Greetings
I know from reading many posts that some of you have swam in college. I am the parent of an age group swimmer who has his sights set on a college scholarship. I was a sportsmed guy in a a Div 1 school in college and all of us worked many long hours and traveled a great deal to earn our way through. The athletes worked very hard of course and really paid in time for the funds they received in the form of books and tuition. I would rather pay for his schooling and see him study rather than swim. I do not want to steal his dreams though as a result of my cynical view of the system. Have any of you swam in college and what was your experience? Do you view it as a worthy goal or would you have done it differently? Any coaches out there with insight? All advice welcome. This is a great forum!
Many Thanks
Spudfin
Swam 2 years for a Division III school with an up-and-coming swimming program. My father died during my freshman year and it really changed my whole perspective on things. I took some time off and also got badly out of shape--from which I never fully recovered. After 2 years I decided that I wasn't going to the Olympics (hah!) and even if I could train hard enough to be an NCAA Div III All American, there was more to life than swimming. I became very active in student government (which met during swim practice), I met my future wife, etc.
As we all know, elite level swimming is extremely time consuming (or at least it was 15 years ago when I was in college). There's so much to be experienced in college that it can almost be a shame to waste it all on one pursuit. To each his or her own, I suppose. I have no regrets for quitting swimming and I think it made me a MUCH more well-rounded person.
My advice would be for your son to go to the best school he can possibly get into, regardless of swimming. If he can't walk on and swim (or if they don't have a team), then he can always join a local masters or USS team. If he decides swimming isn't everything (and it's obviously not) he'll want to be in the best school possible, not just the best swimming school...
PS at my school many of the swimmers were in the same fraternity, and I know many schools where the teams were per se fraternities (if not actual fraternities). Unfortunately, there's going to be no way to avoid the drinking...
Good luck!
Swam 2 years for a Division III school with an up-and-coming swimming program. My father died during my freshman year and it really changed my whole perspective on things. I took some time off and also got badly out of shape--from which I never fully recovered. After 2 years I decided that I wasn't going to the Olympics (hah!) and even if I could train hard enough to be an NCAA Div III All American, there was more to life than swimming. I became very active in student government (which met during swim practice), I met my future wife, etc.
As we all know, elite level swimming is extremely time consuming (or at least it was 15 years ago when I was in college). There's so much to be experienced in college that it can almost be a shame to waste it all on one pursuit. To each his or her own, I suppose. I have no regrets for quitting swimming and I think it made me a MUCH more well-rounded person.
My advice would be for your son to go to the best school he can possibly get into, regardless of swimming. If he can't walk on and swim (or if they don't have a team), then he can always join a local masters or USS team. If he decides swimming isn't everything (and it's obviously not) he'll want to be in the best school possible, not just the best swimming school...
PS at my school many of the swimmers were in the same fraternity, and I know many schools where the teams were per se fraternities (if not actual fraternities). Unfortunately, there's going to be no way to avoid the drinking...
Good luck!
