If you swam in college

RE: If you swam in college

orca1946 — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 12:03:48 GMT

I was a walk on in college and almost every athlete on the "major" sports has given it up. I am about to turn 70 and am still going. 9 events at the state meet and , I'm proud to say, qualified for 5 of my 6 events at the upcoming SC Nationals in Greensboro.

RE: If you swam in college

waves101 — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 08:15:51 GMT

Orca - We are "major". Remember, it's all relative. In Australia swimming is king. Once the rest of the sports world realizes this can be a lifetime sport, who knows...

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 17:30:48 GMT

Thanks again everyone! Things are going well with my granddaughter. The process is very interesting. I may soon be asking advice on how to be the grandmother of a college swimmer--new territory for me. I swam, my daughter swam (AG & HS) so I knew how to be the grandmother of a AG, Sr and HS swimmer, but I haven't a clue about being a college swimming grandmother.

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:09:32 GMT

I envy your situation. Your granddaughter is motivated, loves her sport, has talent, and has options. She should be encouraged to pursue her dreams. Shame on the naysayer. My son is in the 10th grade and is most likely going to quit his HS swimming after this season. He has some talent and his team's best swimmer. But might not really love it enough to continue on. I think he will regret this one day. Your naysayer needs a good talking to on the side. Shame on him..... PS. I am not a swimmer. I think it is a very tough sport mentally on the kids. But I think that is what makes it a very unique sport. This thread is full of examples of the good it does for those that competitive swim. Lots of intangibles swimmers seem to gain from this sport. It will help her in the future.

RE: If you swam in college

Patrick W. Brundage — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 08:18:29 GMT

@laineybug, here's a GREAT article on the value of women playing sports and its impact on their careers - fortune.com/.../.

RE: If you swam in college

Patrick W. Brundage — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 11:46:16 GMT

As a little side note she has her first official offer. Unfortunately it isn't from the school she is most interested in. But, she is excited and I couldn't be more happy for her. Hopefully, there will be more offers coming. Thanks everyone. Congratulations! This is cool news. This community is the greatest and says so much about swimmers.For sure ... and that community will be another lifelong benefit to your grand-daughter.

RE: If you swam in college

gdanner — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 10:53:02 GMT

I swam all four years D1 and still spend much of my life in the pool as a competitor. Many members have already described the benefits of swimming in college, so I'll just skip over that and tell you specifically where it helped me as it relates to my current profession in the IT services and solutions field. - I was offered a position as a graduate assistant swim coach at another college, where I was able to get my MBA for practically nothing. - I already had a full-time job lined up after getting my MBA, but I was looking for a better job. I applied to a dozen or so jobs after getting my MBA, but did not have any success. If they only knew me, I thought! I continued swimming with my home USA-S program, which occasionally allows adults to swim as well. It was there that I met a fellow adult swimmer who eventually hired me to work at his company after one interview. I guarantee that his comfort level with me stemmed from my positive training habits and demeanor in the pool. - After several years, I ended up leaving that job (on friendly terms) and was hired by another company. My primary connection to the new company was through an individual who swam in college and briefly in masters. I never swam with this person and he knew my work ethic better than my pool habits, so the swimming relationship is less tenuous than the previous job. However, I still sensed a bond or some level of respect based on having the similar background. It's impossible to say where I would be today if I never swam, but I have no regrets!

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 13:48:38 GMT

I can't begin to thank you for all this support! My eyes are watering. And the link to the article in fortune was great. I'm passing this along to my granddaughters mother for the naysayer. As a little side note she has her first official offer. Unfortunately it isn't from the school she is most interested in. But, she is excited and I couldn't be more happy for her. Hopefully, there will be more offers coming. Thanks everyone. This community is the greatest and says so much about swimmers.

RE: If you swam in college

Redbird Alum — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 11:04:40 GMT

Besides... if she can keep her grades up, and enjoys swimming, she should swim. Life is too short to let something you love go just because one person thinks it's silly! (I still swim, and coach part time, decades after college!)

RE: If you swam in college

orca1946 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 06:26:40 GMT

Swimming is one of a few sports that can be done until you pass away, not like many other contact sports that wreck your body.

RE: If you swam in college

Sandfly — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:19:32 GMT

I know I'm repeating what many others here have said, but swimming in college changed my life. It helped me learn how to balance my time (studying, swimming, working), how to set goals, and how to discipline myself. And I have brought these up in job and fellowship interviews. I now run an adult education program, and these are skills that we work on with our students. But more than anything, I got a great set of friends from the experience. We were absolutely a family to each other during that time, and now, almost 20 years after graduation, I am still close with many of my teammates. I wouldn't change that for the world. One word of warning: some college teams may not have the same close-knit-ness, and one of the reasons my sister stopped swimming was the internal team competition, which she found negative, so doing homework on the personality of the team can be important. Good luck to your granddaughter! Just to add a quick note: I swam at Carleton College, a D3 school in Minnesota. I wanted to add that, because some D3 programs like this may be good, but less intense than a D1 school.

