Debating doing College Swimming... Never Swam Competitively
Former Member
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
Parents
Former Member
you use your considerable energy, enthusiasm, and apparent surplus of spare time, to devote yourself instead to your studies, graduate at the top of your class, enroll in an excellent post-graduate program, and join us here, some years hence, in the considerably less pressure-packed world of Masters Swimming.
Alright so I'm a junior in college now, and I just started swimming with a local club team since my school doesn't have a team and I'm under 18 so I can't do the Masters thing for another year or two. I'm the type of person who started out in college by focusing almost entirely on my work, and it definitely payed off in terms of grades and career opportunities. But one thing that resulted was a feeling of burnout and suffocation from my studies. I swam a little as a very young child, but we had some family stuff and I basically didn't do any serious swimming for 10-12 years. I returned to it as a way to work out stress, and I rediscovered my love for it. Then my voracious appetite for competition kicked in so I joined this team which is easily ONE OF THE BEST CHOICES I'VE MADE IN YEARS! I've improved tremendously and I've only been swimming with them for three weeks.
Anyway my point in telling this whole long story is that if you think you're going to benefit from doing something then DON'T WAIT UNTIL COLLEGE IS OVER!! I lived my life this way for years and it just made me depressed. Seize the day and all. If you're serious about swimming then start by taking lessons to improve your technique and commit to swimming at least 6x a week. Then see if there's a more casual intramural team at your school or a USA swimming club team that can take you on. Swimming well takes an incredible amount of time and dedication and you really have to want it to get there.
you use your considerable energy, enthusiasm, and apparent surplus of spare time, to devote yourself instead to your studies, graduate at the top of your class, enroll in an excellent post-graduate program, and join us here, some years hence, in the considerably less pressure-packed world of Masters Swimming.
Alright so I'm a junior in college now, and I just started swimming with a local club team since my school doesn't have a team and I'm under 18 so I can't do the Masters thing for another year or two. I'm the type of person who started out in college by focusing almost entirely on my work, and it definitely payed off in terms of grades and career opportunities. But one thing that resulted was a feeling of burnout and suffocation from my studies. I swam a little as a very young child, but we had some family stuff and I basically didn't do any serious swimming for 10-12 years. I returned to it as a way to work out stress, and I rediscovered my love for it. Then my voracious appetite for competition kicked in so I joined this team which is easily ONE OF THE BEST CHOICES I'VE MADE IN YEARS! I've improved tremendously and I've only been swimming with them for three weeks.
Anyway my point in telling this whole long story is that if you think you're going to benefit from doing something then DON'T WAIT UNTIL COLLEGE IS OVER!! I lived my life this way for years and it just made me depressed. Seize the day and all. If you're serious about swimming then start by taking lessons to improve your technique and commit to swimming at least 6x a week. Then see if there's a more casual intramural team at your school or a USA swimming club team that can take you on. Swimming well takes an incredible amount of time and dedication and you really have to want it to get there.
