Caring and experienced coaches, good communication to families, good number of practices per week, racing opportunities up to national level

The youngest kids practices should be focused on fixing and teaching the correct technique instead of making them swimming laps with fins on for most of the entire practice.
They should be able to teach every stroke not mostly freestyle. They should use drills to improve each swimming style.
I have seen the practices focused only on endurance with fins on mostly all the times, and they only swim freestyle.
What about the technique?
The young team needs to focus on technique using drills, not just swim freestyle nonstop so the coaches could enjoy a nice chat with each other.
I wish they could improve on the 7-8 swim group.

Overall it’s a great program, certain things could be a little different as with all programs but it’s an incredible group of talented coaches and kids and we have already referred new teammates. We are constantly complemented by other USA swimming programs how well our athletes are doing once joining gscy.

I valued the importance of reviewing each swimmer’s abilities and potential so they can identify areas for improvement, learn from the process, and continue developing into stronger and better athletes as part of this swim team

Everyone was super responsive and helpful with any question i had

I like the intensity of the training and I’m impressed by the amount of instructions given by the coach during the practice. The athletes also seem to be of high quality. I wish the team only practices at Somerset Hills YMCA. The rest of the sites are a bit spread out.

I would like the coaches to focus on techniques to avoid disqualifications. This was my child's first year on the team and was unsure of the rules and procedures associated with the meets. It would be helpful to have more guidance for first time swimmers.

Just because you guys charge $75 for 5-10 minutes try out. This is outrageous and exploitation.

Having more meets for the kids of all levels. Even if it's ability to go to golds or zones. Continue the open communications that have started. What does it take to move up to the next level.

Schedule updates sooner it's hard to plan. I have people interested in joining, but process for trying out is not clear

We need a dry land coach. Parents are spending money outside of the y for weight training/personal trainers. Give the kids folders so they can track their progress. My swimmers feel all the social media attention is only on the nat swimmers. Include others. Kids watch

The team shows extreme favoritism to fast swimmers. They recently reduced opportunities for swimmers that are not as fast, providing unequal access to practice/training opportunities, including for those athletes with disabilities. This communicates to both families and athletes the lack of value and importance they have to the team. Whomever decided to implement this new program completely disregarded the impact of these decisions on athletes' self-esteem. All of this is very inconsistent with what the ymca's mission is supposed to be. I do not recommend this team to families unless their swimmers are very talented.

Transparency and fairness. Equal opportunity. Coaches are top notch, provide good feedback and are approachable. Great team spirit.

My kids switched to this team before 8th and 10th grade. The level of training is excellent. But the thing that makes it superior is the team atmosphere. Swimmers encourage an push each other in a positive way and the coaches take time to know the kids as athletes and people. Highly recommend.

Friendly coaching staff, and felt very personal and have the kids a chance to get to know the with future coach. Not just a number

We are excited to have our daughter start swim school this September. While learning swimming skills at the YMCA, we found the faculty members to be incredibly patient, encouraging, and professional. Their positive energy and dedication have made a noticeable difference in our daughter's confidence and enthusiasm in the water. We're truly grateful for the supportive environment they create!

Only thing you need to improve is keeping the timing for each day same

Coach Jesse was so caring during the whole tryout experience, professional and patient. Excited to kick off Waves Team experience next season with STORM!

My daughter participated in the tryouts for the 11-12 age group. Afterward, we were informed that there wasn't space available for that group and were encouraged to try other teams. I understand that teams have limits and selections are competitive, but I believe that if there is no real availability, it might be more considerate not to hold tryouts for that particular group. It's not just about the financial and time commitment involved for families, but also the emotional impact on children who put in the effort and face rejection for reasons beyond their control. Clear communication beforehand could help parents and players make informed choices about where to invest their energy. I share this feedback with the hope that it can help improve the process moving forward, ensuring that families have the best experience possible. Thank you for your time and understanding.

Team wise all good! But in order to accommodate parents during the pickup and drop, they should arrange lobby place to wait in Somerville YMCA! Since we don't have any place to wait due to construction work, most of the parents are hanging around the deck! Time being you should allow to sit in the deck!

The coaches could provide more feedback on improving technique.

The team is currently looking great

Love that the bar is set high!

Tryouts we attended were very well organized.

Very good trainers

Excellent Program and coaching staff.

Excellent coach

Great atmosphere for the kids, provides structure for them and a sense of being part of a team.

great

The coaches and the great location of SHY and PVP pool to our home in Bernardsville

Excellent program and coaches!

The team is entirely too large. No dual meets like it used to be. The point system is ridiculous. There is no incentive to volunteer after the points are made. Right now it is just a means to an end. We are very unhappy with this team and what it's become.

I would like to see a more precovid mindset return. We lost a lot of our team unity during Covid and the merger. It is slowly returning, which is great to see but we still have some ways to go. It has been hard to establish our new identity and get parents, swimmers, coaches, administrators to all buy into a common goal.

The practices, the meets and the great time for my kid has been amazing. Coach Kat has been an amazing addition. I would say most of the coaching staff was amazing, but I did have some issues with coach Jen who clearly showed favoritism to some swimmers. And would hand out gifts and candy to those swimmers infront of other girls which deflated my child quite a bit.

Do a better job retaining coaches. Don't have late practice times for younger kids. Have a consistent set of coaches for a practice group. It's a problem that the team is too large to schedule meets. Fix the parent volunteering system. There are more volunteers needing to earn points than there are volunteer slots across the season.

To be honest the fees went up and now also paying for meets and swimming membership. Being fined if don't volunteer for meets but can't sign up for positions just get randomly assigned.

Too much favoritism

Other competitive teams offer more flexibility with their swimmers' schedule in recognition that swimmers may have other sports, activities, interests or social engagements they may want to participate in. So if the requirements is to swim 5-6 times per week, the swimmer can choose which days that will work best for them.

ITS an amazing and more importantly my girl enjoys her pratices

The coaches are truly wonderful!

It has been great experience since my daughter join GSCY team!

Great team. Very good exercise for children.

Swimmers need more opportunities to compete/get times. So far this season very few opportunities for meets and those swimmers with goals of States of higher have limited chances.

Very healthy program.

Fantastic team, with great discipline and fun, great coaches and wonderful group of parents. I had no idea how helpful the whole team experience was going to be and I am so happy that we jumped at this opportunity.

We love the team. Coaches are fantastic!

We are a first year swim family for my 10 yr old. He is really happy being part of this team. I see his pride in keeping up with a group that expects his full participation, dedication, and independence. He has made great friends and enjoys seeing them at practices and meets. I'm ecstatic that he's able to see his growth as a swimmer through consistency and dedication and that is growing his love for swim even more. I love seeing how dedicated the coaches are to the team. They take it seriously and that inspires me to also show my child the importance of dedication and consistency.

We need more coaches, more practice time flexibility, and to stop raising registration fees every year. This year's increase was dramatic.

More good , fast meets

The team has made my kids resilient, given them great coaches and role models to look up to and a great group of friends. What they have learnt being a part of the swim team will serve them well their whole lives!