OT: Stud Michigan Swimmer Not Being Recruited

Submitted by brewandbluesaturdays on

So, I know this is way off topic, but my best friends little brother is the top 50 yd freestyle swimmer in the state of Michigan and is the most respectable kid I've ever met, holding 3.8 GPA . His coach has done no promotion for his times this season and the state meet is tomorrow. I will be visiting the the state meet tomorrow, for the first in my life and am wondering from the swimmig die hards how swimming recruiting works and what this kid need to do to be recruited? Will he be recruited after his state times, how does this work? . All of his times would have been top 7 in Michigan meets last year. Any insight on swimming recruiting or what needs to be done for this kid to get some recognition would be appreciated....

I dont mean to name drop but... Go Nate!

mejunglechop

March 11th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^

I mean I had a friend on the swim team who went to the Olympics during her time at Michigan and she didn't have a full scholarship so...

Philbert

March 11th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^

usually its on the coaches to help but times speak for themselves. He will be recognized if he does well tomorrow. I swam my freshman-jr years of hs and made the state meet twice but I just didn't care ( I swam to keep in shape for baseball) It will come and if not its easy to go D2 or D3 and work your way up from there. I have a great friend who now swims at D2 school. same hs as me and our coach didnt do shit for promoting us. She went to her fancy private school for physical therapy and went to a meet one day just for shits and giggles and her sr year times beat 80% of the team so she got in shape and just walked on the next year and then got a scholarship. in the end.. little colleges are kind of desperate for swimmers because of the popularity factor but you can easily move up the ranks just by having good results. ( note:sprinters aren't as popular to be recruited in the college ranks  .. they can train kids with other stroke abilities to do that) just from what I have been told don't shoot the messanger. 

WolvinLA2

March 11th, 2011 at 11:53 PM ^

It's not just on the kid's coach to promote him.  Has he gone to camps?  Does he swim on a club team during the summer?  Unless he became a good swimmer all of a sudden, a number of people should have seen him coming. 

That said, just because he's the top guy in the state in the 50 free doesn't mean he's good enough for Michigan, or any Big Ten team.  Michigan is not a super strong state for swimming, but pretty good.  I'm sure there are many years where the kid who wins the 50 free doesn't get a Big Ten scholarship.

ikestoys

March 11th, 2011 at 11:57 PM ^

He set multiple all-time state records in breastroke. He did not receive a scholarship and was All-Big Ten. Michigan recruits kids that swim competitively nationally.

 

The state record for 50 yard dash in high school is 20.36, which wouldn't be good for the 50th best time at Michigan ever.

I'm not saying to not go for it or whatever, but it's a longshot.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 12th, 2011 at 12:02 AM ^

Can he do anything else besides the 50 free?  In college, the 200 is considered a sprint, so if he swims this amazing 50 but drops off for the 100 and 200, college coaches aren't gonna take much of a look.  Does he have another stroke?  Freestylers are a dime a dozen and you've really gotta stand out if that's all you do.  Even in D-III the times you see at conference meets and nationals blow the high schools away.  For example, if my recollection is right and they haven't changed it, the D-I state cut time in Michigan for the 100 free is 49.49.  That time would barely get you started in college.

He could probably send some times to schools he's interested in, schools always have a "for recruits" section on their website.  But like I said - a freestyle sprinter, if that's all he does, has got to leap way out from the pack in order to get noticed because they're all over the place.

ken725

March 12th, 2011 at 12:16 AM ^

I agree with you that it will be hard to get recruited if 50 Free is his main event.  If you look at the top 75 in NCAA this year, they basically swim sub 20.  

I do not agree with you about the 200 being a sprint.  The strategy of swimming the 200 Free is much different than the 50 free.  The 50 free is really considered the sprint event.  If you can swim the 200 Free the same way you swim a 50 free then you would have shattered the world record.  

