D3 Non-Recruited Swimmers

gointhruaphase
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 13:48:36 +0000

As everyone notes, your daughter should reach out with her interest to the coach. This is not for the purpose of getting an extra boost with admissions because, as you suggest, your daughter is not being recruited. However, it may inform your daughter’s choice of school.

It looks like both Swarthmore and Amherst have pretty good programs. But reaching out to the coach certainly can’t hurt and could help. Ask whether tryouts are open and what times are expected to make the team. Ask how many openings are predicted for the year in your daughter’s stroke. Some team needs (e.g., resulting from injury) may not be predictable, but sometimes coaches know that a prior year’s swimmer is throwing in the towel. If you have tapes, you may want to send them along.

You will want to look into the school’s policies about captain’s (out of season) practices. Many colleges do not restrict captain’s practices to athletes with a roster spot or, put differently, they must be open to all matriculating students. These will be critical to the non-recruited athlete. Captains regularly communicate with coaches about athletes at the margins who might not be stars, but could contribute to the team due to a work ethic, etc. Plus, coaches just have a way of knowing what happens in the off-season.

Let us know what the coaches say.