How difficult is it to swim competitively in college with relatively low experience?
I am a junior, and this is my first year swimming competitively. I love it a lot, but I'm worried that my lateness to the sport will limit my options as far as carrying my swimming "career" into college. I'm decently fast for how long I've been competing--I currently swim a 1:08.13 for the 100 free, 1:31.20 for the 100 fly, and a 0:31.77 for the 50 free (all short course, women's events), and I'm expecting to drop even more time for my last meet of the season (which takes place next week). I've dropped 13 seconds on my 100 free, 40 seconds on my 100 fly, and 7 seconds on my 50 free since the start of the season, and I think I have the potential to be even faster--but the problem is that I don't have enough time/experience to drop my times to anything super incredible. I feel like, given the opportunity in college, I could do even more, but I want to know what odds I'm up against based the experience I have. I know it varies from college to college, so my main picks are BYU, University of Utah, Stanford, or really any other good universities (particularly in the West, but I've considered University of Maryland, etc--nothing outside the US). How do I stack up? Obviously swimming for Stanford (or even going to Stanford) is most likely not going to happen, but if anyone has any advice for being able to swim in college, please let me know! #swimming #stanford #byuprovo #college #sports
2 answers
Taylor’s Answer
Amara’s Answer
Hi Jeniel! I will be honest with you. Playing a sport in college is a challenge, but it’s definitely something you can accomplish, and it’s very rewarding. I was a collegiate athlete at the Division I level at the University of Texas at Arlington. The experience doesn’t play so much of a role in getting the chance to participate at the collegiate level. There are a lot of factors that can play a role. In my case, my qualities as a student and my academic record helped me earn a scholarship to play over other possible recruits. A lot of coaches stress that you are a STUDENT-athlete, which means you are a student first. They want someone who is passionate and competitive in their sport, but they also want someone that will represent their school well in the classroom, on campus, on the court or in the pool, and in public in general. My advice to you is to keep working on your swimming skills, but maintain your focus on your studies first. Reach out to some of the coaching staff at schools you are interested in. Keep your head up and keep improving! Stay optimistic, and work hard. You can do this!