I just got notice that I was selected by my high school to go on a study abroad trip to Greece and Italy this summer. It is an honors level program where I will be studying the ancient architecture and history there. I have a dilemma: should I tell college swim coaches this? I will be missing three weeks this summer for the trip meaning I won’t be training for 3 weeks. This will probably affect my performance at the end of the season due to not enough training. I know it is a wonderful opportunity that could not be passed up but will it defer coaches? Will the see me as not dedicated enough to the sport? Will the results of this long course season determine whether or not I will get offered official visits? Thanks
BTW I am a high school junior looking at Ivy League schools and have been in contact with them
You may want to try to practice some with a local team while you are travelling ( how does one say rainbow set in Italian?). You may also be able to find a local pool where you can work out on your own with a practice set written by your club coach. Even if you only practice a few times while you are gone it will help you keep the feel for the water which will be important when you go to your championship meet.
Yes I think you should tell the coaches. You can speculate on what they might think, but it is still best to be upfront about your plans. Different coaches will have different expectations about your commitment to the sport, but I believe that most good coaches will understand that people who may like to swim , swimmers, will also have other interests. This sounds like a great opportunity for you!
The results of long course are only one of the criteria used to select swimmers…if your short course times are good this year and last years long course also, then you have no worries. Of course @swimskidsdad is correct that if you arrange to swim some while you are away and if you tell these coaches you have made the effort to make those arrangements, it will show your commitment to the sport.
As a parent of a swimmer in college, perhaps I have a different perspective, but for what its worth, I’ll throw it out there. Inform the coaches you are going, and a one sentence outline of the manner in which you are going to try to swim while you are there. (Try is the operative word.) How coaches react will be quite telling actually–good glimpse into their viewpoints on balance between swimming, academics and outside life. You’ll be judged primarily off your short course times, and you know if those are competitive to the Ivy’s. Then go. These chances don’t come around very often…and the pool will still be 25 yards or 50 meters long when you get back, and it will still have water in it.
There is one exception to this, but since you are thinking Ivy’s and not top 10 NCAA schools I am assuming you are not in this group…if you have made Olympic Trial cuts, and are within range (top 20 in US) of making the team…then I would say not to even ask.
My D is going to Europe study abroad this summer–taking 8 weeks off from college swimming. The coach was thrilled for her, asked her to do an aerobic activity every day while gone, and if possible, lift weights. She agreed, and is going. Its different once you get to college–then you basically have to ask the coach to do this type of thing. Right now, you can tell the coaches what you are doing. Big difference.
It also is possible that a mental break from the daily grind of swimming for a few weeks could help your swimming by avoiding burnout. I’m sure you could run to cross-train and, as noted above, maybe find a pool for a few swims during the trip.
@swim4school @madamecrabster Should I include this is the email? “I hope this doesn’t effect where I stand in your recruiting list” or something along those lines??? I’m finding it difficult to express what I mean.
Well, what exactly do you mean? You can say “I am still very interested in your school. What can I do now to improve my chances of admission?” or emphasize that you think it will be exciting to have the opportunity to swim in Greece and Italy. I don’t have a good answer except that if it were me (or my kid) I would try to put a positive spin on it. Not sure if this answer helps you @swim1634. Be clear that you plan to maintain contact and keep them updated. See how they respond.
I would not say “I hope this does not effect where I stand…” Don’t even think that way. Instead say something to the effect of “I am honored to have this opportunity to study two areas of deep interest. I may not be able to frequently communicate with you during the three weeks I am gone, but I will check back in with you after my return. I am planning on swimming and/or running while I am abroad.”
I think I would remain silent on the impact to your swimming…be all positive. Ironically, a coach might think its pretty cool that a 17 year old is mature enough to go to a study abroad program for three weeks on his/her own. Its a good indicator of maturity and worldliness. You certainly won’t be perceived as someone who has never travelled and therefore might be a challenge to live away from home, travel to meets, attend conference championships, etc.
My guess is this has zero impact on your position in recruiting. Unless you make it a big deal, it will be a blip on the radar of their busy recruiting lives.
Athletes take breaks in training for a variety of reasons. Yours will be one of the better ones. Plenty of D1 athletes have studied abroad during the summer. Although you may not be able to find a suitable pool, there should be no reason that you can’t cross train while you are away. High school chaperones may not be excited about you taking long solo runs in a foreign country, but there may be some type of gym available where you can maintain some level of fitness.
If you use the sentence as you originally wrote it, you need to change “effect” (typically used as a noun) to “affect” (which is a verb). That said, the coach’s grammar may not be good enough to catch the error, but you never know.