Come Swim with Us!
Swim Team season is a highlight of the summer for many of the families who live in Bradley Farm, and there are many opportunities to get involved with the team.
Competitive Swimming
The Bradley Farm Wave is a proud member of the Herndon Swim League (HSL), a developmental swim league that was formed in 1983 by six local community summer swim teams.
Our league focuses on promoting sportsmanship and helping our swimmers develop fundamental swimming skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. We think this an important mission and strive to provide our participants with an experience that builds skills and strengthens our community.
The summer swim season begins after Memorial Day and concludes in late July. During the season, swimmers in the Bradley Farm Wave join daily practices at the Bradley Farm Pool with our team's coaching staff, where they learn competitive swimming strokes and racing techniques. Swim meets against other HSL teams are held twice weekly, and the team schedules lots of fun events between practices and competitions.
Swimmers in the competitive Bradley Farm Wave must be at least four years old and a resident of Bradley Farm, and they must be able to pass a swimming proficiency evaluation. During the season, swimmers participate in swim meets, where they race against other swimmers in the age group. Swimmers are assigned to age-groups based on their age as of the date of the first swim meet.
Since we participate in a developmental swim league, our rules and procedures tend to be more relaxed compared to other swim leagues in the area. We pride ourselves on giving young athletes a place to start their swimming journey, and many of our swimmers have gone on to compete in competitive leagues across the region using the skills they developed as part of the Bradley Farm Wave!
Junior Wave Program
The Junior Wave is a swimming development program to introduce our youngest neighbors to the world of competitive swimming. Junior Wave participants join swim team practices, where they work on fundamental aquatic skills with a dedicated team of coaches in a separate section of the pool. Children are eligible to join the Junior Wave if they are Bradley Farm residents who are at least four years of age. Eligible participants must be comfortable being in the water while separated from their parents to participate in Junior Wave practices.
During practices, Junior Wave percipients work with their coaches on basic swimming skills, such as floating face-up, floating face-down, kicking against the side of the pool, kicking using a kick board, and blowing bubbles. Once participants are confident kickers and floaters, the coaches will begin to work on stroke techniques using kick boards and pool noodles.
Coaches will work with Junior Wave participants during the swim season to help them achieve the following milestones:
- Swimming the length of the pool without assistance (such as holding onto a coach or holding onto pool structures) and without stopping more than five times.
- Using a kickboard to kick the length of the pool without assistance.
- Floating on their back confidently and without assistance.
Coaches will assess the skill level of the participants each week and recommend swimmers who are ready to join the competitive team, where they can participate in practices and compete in swim meets.
Junior Wave participants who have not yet mastered their fundamental skills are encouraged to participate in the team's events, where they can meet new friends and learn more about what it is like to be on a summer swim team.
The Junior Wave program culminates each season with our official Junior Wave swim meet! The Junior Wave meet is held during a regularly scheduled morning practice near the end of the season, where older swimmers from the competitive team serve in volunteer roles and run the swim meet while parents get to watch their swimmers show off all their hard work from the season.
