Debating doing College Swimming... Never Swam Competitively

In my estimation, this is not going to happen. If you do the following things, you can maybe get to 5:00 in two years: Stop running Swim hard every day Lift weights (XC runners are weak in the upper body, always) Swimming-specific flexibility (shoulders, torso, ankles) Unfortunately, 5:00 is not even close to Division I walk-on. Anyone who knows college swimming and middle distance want to give a more realistic number for that? I would think more like 4:40. I would say that's an succinct assessment for recommended training. Join a USA-S club as fmracing suggested in the meantime (if at all possible). There are probably a handful of mid-majors that would let a 5:00 walk on, so it's going to depend on where you go to school. Talk to the coach, but brace yourself in case s/he is not very receptive. Good luck!

I've never been a college swimmer so even *I* am skeptical of my advice. Arthur correctly says that this dependes on your "natural talent:" How big are your hand and feet? You have to be able to do daily workouts to be on the team. But while you are getting your yardage up - and maybe a bit past that - you'd be better off with every other day. Beat yourself up in the pool, but then get good recovery. Here's a FINA shoulder exercise video. For ramping up for a Div I team, I say, follow this - times 4 or 5. Prevention of Shoulder Injuries in Aquatics Sports - YouTube As other say, get a coach. I'd say get comfortable wtih putting in the yards before you work on speed.

1. Talk to the coach. Determine how fast you'd need to be to walk on. Some programs will allow slower swimmers on the team. Others don't have the space or just want to keep the roster to a specific number of swimmers. 2. Work on your technique. Get professional help with your stroke. It goes without saying you will have to workout hard in the pool to improve, but it's at least as important that you get the technique down. You've got zero chance with poor technique and now is the time to get it down before bad habits become ingrained. 3. Good luck!

Never say never. Not every Division 1 team is in the elite category. Depending on certain sports like football and basketball, the entire school sports program can be bundled in that category by default, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be going to NCAA championships. We had a walk on at our school with a 500 free time somewhere near 5:30. He went as low as 4:45 by his junior year that I recall. Our coach always welcomed people as long as they had potential and were willing to work. It also helped that we had an 8 lane pool and there was enough room for all. What was unusual is that we had a walk-on who acted as team manager. He was somehow assigned the task of swimming the 1,000 with a specific goal not to break 18 minutes. Our best 200 freestyler often swam the 1,000 and the 200 free would follow this event. The extra time gained by this dastardly ploy allowed him to recover well enough to do place in his event. Everyone in the stands and the bleachers would be 'like wtheck is that guy doing?!' as he floundered up and down the lanes. It was pretty funny stuff.

While it seems unlikely it is certainly worth a try.As just about everyone is saying you really need a coach.If you can get excellent technique and swimming flexibility then your ability to work hard will make the difference,but without great technique I don't see how you can do it.

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.

In my estimation, this is not going to happen. If you do the following things, you can maybe get to 5:00 in two years: Stop running Swim hard every day Lift weights (XC runners are weak in the upper body, always) Swimming-specific flexibility (shoulders, torso, ankles) Unfortunately, 5:00 is not even close to Division I walk-on. Anyone who knows college swimming and middle distance want to give a more realistic number for that? I would think more like 4:40.

Unfortunately, 5:00 is not even close to Division I walk-on. Disagree. It depends on the school. We were average D1 and 5:00 would've easily made it as walkon... but we were probably more suited to hang with top echelon D3 schools than D1. This was 10 years ago though. For all I know it is 4:40's now to walk on at my ol' college.

Swimming isn't like running or cycling where a high volume of practice on your own will make you better. Unless you are are extremely naturally talented you really need a good coach to fix stroke flaws since so much of swimming speed is from technique not fitness. The swimming specific flexibility mentioned by Jazz Hands is also pretty important. Collage swimmers often have shoulders as flexible as yoga instructors from the thousands of hours of swimming they have done. Runners also typically have really poor ankle flexibility which greatly reduces propulsion from kick. With effort though huge increases in flexibility are possible within a year. It depends a lot on your collage and your natural talent but your goal isn't impossible.

I don't really agree with the thought of "forget about swimming for now and just go to school." Me either. The odds may be long, but I think it's cool he's giving it a shot.