need help

RE: need help

Former Member — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 16:03:37 GMT

I used to gain weight between cross country & swimming. It was really hard to get my body weight up some for swimmin g in highschool. I'm sure that trying to gain only 10 to 15 pounds did some weird things to m e, lossing & gaining more would be very hard on yuor haert. You are probably in the upper weight/height range for some one your age in high school already. chances are you might put on some weight once you get into college with out doing anything. what you woudl have to do to gain that much weight woudfl not be good & in some cases illegal.

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:36:53 GMT

Has anyone noticed the extreme shifts in weight he's considering? Those numbers... 160 or 225... they're complete opposites and wind up developing two entirely different people all together! I'm writing to point out that this is very unhealthy. If you do the yo-yo nutrition thing you will definitely wear your body out (it's a lot like pulling on a rubber band one too many times). Eventually your body won't respond anymore, it will be too worn out to snap back to shape, and your muscles may degenerate as a result. In which case, kiss any hopes of playing football or swimming successfully good-bye. Make the choice between the two sports. Once you do that stick with one body type because your muscles aren't supposed to be worn like cheap shirts - you can't just have a big bod one month and a few months later go for the ultra slim look. Since this is the end of your high school career it would be wise to focus on one sport if your going for a scholarship. That way you could practice it year-round and get more improvement in a shorter amount of time. Personally, I do about four different sports (and I'm 24), but I always maintain the same body-type because I know I can succeed and surpass others while sustaining a consistent healthy level of nutrition and activity.

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:15:31 GMT

yeah, it's pretty much get a scholarship, or join the marines(another option I am seriously considering)

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:09:50 GMT

how do you become a rescue swimmer?

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:42:12 GMT

JC, Being rail thin doesn't necessarily make one become a better, faster swimmer. As a matter of fact most college swimmers could get easily confused for being football players. Go with what you enjoy doing the most. Ask your swim coach what he thinks about your talent. I think that most of them have a keen sense of potential, and would be quite honest in their opinion about your abilities. Rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard or US National Air Guard is an excellent consideration too.

RE: need help

aquageek — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:19:26 GMT

I've always thought that if a person in any sport is good enough to get a Div 1 schloraship he/she was probably one of the best athletes in that sport in their high school ever and probably one of the best in their state at the time. JC - I like your second quote, who is that credited to?

RE: need help

Rob Copeland — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:28:58 GMT

If you’re thinking about joining the Marine’s, then another option is looking into Navy ROTC scholarships. As for swimming scholarships, be prepared for a lot of competition for these dollars. My son is now a senior in High School, one year ahead of you. As a Junior, he was in the top 5 in the state in the 200 and 500 free, just missing the All-American cuts in both events. He is currently inundated with materials from schools around the country. HOWEVER, without a significantly better senior year, there are few chances for a big scholarship in one of his goal schools.

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 06:05:18 GMT

i think I'm gunna go with swimming, and I don't know where I got that quote, I just found it somewhere

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 05:45:55 GMT

Ali is right JC...my son is in his Plebe year at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY and they have an excellent swim program...and the entire Academy is set up around WATER type operations. GO SWIMMING.....Swimmers Rule!

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 05:38:48 GMT

JC, Type in rescue swimmer on your internet search. You'll find more than enough information. Mostly Coast Guard and Navy related web sites. College scholarships are the norm for enrollment as Ali said. After that you can get paid for swimming,... if jumping from a helicopter into 20' swells sounds like fun. And I agree with Kelly about the weight range. It sounds like you're on the way to being a sturdy 200 lbs given your current height and age.

RE: need help

Former Member — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 05:15:03 GMT

Have you thought about trying for the Military Academy/Colleges like West Point or the Air Force Academy? Free schooling, intense swimming programs --and football, and you can have a military career afterwards! When it was time for the swimming seniors to go to college, three of us ended up at the most elite military colleges.

RE: need help

Former Member — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 11:45:53 GMT

I agree with Rob, you've got to factor in whether or not you need a scholarship.

RE: need help

Former Member — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 10:57:04 GMT

Originally posted by sparx35 although swimming may be healthier as a non biased view i think football may be more lucrative unless your at phelps level...all those ads he does now must make some$$$$$$,ive just returned a week ago from atlanta and saw him on an ad there!!but you must make your own decisions now because thats what life is all about..go with your gut feelings...gud luk!!!! Well, the other side of the coin is that unless you're good enough in football to have a serious shot at turning pro (and the vast majority of college football players don't), it's basically going to be over once you're out of college. I've worked for several companies that had a company softball team, but I've never once worked for (or even heard of) a company that had a company football team. For those who aren't good enough to turn pro, the post college options are pretty much limited to watching, coaching, and backyard tag football. Swimming, on the other hand, is a sport you can pursue for your entire life.

RE: need help

Former Member — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 07:11:32 GMT

although swimming may be healthier as a non biased view i think football may be more lucrative unless your at phelps level...all those ads he does now must make some$$$$$$,ive just returned a week ago from atlanta and saw him on an ad there!!but you must make your own decisions now because thats what life is all about..go with your gut feelings...gud luk!!!!

RE: need help

Former Member — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 13:31:52 GMT

I was at my high school reunion a couple years back, and noticed that almost all of the football players had lingering, chronic joint problems due to their sport -- achy knees, arms won't go above shoulder, and neck and disc issues. (We're in our 40s now) On the other hand, at the pool every day I see these fit, vibrant, energetic septuagenarians. Not exactly a scientific sampling, but this suggests that swimming might serve you better in the long run.

RE: need help

Rob Copeland — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:53:23 GMT

Since this is a swimming discussion forum, I would usually say go for the swimming and don’t try to have wildly fluctuating weigh gains, then weight drops in order to be a two sport athlete. If you could do both with minimum loss/gain that would be different. However, my advice to you is to think about what is most important to you a college scholarship or the sport itself. My personal opinion is, if at all possible, choose what you do based on which sport you prefer and not based on scholarship potential; unless, of course, scholarship money is your only ticket into the college of your choice. From your previous posts, it sounds like you have a passion for swimming, does your passion for football run as deep? If your real love is swimming, then be the best 190 pound long snapper you can be during football season and work the swimming. If it comes down to a decision based on scholarship money, your better bet may be football. Many college football programs are in need of good long snappers, a specialty that receives little attention, unless of course you miss badly on the winning field goal snap with 3 seconds left in the game. There are 142 division 1 and 50 division 2 colleges that offer swimming/diving scholarships to Men. That's a total of just over 1,800 swimming and diving scholarships. Spread that over 4 years, there are about 450 scholarships available for any given class. Very few of these are given as “full rides”, most are partials, so they can be spread around. If we assume the nations top 10-20 High School seniors in any given event will be offered full rides, then it would take a better than 50 second 100 fly for a full ride to a major school. Getting a full ride in swimming is a phenomenal accomplishment; getting any scholarship is amazing and just swimming on a college team great. The bottom line is, if you are looking at which sport has the most financial rewards – it probably isn’t swimming (unless you’re like Michel Phelps). However if you’re able to follow your desires; then take some time to think about which you personally prefer. And don’t be swayed by coaches or others.