Contributor Rick Paine is an expert on the college recruiting process. He is also the Director of Swimming at American College Connection (ACC). AAC is a SwimSwam Partner.
I coached at the club level for 30 years and I always struggled with my swimmers missing practices to take official recruiting visits. Recruiting visits have always been a necessary evil for club coaches, but missing 2 to 3 days of practice for 4 or 5 visits during the first 3 months of the season makes it very hard to get the training in.
Guess what? You don’t have to miss a practice because you are on an official visit. Take a workout with you and ask the college coach if they can help you find some pool time while you are there.
This sends a great message to the college coach that you are very serious about your swimming and it gives you a great opportunity to sell them on your potential by letting them know what your goals are for your senior season.
NCAA rules prohibit D-I coaches from watching you train on your trip or training with the team. For D-II, D-III and NAIA the rules are more flexible and it is up to the coach.
The benefits:
- Keeps you on your training plan
- Sends a very positive message to the college coach about how serious you are
- Keeps your club coach happy
Courtesy of ACC Recruiting, a SwimSwam partner.
Pretty sure the rules DIII rules are the same as DI. Can’t practice with the team, coach cannot observe you swimming.
Great article!