Although swimming is a brutal sport, swimming is priceless.
- The gear. Being a collegiate swimmer, you get hooked up with the coolest gear. Everyone on campus knows you are an athlete because all you wear is your team apparel and you typically have wet hair.
- The “Swimmer Bod”. You know what they say about a swimmer’s body!
- Unlimited Calories. You burn thousands of calories a day, which means you can eat whatever you want!
- People automatically think you’re an Olympian. Being a swimmer, people who don’t know swimming at all think your like Michael Phelps.
- We rock the bun. Having wet hair 99% of the time, we have perfected the perfect bun every time.
- You never have to shower. Jumping in the pool every day is your shower. The chlorine is an automatic perfume.
And the best perk of being a collegiate swimmer…..
- Building a bond that cannot be broken. You spend countless hours with your teammates. You have endured the worst of the worst practices. You have put your blood, sweat, and tears into the same pool that you share with your teammates. You have cried in your teammates arms after a bad day. Swimming gives you a bond with your team that is unbreakable. You experience everything with your teammates. They see you at your best and your worst. They are your teammates, family, and best friends.
Dude, don’t forget about the intrateam hookups lol
I believe the word you’re looking for is “swimcest”. You’re welcome 😉
Your grades probably will suffer. Your social life definitely will suffer. Your schedule is not your own much of the year. You’re cool, but yeah, you’re not football player/basketball player cool (and they’ll let you know!). The stress of the inevitable plateau piles on the regular stress of being a college student. Study abroad is out. Spring break in Cancun is out. The winter break ski trip? Yeah, it’s out. The jobs and internships that build your resume? They’re pretty much out.
Oh. Wait. The PERKS.
Sorry.
Well, yeah, there are a lot of those too.
Completely agree. Especially the last point. Unless you are being paid to swim you are gambling with your future and can be years behind your classmates when you finish.
I agree with most of the above sentiments, minus the Cancun Spring Break one because I’m there now!
Yeah, cheap/free education is not a perk at all, is it?
I wouldnt call it cheap/free in any sense of the words. I was a D1 swimmer who qualified for NCAAS and only received $1500/semester. We had a swimmer who finished top 5 at NCAAS in two events who was getting nearly a full ride, but amongst the other ~24 swimmers on the team we only had about 5 scholarships worth of money to go around.
Obviously you have little knowledge on the scholarship process for college athletics. There aren’t enough scholarships for everyone in swimming. Even if the team was fully funded only a fraction would be able to get a free education. Hard to troll when you don’t know what you’re talking about John.
I have a very high level swimmer and an above average but not great swimmer who I still think could swim in college… Either way I make it clear there are obvious pros and cons… Yes discounted and possibly free education is huge but turning down academic opportunities here and abroad is huge too. When it comes down to it, I just present the fact to let them consider all info then make the decision to swim or not to swim in college based on what’s best for them. For 99% of college swimmers it’s their last chance to be a part of a team and that’s what a lot of them have got hooked on. Making friends for life… Read more »
I’ll never understand why anyone would continue swimming in college as if someone is forcing them to. You are an adult. Make a decision for yourself, don’t just complain about your perceived challenges. Swimming is an opportunity. If you don’t want to participate then don’t.
0_0, I agree with you 100%. There are pro’s and con’s with any path. If a potential college swimmer thinks they are missing out on too much by swimming, don’t do it, it’s that simple. My child swims in college and just spent spring break skiing, has a great job lined up for this summer and does research in his major on campus. For him, the time management skills, work ethic and friendships being developed through swimming are priceless. For others, it’s not worth it. Both positions are correct for that person.
Unless you are a top level swimmer, taking care of grades at high school and then going on an academic scholarship in a small/medium size liberal arts college is in my opinion the best option. That is what I will be lobbying for when our 15 year old twins starting thinking about swimming in college.
Ummm, well college swim season ends (conference champs) before 99% of schools have spring break sooooo you’re wrong. Good luck qualifying for NCAAs!
The gear I can’t stress that enough things from simple shirts and customized shoes just for them not for sale!!
I get the ‘eat whatever you want’ and who your target audience is but many swimmers have this view and it’s quite detrimental. Many coaches try to break this stigmatism. Any, just my two cents.
Let the ‘down votes’ commence!
It’s true. I struggled with consistency for a long time before I started focusing on consistent/proper fueling. Made a huge difference.