My granddaughter has several colleges interested in her. She is very excited, however, there is a naysayer in the family. Every time my granddaughter brings up the subject in his presence he makes comments like, "Swimming isn't your life," or "It is a waste of time because it won't get you a job." If she says, "What if I want to be a swim coach?" He says, "Sounds like a hobby, not a job."
My question, what doors did swimming for a college/university open for you after graduation?
An alternate take, but still positive: I thought I would swim in college, but I was at the bottom of the recruiting class and sort of burned out, too. I ended up diving in to many other activities (art, music, drama) that took up plenty of time, so strictly non-academic pursuits became a really important part of college, just as swimming had been before. For me, that was the best decision I could have made. I had a fantastic college experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. (That said, about a decade ago I found my way back to the water, and am never getting out again!)
Now I am a professor at a D3 school, teaching in a very competitive, professional design program. I have always found the athletes to be among the most disciplined, most "together" students. It has become a pattern that as the program grows more intense–particularly senior year–some students hang up their cleats/goggles to focus on their work to a greater degree. (Creative work is sort of like sports: desire trumps everything, and often determines success.) I support whatever they want to do.
The point: nowadays college students suffer from over-determination: they often show up with a PLAN, often based on grossly inaccurate information or mistaken suppositions. Parents often lurk in the background. Things change, people grow, ideas evolve. If she wants to swim, she should! That decision will get made four times, year by year, and the calculation may shift over time. Whatever she wants to do, to explore, to poke around in, to reject: within the bounds of safety, she should! College is a time to learn and grow.
Mr. Naysayer should pipe down and let her find her own way, which will occur in stages, just as it should.
An alternate take, but still positive: I thought I would swim in college, but I was at the bottom of the recruiting class and sort of burned out, too. I ended up diving in to many other activities (art, music, drama) that took up plenty of time, so strictly non-academic pursuits became a really important part of college, just as swimming had been before. For me, that was the best decision I could have made. I had a fantastic college experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. (That said, about a decade ago I found my way back to the water, and am never getting out again!)
Now I am a professor at a D3 school, teaching in a very competitive, professional design program. I have always found the athletes to be among the most disciplined, most "together" students. It has become a pattern that as the program grows more intense–particularly senior year–some students hang up their cleats/goggles to focus on their work to a greater degree. (Creative work is sort of like sports: desire trumps everything, and often determines success.) I support whatever they want to do.
The point: nowadays college students suffer from over-determination: they often show up with a PLAN, often based on grossly inaccurate information or mistaken suppositions. Parents often lurk in the background. Things change, people grow, ideas evolve. If she wants to swim, she should! That decision will get made four times, year by year, and the calculation may shift over time. Whatever she wants to do, to explore, to poke around in, to reject: within the bounds of safety, she should! College is a time to learn and grow.
Mr. Naysayer should pipe down and let her find her own way, which will occur in stages, just as it should.