Take Jason Lezak (sprint specialist) cannot "sprint" the 200 Free.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 12th, 2011 at 12:38 AM ^

Well, yeah, you don't approach the 200 the way you do the 50, which is pure balls-to-the-wall explosion from start to finish.  But sprinters will be called on to do it, whereas in high school it's almost entirely a distance thing.  I guess the main thing I'm trying to say is that in order to swim in college you probably can't be limited to 100 yards unless you're completely amazing.

brewandbluesaturdays

March 12th, 2011 at 12:17 AM ^

He has been contaced by SEC and IVY league coaches offering him places on their team. The kid is an athlete who doesnt do the swimming circuit in the summer but still holds down his own obviously. I'm not sure what can get done at this point in the recruiting cylce but, as someone who went through it as  football player I just wanted to know how it went down for swimming and I would love to see this kid winnning a championship for a Michigan team.

GWUWolverineFan

March 12th, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^

Michigan is one of the best high school swimming states, and having been on the best public team in the state, and one of the top 5 in the country, being in the top7 does not make you Michigan/Texas caliber.
<br>
<br>Smaller D1 teams maybe, but D3 more likely.

mmccrae

March 12th, 2011 at 7:05 AM ^

Unless his name is clay youngquist, he doesn't have the fastest 50, and if he is clay youngquist, he definitely has a michigan offer. The guys michigan competes with like auburn average like 18 seconds for each 50. When you say fastest in state is it for all divisions? And like others have said, can he extend it to a 200?

King Douche Ornery

March 12th, 2011 at 8:42 AM ^

But I quit because everytime I jumped into the pool my cigarettes would go out and I'd spill my beer.

MCWolverine

March 12th, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^

I was top 5 in the state in the 50 and 100 free and knew I had no chance to swim for Michigan. I had two high school teammates who were more versatile and both swam for M. If he's a sprint specialist he needs to be able to swim a 100 in another stroke or the 200. In college meets you need to score in three events to be relevant. Michigan pulled in the #1 recruiting class in the nation last year and can recruit any big time swimmer. Winning the 50 in Michigan won't get you much of a look.

aaamichfan

March 12th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^

My brother swam for Michigan. He was the fastest person in the state in a couple events his senior year of HS, and could have been top 3 in basically every other event. Also, a couple of his times were ranked top 12 in the nation. College coaches knew about him, because he had been very good since his freshman year of HS. 

Bottom line, to be recruited by a school like Michigan to swim, you have to be a stud in multiple events. Also, his time is more important than his placing at the state meet. From what I know about Michigan HS swimming, your best friend's little brother sounds good enough to swim for some college team, but probably not Michigan.

swim blue

March 12th, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^

I swam at UM and can say many factors go into recruiting a kid other than times such as potential. If a coach sees above average high school times but a ton of potential they might take a chance on him. If he is set on UM Id say email the coach with his times and that he is interested. Most swim coaches will let a in state kid at least try out for the team in the fall but getting any money might be a stretch. Also I dont think many swim coaches use those recruiting sites so thats probably a waste of time.

Medic

March 12th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^

I can't speak for the current coaching staff, but given my experience with the recruiting process and eventually choosing Michigan, if the kid is not pulling Senior National level times in his events, it would be highly unlikely that he will recieve even a minimal scholarship offer from Michigan.

Michigan has a tradition of Olympic Trial level (or higher) talent in every stroke, and usually more than 2 deep in each event. Coaches also evaluate your training regimen to get an idea of what your training ceiling is (room for improvement), event versatility (how many different events can you swim well), attitude, work ethic, and will likely talk to your coach and friends to get a feel for the type of person you are. If they feel a swimmer has potential and is nationally competitive but not quite at that Olympic Trial-ish level, they will typically encourage those guys to walk-on and try and swim their way into a scholarship of some measure.

The program recruits nationally, heck, internationally. Swimmers can get full scholarships, but you'd better be lighting the world on fire at the Olympics to make that happen.

Wolverine In Iowa

March 12th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^

I know we have one of the best distance and IM programs in the country, but when will U-M pull sprinters like those freaks at Auburn or Texas.  Also, where are our killer breaststrokers?