their personal success and growth.

 What age groups and levels do we offer (e.g., developmental, age group, senior)?

Ages of swimmers ranges from 5 - 18 and advancement is based on coach evaluations and decisions but involve age, ability and appropriate social maturity

We evaluate and place swimmers with 3 goals:

1. Place them in the most appropriate group for success on their own terms, which

2. Allows them to have the most fun, and

3. Make friends

If we are successful in these three things we will have a greater chance of having that swimmer stay with us through high school graduation

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What’s the difference between the recreational swim program and the competitive team?

In the context of our YMCA, recreational swimming is lessons, swim club and lap swimming. Competitive Swimming is committing to the YNS team membership and practicing as an athlete towards competition.

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How do athletes progress through the different levels of the team?

All swimmers from the youngest to the oldest advance based on skill development and performance. Each swimmer is evaluated by a coach as they enter the team and as they progress through the season and compete in meets.

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What’s the tryout or evaluation process like?

It is a very simple process:

• Whether they come from our swim lessons or the outside

  • Parents reach out to the Lead Site Coach at each location

  • An agreed upon day and time are set

  • The evaluation process itself is approximately 20 minutes:

    • Introductions

    • Brief conversation/ Q&A

    • In water demonstration of the swimmers skills to ensure proper placement

    • Not all swimmers are accepted - some are referred back to lessons with targeted skills to work on so that they can be re-evaluated at a later date

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Team Logistics & Schedules

What is the practice schedule for each group?

Practice schedules are progressive. Youngest swimmers practice for the shortest durations and lowest frequency. As they progress their practice schedule will increase in duration and frequency.
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Y Membership and Team Membership

Every swimmer whether they are an Age Group or Masters swimmer must be an active member of our YMCA. (We’ll discuss exceptions for Masters)

Team Technology and Y Technology - Two separate platforms

The YNS Sharks Swim Team uses a platform for technology called SportsEngine or Team Unify. It is a separate website application that is generally accepted throughout the swim world that serves many different purposes in the management and operation of swim teams across the U.S. and internationally.

Our website is ynssharks.net and it is where we manage everything from enrollment to communication, team culture, competitive meet set up, entries, parent and swimmer communication, attendance and competitive fee billing. This is a site that coaches, administrative staff and swim families are invited to have access with various levels of permissions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: YNS Swim Team and DAXKO - For team tuition purposes only the YNS swim team payment processing is done through Daxko. That means that the active rosters of the team are contained in Daxko under each swimmer or swim families’ membership records.

*All Competitive Fees for Swim Meets are billed through our team website (without exception)

ALL registrations for swim team are handled by the coaching staff. There are some exceptions that are handled in concert with select members of the Admin Team which are typically. The reason that this practice is in place is so that it is controlled by the staff that is most familiar with the swimmers and their placement on the team. Additionally, unlike other programs, Swim Team registration is hidden from the public to prevent people from making registration errors.

IMPORTANT NOTE for YNS MASTERS Swim Team and DAXKO- 

• YNS Masters also has its own website ynsmasters.net for the purposes of managing everything for the Masters team with the exception of program payment processing. 

• While Masters coaches register the swimmers on the team website, ALL Masters swimmers are required to be registered in Daxko for payment processing. 

  • Add a Masters Swim Fee to Daxko Membership

• Unlike other programs, Masters swimming is treated like a special version of a membership. That is done simply because the program is continuous and by making it self-renewing the payments do not stop and our revenue stream is also continuous. 

• Each Masters swimmer can work with the coach in the event they are taking a leave, a break or will be out for a month or two selectively, which can and does happen seasonally.

YNS Age Group/ Masters Swim Team and FLEX PRICING- 

• Both competitive swim teams follow the same matrix for Flex Pricing strategies as other programming. 

• If a swim team family expresses a concern with pricing they are encouraged/directed to apply for assistance through the normal process and all of those requests are coordinated internally by the Association Director and the respective Membership staff. 

• We work together to make sure that it is coordinated and then applied appropriately. In the event that there are extenuating circumstances, the Association Director will work with the family and if necessary make further adjustments to pricing assistance and or billing frequency.

Swim Meets 

The Age Group swim team hosts meets approximately ten times per year at the Greater Beverly Y. That location is our competitive hub, has the largest pool and can accommodate the most swimmers and spectators.

In the event that there is an upcoming meet, the team leadership and the GBY leadership and staff have a logistical and communication plan that is created about six months in advance. That allows us to:

• Communicate by email to members and lap swimmers

• Communicate with signage inside the building

• Redirect other programs or events so that we mitigate people, program and parking traffic to the greatest extent possible.

Swim meets can be one, two or three days in length depending on the type of meet.

Pre Team meets - Three times per year (December, March and July) we also run a pre team swim meet. This allows the pre team swimmers to compete against all of the other YNS pre team swimmers and get the opportunity to show off their skills, learn how to swim at a meet and also bring their parents into the fold of participating and volunteering. It is typically their last step before moving up to their first competitive level of the team. It’s fun, cute, brief (90 minutes or so) and pretty impressive to watch the youngest athletes swim in races of each stroke.