I’m thinking about doing a Masters swim program at Fleet Swim Club in Cypress. Anyone have any experience with that program? My son has done swimming lessons at Fleet for the past two years but he is 4 so he’s not a great source of wisdom. I know the place well and know their reputation. I have no experience with the Masters program though and want some feedback.
Thanks!
Don’t really know much about their Masters program. Didn’t realize they had one. I swam their as a kid in the 80’s. Im sure if Coach Cagle’s involved in the Masters program it’s good.
If The Woodlands is in anyway convenient for you though the Woodlands Masters program is the best around.
agreed.
not to mention the facilities at The Woodlands is second to no one…
I live in Cypress. The Woodlands is in no way convenient. Fleet is literally a 2 mile drive for me.
It appears the Masters coach’s name is Allen Salinas. I was told that he does triathlons so that sounds promising.
The Woodlands uses the CISD pool and the North Hampton pool. Not sure if either is close to you.
Plus there is the 90 min Sunday workout I like. Good luck.
Casey
I did the masters program @ Fleet for about 1 month over the summer in prep for IMKY. Coach Allen is a great coach and tailors your workouts according to your swim level. Every workout I did was an ass-kicker and enjoyed every one of them. I’d say on average, you’d have about 10 swimmers total, but it’s nice to be able to do sets with other swimmers so that you got pushed a bit out of your comfort zone. It would be well worth it, especially since it’s only 2 miles from your house.
Thanks for that reply.
I assume you explained to him your situation with training for the IM and he tailored the workout that way (ie. freestyle endurance/speed). My fear is going to the program and they waste time trying to teach me the butterfly stroke or something equally pointless for my purposes.
Ha! That’s funny you mention that. I mentioned to the coach my goals and what I was training for because like you, I didn’t want to waste my time doing anything other than freestyle and knocking out the distance. Well, we still did sets/drills that included all 4 strokes, but I now believe that doing the other strokes was beneficial for me. It really does make you stronger as a swimmer and freestyle. It helps build other swimming muscles that in turn help support the muscles needed to have a better free. I think you’ll come to that same conclusion if you decide to do the Masters program.
It’s absolutely beneficial to do stroke work (i.e. non-freestyle). Historically I’m a distance swimmer but find that a stroke day after a tough day of 200’s or 500’s really helps out.
Having said that I wouldn’t spend much time “learning” strokes you don’t already know. Even if you don’t “know” back and breast right now they don’t really take too much effort to pickup. Fly on the otherhand takes some time at least it always has for me and I’ve been swimming for 30 years.
I hear what you are all saying about the other strokes helping out the freestyle swim. I’m sure it does. I just don’t see a point in practicing another stroke I will never use. I’m sure running backwards helps my leg muscles in a way that will benefit my normal run. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do it. 
I’m going to take a whole lot of convincing. I’ll have a conversation with Coach Allen and see how it goes.