RE: If you swam in college

jpetyk — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 12:06:12 GMT

Then there is this tidbit of info from my Alma Mater: "Duquesne University's swimming team was listed in the recently released College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division I Scholar All-America rankings, honoring all schools with a 3.00 or higher team grade point average. The Dukes were one of 150 Division I women's programs honored and were tied for 43rd in the nation with Arizona, Georgetown and Southern Illinois with a 3.42 team GPA." Roughly translated: Swimming makes you smart :bolt:

RE: If you swam in college

Jimbosback — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:53:49 GMT

I believe strongly that young athletes should continue to pursue their sports as long as they love doing it. This bright young woman should be exploring every opportunity available to her in college, which it sounds like she is doing. You shouldn't need much ammunition to shoot down the idea of crapping on her dreams.

RE: If you swam in college

ForceDJ — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:06:26 GMT

Young Ray currently plays D-1 hockey at UMass. UMass-Lowell? Currently ranked #8 in the nation. Not too shabby! Dan

RE: If you swam in college

smontanaro — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:53:31 GMT

I'll add one more anecdote, not swimming-related. My brothers-in-law all played hockey through college. My brother-in-law, Ray, has three boys who all played hockey through at least high school. They were always travelling all over the place, Minneapolis, Detroit, etc. My mother-in-law always thought it was a complete waste of time. "They'll never play in the NHL! Why are you wasting all your time, schlepping them all over the place?" (My mum-in-law has never been one to hold her tongue. :rolleyes:) Young Ray currently plays D-1 hockey at UMass. His older brother, Kit, played at the University of Illinois. His younger brother, Nick, opted out in his senior year of high school. Will young Ray make it to the NHL? Who knows? The odds are obviously long-ish. That's just the nature of moving up the pyramid. Still, hockey got him to college. I tend to think he might not have made it to where he is without that hockey scholarship. There are more ways to profit from a college sports career than hitting the pro sports lottery. Your naysayer needs to keep that in mind.

RE: If you swam in college

ande — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:28:26 GMT

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? First it sounds to me like Mr. Naysayer is a short sighted narrow minded A$$h@LE. ( please share this with him ) I swam for UT, most of the guys I swam with did well in school then went on to accomplish great things in life. Many earned advanced degrees. This small group of swimmers are now doctors, lawyers, business owners, engineers, military officers, authors, and many successful individuals in many areas. A decent percentage of the men and women I swam with at UT are now self made multimillionaires. Birds of a feather do flock together. It's wise for everyone to spend their time with dreamers and doers, focused passionate hard working people, not Naysayers & complainers who explain what can't be done and why. The truth is: if you think you can or if you think you can't, you're right. College swimming gave me life long friends, a handful of people who've got my back and I've got theirs. Not many people work as hard or as long as swimmers do and when swimmers channel their work ethics into other fields, they tend to excel, because they set high goals and work harder and longer that most people do. Very often in just a matter of years, former swimmers tend to rise to the tops of their fields. My life is forever better because I was lucky enough to swim for UT coached by Eddie Reese from 1981 to 1986. I highly encourage your grand daughter to make college swimming part of her story and to tell Mr. Naysayer to STFU, preferably with her life accomplishments after college swimming.

RE: If you swam in college

smontanaro — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 01:41:28 GMT

UMass Amherst. Somewhat shabbier. They were in the top 25 early in the season, but have fallen back.

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:39:27 GMT

Thanks for all the continuing comments. They are great. Rob, maybe I should point out that swimming limits drinking time. Maybe I should also show him the doping regs.

RE: If you swam in college

ForceDJ — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:19:03 GMT

"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." Two-thirds of our planet is covered with water. Seems to make sense to me that one should practice safe and effective interaction with one's environment. Dan

RE: If you swam in college

tpost2 — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 07:54:36 GMT

I don't know that swimming in college opened any job doors for me specifically, but I second knelson's comment - my grades were markedly better in the semesters I was swimming.

RE: If you swam in college

gobears — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 05:12:57 GMT

Saw this today and thought of this thread: fortune.com/.../

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:45:13 GMT

You could point out to him that if she doesn't swim, she'll certainly have more drinking time on her hands...

RE: If you swam in college

smiley92407 — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 12:20:10 GMT

Forget the naysayer. If I listened to all of the naysayers back in 1976, I never would have gone on to college, or had the chance to swim for my college. I went to a school that was hard to get into, got in as a walk on a team that placed in the top 10 NCAA DII, and contributed to the team the whole time I was there. Those were the best years of my young life. My grades in college were higher than in high school. Motivation goes a long way and lasts a lifetime. She only has to listen to her heart and take it from there. Being on a team transfers over in life if you have the right attitude. Get her swimming on the college team of her choice that offers the major she wants! I only recently began to swim again back in August and I have the bug again and feel great.

RE: If you swam in college

Former Member — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 16:46:22 GMT

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.

RE: If you swam in college

Muppet — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 12:47:44 GMT

the naysayer needs to be told this is your granddaughter's life and she can live it how she wants. i bet he's got some resentment because of his circumstances in college. just because he went through something crappy doesn't mean that she needs to do the same thing and have a crappy experience too. let her do her own thing; let her live her own life how she wants. she's only 18-21 once, and she's got the rest of her life to work and make money. also, swimming is something that has definitely helped me professionally. as an example, and to piggy-back on PWB's post, my current job's bosses commend my current athletic work as being an indication of my work ethic. when they hired me, they knew that I would give them 110% professionally, just as i would in the pool. they also continue to bring up my swimming (and hockey) nearly 3 years after hire. clearly, granddaughter has her head on straight.