Were you a College Swimmer?

Swam for three years in college (Harvard, D1). My shoulders blew up after my freshman year. We did have a high attrition rate in my class. One thing I did enjoy tremendously about my collegiate swimming experience was that none of us were tied to a swimming scholarship. No strings. The training schedule was a struggle at times. So we had both Saturday and Sunday morning workouts. That was, well, socially limiting. -Rick Hmm ... sounds exactly like my experience at Dartmouth. I have no regrets about quitting after my freshman year though. I was just too burned out and injured to carry on. And I found it easier to meet people! I have no doubt for those that did persevere that it was a uniquely formative experience.

Another thing that I enjoyed about being part of an athletic team was that I immediately had a group of "automatic" friends on day 1 of my freshman year. At a time when everyone was trying to fit in and make friends, I already had a group that I was a part of. That was very helpful to me too. Also, being able to pre-register for classes. I had no idea of how important that was till I went back to school.

Wow. Seems like lots of people didn't like D1 swimming. I was 4 years D1 and actually liked the whole thing--training, meets and my teammates. I had a frustrating first two years where I didn't drop time in my best events and then had a great meet at NCAA's my junior year--except for a false start on the 200 medley relay--ugh. Have to say that false start is now a great story for younger kids I'm coaching who false start on relays. They always feel much better knowing that I did the same thing but on a much more consequential stage!

I started competing at age 5. By the time I was 18, I was ready to take a break. I chose a college that didn't have a swim team on purpose. I stopped swimming competitively from 1988 until 2000. In 2000 my sister did LCM Nationals. When she came back, I thought "I can do that" and got back in the water a few weeks later (no... we're not competitive hee-hee) at age 29.

swam 4 years at a dIII school (rose-hulman). i was not impressive at all and really had one swim where i felt i did myself well. aside from that i had a blast. i made friends that i have kept even though i have been out for a few years and moved away. there were 3 things to pull me while in college: schoolwork, swimming and my social life. school and social life always took priority over training hard. but i was there at practice and meets, just wasnt the priority.

Swam 3 yrs at Northeastern. a really small conference, NAC my first year, the girls team won and we were next to last. then the conference changed name to the American east i think it was called, where we won two years in a row. which we thought was funny because we had two really great seasons and they cut us but the football team won a combined 6 games in those two years and they got more funding. the girls team is currently apart of the CAA. the school cut the men's program at the beginning of my 3rd yr, but we got to compete that year, it was just the school giving notice so anyone that wanted to could transfer or quit swimming but maintain their scholarships. we had one butterfly specialist that just quit, and only 2 took the chance to transfer, after that year to another school for their final year. the rest of us enjoyed college life with out practice, but with team parties, we supported the girls team the best we could.

I started competitive swimming my last 2 years in HS and then swam my first 2 years in college. College swimming was 5 workouts/week, about 3000 yds each. There were no scholarships and it was a small group of walk-ons. My teammates were generally state HS swim championship finalists with a decade of experience. The minimal college training favored the sprinters; my strengths were in the longer events. Still, as a developmental swimmer my times were dropping rapidly. My second year of college swimming Title IX was happening and partial scholarships were offered. The field got a lot faster and I was no longer competitive despite making big improvements. Due to limited pool space and funding, I decided to quit since I couldn't make a contribution to the team. Using the time standards in effect back then, I had borderline "A" time standards for age group swimmers in the distance free events when I started college. "BB" in other events. I never felt that I had reached my potential. The team wasn't terribly cohesive. The only thing we did together was swim.

4 years @ DII. When I was a freshman it was only the 2nd year of the swimming teams existence. Got to set lots of records (mostly relays) as I'm not very fast. Loved the team environment. We had a nice swimming family. Hated walking across campus to classes with frozen hair in the winters.

Great thread idea - I've enjoyed reading about everyone's experiences. I swam for two and half years at a service academy, and while I enjoyed my teammates and made great friends, I mostly remember it being a struggle and overall a bit of a disappointment. Two shoulder surgeries and a death in the family marred my freshman season. I made it to NCAA's, only to false start in the finals of the 100 BR. Sophomore season was better - improved most of my times and made it back to NCAA's, but got a nasty case of food poisoning and missed all but the last day of the meet. :bitching: Junior year, shoulder problems started cropping up again, and between the demands of swimming and daily grind of cadet life, I was just burned out, so I gave it up. Although I have been coaching Masters swimmers for a number of years, I have never felt a burning need to return to the pool myself. My biggest problem has always been that I love to race, but hate to train, and that's tough to do once you hit middle age. :p I get my swimming fix from my Masters swimmers, who are a fun, enthusiastic bunch.

I swam in the Dartmouth pool growing up in the 70's, and I coach age groupers there now. Interesting... I swam four years in a D-III school, and pretty much burned out my Junior year. Lots of garbage yards, not a lot of stroke work and a coach that was paying a lot of attention to his mid-life crisis (along with the new blond diving coach) and not so much to recruiting or coaching. Still, I swam four years there and still keep in touch with the friends I made on the team. I also met my wife on the team, so I can't complain. Swimming now is very different in terms of mechanics -- I'm still learning which is what keeps it fun for me.