I am an upcoming sophomore (2016/17) and am wondering if I can possibly be recruited for swimming. I was the most valuable swimmer on my high school team. My times have dropped significantly in the past year (3 seconds in 50 free, 7 seconds in 100 free, 13 seconds in 200 free) while swimming 6 hours a week with no dryland and next year I will be training close to 20 hours a week including drylands, so hopefully I will have huge drops my sophomore year and beyond. I’m ranked near 100th in my state (Virginia) and was wondering if I had good drops this season, will I be recruited? I would love to swim in college and although my chances are probably limited, I would love to see if a lower level D1 school would like me, although I would still like to swim D2/D3 if I am not good enough. I’m a freestyler primarily and grade-wise, I had all A’s freshman year and took all 4 honors classes, take the highest level language offered and am in the advanced band. My times are below:
You definitely have sophomore and junior year to improve; most people don’t peak until junior year (which was me, but I’m only good enough for D3 lol). As of right now, you would probably be in D2, but who knows? You could make some miraculous time drops just as you did freshman year. It takes work ethic and persistence to get to where you want to be, as any athlete would know. Your time drops are huge, especially for your sprint free events. Don’t worry if your times begin to plateau again; it happens. I used to swim 6 hours a week for club practice and close to 20 during high school season, and I ALWAYS did better during high school season because I had to go every single day. During my junior year, I didn’t drop time in the 100 Breast (my main event) until later than halfway through the season. Make sure you make your NCAA Clearinghouse account now so coaches can start looking out for you. If you have some colleges in mind already that are D2, you can contact them so they can send a scout over to watch you at your high school league/regional championships. You also need to make sure that your academic plan will cover all of the class requirements for participating in D1/D2 sports. Good luck! Swim fast, don’t get last!
My DD is a swimmer and I suggest you look at the end of season times at schools where you think you might fit. If you want to step up your game you might consider seeking out a club team, especially if you are in the metro DC area as there are many great ones.
I wouldn’t bother spending the money now to create an NCAA Clearinghouse account. If you swim at a DIV3 school, you won’t need to go through the Clearinghouse, but the NCAA will not refund the money you spent creating the account.
