Alto Swim Club Tryouts
Join Alto Swim Club
Looking for a competitive swim team in Palo Alto, Stanford, Portola Valley or the surrounding area?
Alto Swim Club welcomes swimmers interested in joining our year-round competitive swimming program. We offer training groups for developing swimmers through competitive athletes, with an emphasis on excellent technique, long-term athlete development, strong team culture, and helping every swimmer find the right environment to grow.
The first step in joining Alto is a swim team tryout and placement evaluation with one of our coaches.
Our tryouts are designed to be welcoming and low-pressure. The goal is not simply to determine whether a swimmer is "good enough" to join. We want to learn more about each athlete, understand their swimming background and goals, and identify the training group that will provide the best fit.
What Happens at an Alto Tryout?
Most tryouts take approximately 15-30 minutes, depending on the swimmer's age and experience. When you arrive, an Alto coach will meet your swimmer and spend a few minutes learning about their swimming background. We may ask about previous swim lessons or team experience, current training, meet participation, and what your swimmer is hoping to accomplish. The swimmer will then get in the pool for a short evaluation.
Depending on age and experience, coaches may look at:
Comfort and confidence in the water
Technique in all 4 competitive strokes + starts, turns, and underwater skills
Training readiness
Ability to listen to instruction and make adjustments
Age, maturity, and readiness for a particular training environment
For experienced competitive swimmers, coaches may also evaluate training speed, stroke efficiency, current best times, and readiness for the demands of our senior-level training groups.
More Than Just Swimming Ability
Finding the right team and culture fit is an important part of our placement process. We look for swimmers who are motivated to improve, willing to learn, able to work as part of a team, and ready to contribute positively to the training environment. We also value family support of the team experience and an understanding that long-term development requires consistency, communication, patience, and partnership between swimmers, parents, and coaches.
Our goal is to place athletes in an environment where they can be successful now while continuing to develop toward the next level.
What Should My Swimmer Bring?
Swimsuit
Goggles
Towel
Water bottle
Swim cap, if they normally wear one
Parents are welcome to speak with the coach before or after the evaluation. During the swimming portion, we ask parents to allow the coach and swimmer to work together without parent coaching or instruction from the pool deck.
What Happens After the Tryout?
After the evaluation, the coach will discuss the swimmer's recommended placement.
Placement is based on several factors, including:
Age and developmental stage
We want swimmers training with athletes at an appropriate age and developmental level.
Swimming technique and skills
Strong fundamentals are essential before increasing training volume or intensity.
Training readiness
For our more advanced groups, swimmers need to demonstrate the ability to successfully complete the group's training expectations.
Maturity and coachability
Being able to listen, learn, stay engaged, and contribute positively to the group matters.
Competitive experience and performance
Meet results and times can help inform placement, particularly for our senior and high-performance groups, but they are only one part of the evaluation.
If Alto has an appropriate group with availability, our staff will provide information about registration and next steps. In some cases, a coach may recommend additional lessons, technique development, or more swimming experience before joining a particular group.
What Level Does My Swimmer Need to Be?
Alto welcomes new swimmers across a range of competitive swimming experience. Some swimmers join Alto after progressing through swim lessons or summer recreational swimming. Others come to Alto with several years of USA Swimming experience and are pursuing regional, Sectional, National, or collegiate swimming goals.
You do not need to know which Alto training group is right for your swimmer before scheduling a tryout.
Interested in joining Alto?
Complete our Tryout Request Form to tell us a little about your swimmer, including their age, swimming experience, and current level.
An Alto coach will contact you with the appropriate next step and available tryout opportunities.
We look forward to meeting your swimmer and helping you learn more about Alto Swim Club.
Alto Swim Club’s Scholarship Program
Alto Swim Club is excited to be working with Beyond Barriers Athletic Foundation to provide swimming scholarships for eligible families on our Competitive Team, Fitness & Recreational Team or enrolled in Group Swim Lessons. Learn More below!