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Thank you for your interest in joining one of the North Suburban
Aquatic Club’s many attractive programs. We offer
programs for swimmers of all ages and skill levels. Please
see details below.
Information regarding the club and its Board of
Directors can be found on this website, or in our Club Member
Handbook. Please look around, and if you have
any questions at all about NSAC, please contact our Head Coach,
Tricia Wallace, at 612.532.0164 or
triciaNSACswimming@gmail.com. We look forward to having you
be a part of our great organization!
For questions about joining NSAC, please contact our
Registrar.
Sue Nygaard
registrar@nsmakos.org
763-785-6403
10195 Isetta St NE
Circle Pines, MN 55014
FAQ’s
Q: How many different groups does NSAC
have and what is the difference between
them?
Here at NSAC we have eight different programs ranging from our
introduction to competitive swimming program for young children to
our Masters program for adults. Each program
is specifically designed to meet the individual needs and
abilities of your swimmer. Our goal is to have each swimmer
in a group and with a coaching staff that focuses on the things
that he or she needs to improve. For detailed information
regarding each of these programs, please
click
here.
Q: Who decides what program my swimmer is placed in
and what is this decision based on?
Placement in all of
our programs is determined by the coaching staff with the best
interest of each swimmer in mind. The decision regarding
placement is depends on a number of criteria, but the ability level
of each swimmer is the most important factor. It is our goal
to never place a swimmer in a program for which they are not ready,
as this will harm their long term development.
The age of a swimmer is also a factor that is considered when
determining placement, but usually still only in the context
of ability. For example, a 14 year old starting out swimming
for the first time will likely still be a much stronger
swimmer than an 8 year old just beginning, so they would not be
placed in the same program. We also understand that
associating with other kids of the same age is a large part of the
fun that our swimmers have, so every effort will be made to keep
swimmers in their same peer group.
Q: How will I know what program to enter my swimmer
in?
Because placement is based mostly on
individual ability and age, we cannot accurately know which program
is best for your swimmer until our coaching staff sees him or her
swim. For this reason, we use the first week or two
weeks that a swimmer is with the club to determine
which program is best for each swimmer. Until then, however,
to get the best idea about which program a swimmer will likely
belong in, we encourage you to speak to our Head Coach, Tricia
Wallace, at 612.532.0164 or triciaNSACswimming@gmail.com.
Q: How often do you practice and
where?
The number and
duration of practices depends on each program. In general,
our Bronze and Silver Teams will meet 5 practices per
week for 1 - 1 1/4 hours Gold Team 6 days per week for 1 1/2 - 1
3/4 hours, Juniors Team six practices per week for 2
hours and Senior and National Team will swim 9 times
per week for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The Masters and High School
Maintenance groups have 3-6 practices per week for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2
hours.
We swim out of the District 621 schools, including the pools at
Irondale High School, Chippewa Middle School and Edgewood Middle
School. During the summer, our long-course practices
will also include swimming at the Northwest St. Paul Family YMCA
and/or other area 50-meter pools as scheduled each summer.
Current practice times and locations are available on the website
under "Practice Calendars". Every effort is made to post the
calendar a month in advance.
Q: Are practices required?
None of our
practices are required (except for the National group which does
carry an attendance requirement for participation), although
attendance at the recommended levels is strongly encouraged, as the
more time a swimmer spends in the pool, the quicker they will learn
the skills they need to advance to the next program.
Q: Where can I find more information on
NSAC’s coaching staff?
Here at NSAC we pride ourselves
on having an enthusiastic, well trained and
professional coaching staff. Each of our programs has a
Lead Coach that is ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association)
certified. In addition, NSAC also has several assistant
coaches who work at all levels to provide as much coaching to our
swimmers as possible. For detailed biographies on all members
of our coaching staff,
click
here.
Q: Does NSAC attend swim meets, and if so, is
attendance at these meets required?
We do consider
ourselves to be a competitive swim club, so attending swim meets is
an important part of our learning and growing process. Our
Competitive programs attend one or two meets per month
(meets for our adult Masters program are occasionally offered as
well), and while we do not require attendance at any of our meets,
we do strongly encourage swimmers to participate in as many as
they can as requested by their lead coach.
Q: How much does it
cost?
Our fees vary based primarily on
the amount of practice offered per week and level of coaching
offered at each program level. We also offer a multiple
swimmer discount for those families with multiple swimmers in our
programs, and a discount for swimmers new to the
Club.
Click
here for
the current monthly fees schedule.
Q: How do I sign
up?
Please read our
registration policies, available in the Member Handbook or by
clicking here.
To
register:
New
swimmers: Access the Online Registration process by
clicking
"Start
Registration" found on the left column of the website and
choose the "I am not sure if I have an acount" option and folllow
the prompts. Once you have submitted your online application,
it will be reviewed by the registrar who will then contact you by
email or phone to verify your desired trial week start
date. You cannot attend practice until you have been
contacted by the registrar to confirm your acceptance into our
programming. If you decide to join after the trial week, your
account will be billed the monthly session fees (INCLUDING THE
TRIAL PERIOD) plus any applicable USA registration fees. The
monthly fee can be prorated to the half-month for mid-month
starts. Masters swimmers please use the
link here:
www.usms.org/reg/ to
purchase your annual Masters registration
after your trial (required for NSAC Masters
participation).
Returning NSAC
swimmers: Access the Online Registration process by
clicking the "Start
Registration" link in the left column of the website and choose
one of the "I have an account" options and follow the
prompts. Once you have submitted your application to
re-activate your membership, you will be contacted by the registrar
to verify your start date and determine your fees. Monthly
fees can be prorated to the half-month for mid-month starts or
withdrawals. You cannot resume practicing until you have been
contacted by the registrar to confirm that your membership is
re-activated.
Sue Nygaard, NSAC
registrar
registrar@nsmakos.org
763-785-6403
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