College Swimming Recruiting: Don't Make the Procastination Mistake!

June 15th after Sophomore year in High School is the date that Division 1 and Division 2 coaches can contact swimmers.  Swimmers circle this date in red on their calendar and anxiously wait for the time to come.  Visions of flooded email boxes and phones blowing up with texts dance in all swimmer’s heads as the date approaches.  Then for many, the disappointment sets in as the contacts from coaches are FAR less in number than anticipated. And the colleges that are reaching out are not the schools on the swimmer’s list of dream schools. 

Ok, now what?  Most swimmers say something like this:

• “I’m going to wait until I drop more time, then the coaches will contact me.”

• “I have a lot of potential, and I just know I will break through at the next meet.”  

• “Once I get that _____ cut (fill in the blank with Futures, Juniors, Olympic Trials), then I can go anywhere I want.”

The truth is that the next big meet won’t make or break you.  On the contrary, most swimmers don’t respond well to that type of pressure and usually will have an underwhelming meet with that hanging over their head. 

Another truth is that there is no magical cut that will cause coaches to bang down your door.  They are looking for the best possible swimmer to fill event needs in their roster.  And yet another truth is that if you wait too long to contact coaches you will probably still have options, but you just won’t have as many.

And while swimming is mostly all about times, a team’s success is also dependent on good relationships.  The coach’s relationships with the swimmers and the swimmer’s relationships with each other blend together to form a team culture and if that culture is not positive, then meet results will likely suffer even if the swimmers are all fast. So as a swimmer considers college programs, it is important to evaluate their value to the team.  If dropping 0.20 makes a swimmer suddenly valuable for a team, what does that say about what the coach values in a team member? What does that say about what the coach knows about them? The best coaches value the swimmer beyond their best times.  

So what should a swimmer do to avoid the Procrastination Mistake? Show interest.  Coaches want swimmers that want to be a part of their team.  Contact the coaches at the colleges where you fit best.  Fill out the recruiting questionnaires.  While the coaches can’t correspond with swimmers until 6/15 after their sophomore year, it’s not a bad idea to get on their radar in advance of that date.  

How do you find the programs where you fit best?  If  your times are last or close to last on the roster, that’s probably not the best swimming fit.  If you are an average student and the college only admits 7% of applicants, that’s probably not the best academic fit.  If you are a sophomore, you can assume you will drop time before you're in college, but be realistic with anticipated time drops.  

Need Help Finding Schools That Match Your Swimming and Academic Goals?I can help you build a custom list of colleges based on your swim times, GPA, and preferences. If you're just getting started with recruiting, ask for help for a smooth process. The key factor is finding the colleges where you fit best academically and athletically.  Need help finding those colleges?  Contact College Swimming Consulting to get your customized list of best-fit colleges!