Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I'm a 20 y/o male and have just recently gotten into swimming. I swam in 8th grade and was pretty average but have no swim team experience otherwise. I've ran cross country, track, wrestled, powerlifted, and played basketball before for what it's worth.
I go to a community college and was recently thinking that it might be fun to join their swim team. I'm decently athletic and learn fast, but obviously having just started swimming, I'm terrible. Haha I mean I can do the strokes somewhat (butterfly is iffy), and have some endurance, but that's about it, very very basic stuff.
I was wondering how feasible it might be to join? There aren't try-outs and the off-season training (summer and fall, then meets start in February), etc. is open for all students, but from what I've heard about the coach, she doesn't like having newbies join (understandably). What do you guys think? If I train my butt off for the forseeable future, is there an spot for me on the team? Should I contact the coach/participate in off-season training or train by myself first? Should I forget about it and continue to swim for fun anyway and/or join a class? (I'll continue to swim regardless ha).
Sorry for all the questions... I guess what I'm asking for is maybe some benchmarks to know when/if I'll ever be ready to join without wasting the coach's time?
Thanks for reading. Apologies for the silly/newbie questions. :)
***I don't mean any offense to those future/current/past college swimmers who've swam for years by thinking I could possibly join... I know I'd be one of if not the slowest on the team and am okay with that, I just want to push myself and have fun playing a sport again***
If I train my butt off for the forseeable future, is there an spot for me on the team?
Honestly? It's possible, but improbable. I suspect you don't really understand how demanding swimming at the college level is. You say you swam one season in 8th grade. Local summer league, I suppose? Or maybe beginner-level club swimming over the winter? There's a HUGE difference in intensity between that and a Varsity-level JuCo program.
Swimming is a highly technical endeavor, so your general fitness level from previous sports participation will only take you so far. Unless you're an absolute natural, it' highly unlikely you can develop both the proper technique and swim-specific fitness in 9 months to fit in on the team....especially without a lot of one-on-one coaching.
Whether or not it's right, a college coach's job security generally depends largely on Win/Loss records and how well the team places at important year end meets like Conference and/or National Championships. Given the resource limitations (staff, pool time, and pool space), it would be unreasonable to expect the team to make accommodations for a relative beginner. Even in the off season, the coaches would understandably focus their attention on the swimmers who are going to help them keep their jobs. So you have to expect that they're going to be somewhat dismissive when somebody with little or no experience approaches them about joining the team. Their livelihoods depend on turning adequate swimmers into good swimmers, and good swimmers into outstanding swimmers. They get no credit for coaching somebody from beginner to adequate in just a year or two, even though that's maybe even harder to do.
I would suggest you go observe an off season practice or two to see just what its all about. If you still have the desire after that, then by all means talk to the coach and tell him what you are thinking. Ask for some minimum performance benchmarks (i.e., what do you have to be able to do just to not be in the way at a practice) that you can use as training goals. Ask for suggestions on where you might go to get some training help to meet those benchmarks. Maybe there's a lower level assistant coach who is willing and able to work with you for a modest fee just to get some more experience. Maybe there's a nearby Masters team. Maybe the local club team takes college aged kids for the summer. At some point you have to let the coach in on your idea. Might as well be sooner rather than later so you can at least get some idea what the minimum expectations are.
Then give it all you have. If you make it, great. If not, you always have a home in Masters. Masters swimming is the complete opposite of college swimming. In college, it's all about maximizing the team's performance. The 100 free may be your best (and favorite) event, but if the team is deep at 100 free but shallow elsewhere, you may have to forgo that event and train for something else. Masters is much more about helping swimmers achieve their individual goals. While there is generally some sort of minimum performance criteria to participate on a team, the bar is much lower and the environment is much more inclusive.
If I train my butt off for the forseeable future, is there an spot for me on the team?
Honestly? It's possible, but improbable. I suspect you don't really understand how demanding swimming at the college level is. You say you swam one season in 8th grade. Local summer league, I suppose? Or maybe beginner-level club swimming over the winter? There's a HUGE difference in intensity between that and a Varsity-level JuCo program.
Swimming is a highly technical endeavor, so your general fitness level from previous sports participation will only take you so far. Unless you're an absolute natural, it' highly unlikely you can develop both the proper technique and swim-specific fitness in 9 months to fit in on the team....especially without a lot of one-on-one coaching.
Whether or not it's right, a college coach's job security generally depends largely on Win/Loss records and how well the team places at important year end meets like Conference and/or National Championships. Given the resource limitations (staff, pool time, and pool space), it would be unreasonable to expect the team to make accommodations for a relative beginner. Even in the off season, the coaches would understandably focus their attention on the swimmers who are going to help them keep their jobs. So you have to expect that they're going to be somewhat dismissive when somebody with little or no experience approaches them about joining the team. Their livelihoods depend on turning adequate swimmers into good swimmers, and good swimmers into outstanding swimmers. They get no credit for coaching somebody from beginner to adequate in just a year or two, even though that's maybe even harder to do.
I would suggest you go observe an off season practice or two to see just what its all about. If you still have the desire after that, then by all means talk to the coach and tell him what you are thinking. Ask for some minimum performance benchmarks (i.e., what do you have to be able to do just to not be in the way at a practice) that you can use as training goals. Ask for suggestions on where you might go to get some training help to meet those benchmarks. Maybe there's a lower level assistant coach who is willing and able to work with you for a modest fee just to get some more experience. Maybe there's a nearby Masters team. Maybe the local club team takes college aged kids for the summer. At some point you have to let the coach in on your idea. Might as well be sooner rather than later so you can at least get some idea what the minimum expectations are.
Then give it all you have. If you make it, great. If not, you always have a home in Masters. Masters swimming is the complete opposite of college swimming. In college, it's all about maximizing the team's performance. The 100 free may be your best (and favorite) event, but if the team is deep at 100 free but shallow elsewhere, you may have to forgo that event and train for something else. Masters is much more about helping swimmers achieve their individual goals. While there is generally some sort of minimum performance criteria to participate on a team, the bar is much lower and the environment is much more inclusive.
