College Swim Team Maybe???

So, the community colleges would be slow for you.You didn't make state in high school. Lenny Krazenburg swam community college and he was even in community college a lot better swimmer than you. Shirley Bashashoff swam on the men's team in community college and she was also a lot better swimmer than you are Have a little more humble opinion of yourself. There are several community college swimmers at Indian River which is the fastest CC in the nation that could beat you in swimming.

Perhaps he has looked into the community colleges near him and the teams are not competitive. I don't find that hard to believe, as many are not. Give the guy a break - he enjoys swimming and wants to continue the sport in college. Matt, I hope you swim real fast, lead the team at your college, and beat cinc while you're at it!

I disagree again, this person is not in college yet. They should do a USA team until college and a summer program. But their is a big gap in college. Someone is almost state is a long ways from many college swimmers in time. In my state a 1:13 girl's breaststroker in the bigger school division didn't make state. And one coach comment that many swimmers in our state that swim around that time would not make a college team since most swimming programs in Arizona are division 1 and many colleges probably have time standards to make the team. Another swimmer stated that she didn't make the college team. So, an almost state swimmer should look at slower college programs or community college programs first.

That's not hard to beat me. i'm a middle aged woman and I was mediocre as a kid. I too swam JC and we had a womanl on our team that was a better swimmer than he is, she had went to nationals. I do lose my temper. But we have discuss this before, not all the JC swimmers are slow. Aaron Perisol, thought about going to Orange Coast College because his coach David Salo coaches there. There are ex-community college swimmers on this forum that made CIF in high school in California.

I'm just trying to be encouraging. You can't make generalizations; for one thing men tend to peak at a later age. Also, not all programs are structured the same way. Is this a division I school? Even if it is, there may not be time standards to make the team. There may be a junior varsity. Finally, you might start out as a walk on and complete your college career four years later as an NCAA qualifier. Of course not everyone on the team will be a superstar. The point is, you don't know unless you try. Joining a USA Swimming team now is a great idea, however, the summer is nearly over and the college year will be starting soon. I don't dispute the fact that year round swimming will be mandatory to be competitive. I just wouldn't pass up the chance to join as a freshman. Don't limit yourself.

Matt, First, please, enlighten us where you are going to school. There is a world of difference between, oh say ... the Univ of Michigan--Ann Arbor and Lake Forest College. The former trains people for the U.S. Olympic Trials; the later you can walk-on with few if any preconditions. It is very hard for us to give you advice if we do not in what realm your goals are. Second, there is a much better source of information about your college's team than a bunch of semi-informed posters on web site. Ask one of the coaches on the team: (1) can I swim for you my freshman year, and (2) if not what would you recommend so I can swim for you my sophmore year. The coaches knows a lot more about what they want in a swimmer for their program, and may be aware of local teams or resources that have eluded all of us. Go straight to the horse's mouth for this kind of stuff. Third, as someone who went through almost exactly what you have done, I urge you to swim with the team your freshman year if at all possible. I started competitive swimming at 15, my sophmore year, with the HS team. By my senior year, I made District finals in one indivdual event and on the relay I swam. I knew I wanted to keep swimming in college and that meant Div III for me. So I kept looking until I found a school that had a Div III team and met my academic needs--Lake Forest College--and I lettered all 4 years there. I was never one of the big guns, but I contributed and being on the team is one of my most cherished memories of college. Obviously, you have already picked your school, and I am sure you have a number of reasons more important than whether you can swim for them. However, I have to tell you that not swimming on the team your freshman year dramatically reduces the chances of your swimming for them your sophmore, junior or senior year. What I saw at LFC was lots of folks who started swimming on the team their freshman year, then dropped out later in their college careers. I cannot recall one teammate (except maybe a transfer student) who did not swim with us his/her freshman year, and then finished even so much as one complete season later on. Yes, you can work out on your own. Maybe you can find a club or a masters team that keeps you interested in swimming, and is demanding enough to permit you to improve your times, and conditions in 2003 are different than they were in 1979. But, I have to tell you, based on what I saw, it's pretty unlikely. Moreover, why would you even want to work out on your own if you had the option to join the college team? Call it camaraderie, team spirit, (shared suffering, perhaps?); there is an inexpressible difference between the friendships you will form in college and those from any other time in your life. This makes a college team unlike anything else you will experience in your swimming career. Try to think back to when you were 10 or 11 years old. Try to imagine your birthday party, and deciding that you were going to return 1/4 of the presents, unopened, for some unexpressed reason. Could you do that? Sure, but imagine the profound sense of disappointment a kid would feel about that. That is the only way I can describe my perplexity at the suggestion you want to skip your freshman year. WHY?!! Whatever path you take, good luck with your college career. It is your life. You get to decide what you want to pursue (in swimming, or anything else for that matter). Yes, match up your means to your ends and decide what is feasible, but follow the path that appeals to you, and not what anyone else thinks you should be doing. Matt

Matt, where are you planning to go to school (I assume starting in a few weeks)? I went to high school in Michigan, didn't start swimming until high school, and was never close to making a state cut. I know what you mean about the community colleges in the Detroit area, they just don't have big athletics programs at all, and they don't even approach the division 3 schools in the state. I think California and a few other states are different. After H.S., I went to a division 3 school and didn't swim my freshman year, then made the team the next 3 years. After a year of working, I'm returning to finish a master's degree and use up my 4th year of elegibility. I've still been getting better, and made finals at our conference championships four times thanks to a lot of off-season work. I'd go for it if I were you - after being a late starter, you may as well see how much better you can get through college. Good Luck, Victoria

Im not saying that I am the best over every community college swimmer but 5-6 thousand yards is barely even a High School swimming practice. Cinc310 if you have nothing better to do then try to insult me then don't respond to any of these threads. If there is one thing I learned from being on a swim team and being the swim team captain you encourage your swimmers instead of insulting them and discouraging them. If you ever coach a team or if you are on one try encouraging it might make you a better swimmer. All I wanted was a few tips on how to practice on making it to the college level, thats all. Everyone (even you in the beginning) tried to give me a heads up on what it is going to take to make it to that level. Community Colleges in my area were no longer an option after I saw some of their workouts, they were to easy. Im probably going to call the coach this week and get all the info on the team. Because No it doesn't hurt to try...

wow! I realize you're a younger guy--and most younger guys have a lot of confidence. So what? No harm done. Anyway, as you age, you will humble... If you haven't checked inot your community college--then do so. If it's worthwhile, give it a whirl...but also check in with your college too. After you see what's out there, and who you could train with, then you'll know what to do. Congrats on being able to identify your natural talents--I don't think it's arrogant at all to know where your skills lie. After all, that's what will make you successful in business too. Keep up the enthusiasm, and get yourself involved--it will be the very motivating, give you some friendly competition, keep you on track, provide commoradory, and give you an idea of how far you can go. Now get out there and swim! Jerrycat ;)

Hey Matt, Let us know what you find out about walking on. I bet if you do it, you'll be so stoked!! ;) Jerycat