Debating doing College Swimming... Never Swam Competitively

Here is the low down guys. I am a Sophomore at a pretty average division 1 university. I am a member of the cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams so i have been competitively racing for almost 6 years. I have never swam on a team before but... I want to! I feel as if I've gone mad. I want to try in college!! Next year, not this year, I need to get my base up i know that. off of 2 swims a week (500yards) i swim 500 yards free in 7:48 as of yesterday (you dont need to tell me how slow that is I already know). I am not afraid of hard work, swimming 2+ hours a day I can do that. I want to try! can anyone tell me what I need to do to see if i can get to around 5 flat in the 500 yard free? or a fast 1000 time it doesn't matter, just good enough to walk on the team. the weird thing is, i think I am a better swimmer than I am a runner. the pool just seems to click for me. can anyone help me out? I am willing to swim every day from now till next swim season to make this dream a reality! ...ps i'm a guy if that matters Even a pretty average D1 program is going to be pretty intense for a novice swimmer. 1 year may not even be enough time to get you fast enough to make regular sets that a D1 program would be working on. No doubt you'll have to be a walk on, and it will depend if the team is accepting walkon's of your caliber or not. I would start by talking with the coach if you haven't already. Tell him/her about your goals and see what their recommendation is. Alot will probably depend on how full their program currently is. If you haven't already you should probably join a club team. Even consider a USAS club team if there is one nearby. Good luck on your progress. You'll need to work out like "Rudy" to pull off times like that in one year. It takes most people lots of hard work (2-4 hours a day) and dedication for 3-4 years in HS to make a 5 flat 500 time or even close. I realize you're probably starting stronger and smarter than the average HS freshman, but still YMMV.

Here is the low down guys. I am a Sophomore at a pretty average division 1 university. I am a member of the cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams so i have been competitively racing for almost 6 years. I have never swam on a team before but... I want to! I feel as if I've gone mad. I want to try in college!! Next year, not this year, I need to get my base up i know that. off of 2 swims a week (500yards) i swim 500 yards free in 7:48 as of yesterday (you dont need to tell me how slow that is I already know). I am not afraid of hard work, swimming 2+ hours a day I can do that. I want to try! can anyone tell me what I need to do to see if i can get to around 5 flat in the 500 yard free? or a fast 1000 time it doesn't matter, just good enough to walk on the team. the weird thing is, i think I am a better swimmer than I am a runner. the pool just seems to click for me. can anyone help me out? I am willing to swim every day from now till next swim season to make this dream a reality! ...ps i'm a guy if that matters Even a pretty average D1 program is going to be pretty intense for a novice swimmer. 1 year may not even be enough time to get you fast enough to make regular sets that a D1 program would be working on. No doubt you'll have to be a walk on, and it will depend if the team is accepting walkon's of your caliber or not. I would start by talking with the coach if you haven't already. Tell him/her about your goals and see what their recommendation is. Alot will probably depend on how full their program currently is. If you haven't already you should probably join a club team. Even consider a USAS club team if there is one nearby. Good luck on your progress. You'll need to work out like "Rudy" to pull off times like that in one year. It takes most people lots of hard work (2-4 hours a day) and dedication for 3-4 years in HS to make a 5 flat 500 time or even close. I realize you're probably starting stronger and smarter than the average HS freshman, but still YMMV.