I'm the PP above with the DS who will be swimming D1 in the fall. My advice is to talk to as many teams as you can because the interviews are great practice for when his times improve and more D1s start calling (when they are allowed). The coaches have a good idea of how athletes will mature. Have him fill out the forms for schools that are even a reach academically and athletically just to get on the coach radar and then update that coach with times as they improve, Most swimmers commit mid to late Junior year or early Senior year, so you have some time for him to grow and mature.
Keep the grades up because it gives him more options. Extracurriculars do not matter if he is being recruited for swimming. All that matter are times and grades/ scores for a pre-read.

Anonymous wrote:Use swimcloud (pay for the upgraded account) to find out where your DS stands with other teams and this team (I think generally you want to target schools where he/she could be in the top 3 of their main strokes). My DS will swim D1 in the fall and also hit puberty really late, so he does need to talk about his swim goals in these calls.

I listened in on the calls with the first few coaches he spoke with so that I could help him be more clear in some of his responses. Have a list of questions you want to ask all coaches. And as PP said above, at the end, ask what the next step is. Good luck! These calls are great interview experience for kids.

OP here. We have and use Swimcloud but I wonder how to predict if he’d be in the top 3 because his college swimming debut is over 2 years away.

He’s already in top 3 for a lot of D3 schools and I’m wondering if that won’t be a good fit for him by the time he gets there. (Though I just want him to get into a good school he loves and if the swim team isn’t the best he could gotten into - it’s ok.)

One mid major D1 (my alma mater) would have had him in top 3 several months ago and then that team was awarded one of the most improved teams this year and he’d now be around 6th for most strokes. I guess they’ve put some energy into recruiting better swimmers lately but my son is no longer a shoo in there

I guess coaches know how to predict where he will fit in down the road better than I do.

I’m wondering how many of these schools that seem like a reach academically will work out. My son’s grades are good (4.0 uw for now but I sense it will be lower next year) but he has ADHD and his SATs may not be great and his extra curricular are limited because of how much time swimming takes.

Ask what training looks like at different points of the year and how that fits into academics.

Some D3 have freshman teammates live together, and often meals are together too, for good or bad. My child shared a bath with two D3 athletes and rarely even saw them. So ask about the schedule.

Ask about coaching style and who the coaches are, it’s like dating, you want to be happy. Ask how many spots they are looking to fill, and where you fit in.

Coach will ask about his resume - sports and academic history, plans. No one wants to waste their tim.

Use swimcloud (pay for the upgraded account) to find out where your DS stands with other teams and this team (I think generally you want to target schools where he/she could be in the top 3 of their main strokes). My DS will swim D1 in the fall and also hit puberty really late, so he does need to talk about his swim goals in these calls.

I listened in on the calls with the first few coaches he spoke with so that I could help him be more clear in some of his responses. Have a list of questions you want to ask all coaches. And as PP said above, at the end, ask what the next step is. Good luck! These calls are great interview experience for kids.

Do you mind sharing some rough stats about your kid? What level meets he is qualifying for or generally what Swim motivations times he is hitting?

Thanks!

Ask questions, there are many samples out there (for example: https://www.usaswimming.org/news/2018/04/04/questions-to-ask-college-coaches)

Always follow-up with "What is the next step in the recruiting process?"

Good luck!

I think at this age, the call will be quite preliminary in nature. The coach will probably have some good conversation-starters ready. I agree that he'll probably want to know how this past season went, what the training was like, etc. May want to know summer plans.

I would encourage your kid to write down maybe five good questions. He doesn't have to ask all of them, but if he has a few to keep the conversation flowing, that's great. Some samples ... what events are you strongest in? What is the practice schedule like for your team? What sorts of majors do your student-athletes have? What would you want to see me do in the next couple of years as a prospective college swimmer?

Anonymous wrote:My son has a call with a college swim coach coming up soon. He's a sophomore so this is his first one.

It's a D3 school that might be a slight stretch academically but he would be one of the better swimmers on the team using his current times (which will of course improve before he'd even enroll).

My son had a late start with puberty so I think there is still a lot of potential there. Our goal is not necessarily D1 - it's for him to find a school he loves.
We know there is little money in swimming so that is not our concern.

We just want him to make a good impression on the coach AND to figure out if this school could be a good fit. We will of course visit if he is interested.

Any tips for these kinds of calls?

Outside of what has already been said, just have him research the school and team some and have a few questions lined up! Enthusiasm and love for the sport is another thing the coaches like to hear. The times and training are easy enough to discuss.

D1 All American in a similar sport (track - times convey quite a bit). Heavily recruited. No parental involvement as my single mother was sick. Here’s my take:

Have your son discuss his training as factually as possible. Every coach wants to know how high the ceiling is with an athlete.

Have your son explicate his goals. If he has any desire to stay connected with the sport long term, mention that.

State his current academic interest. D3 coaches typically have far less pull with admissions than at D1, where the abuse is ridiculous, but the coach at D3 can assist if the stats line up.

Your son needs to get a read on the coach- I like D3 and find D1 athletics often corrupting of the academic mission, but a tyrant of a coach makes no sense at the D3 level. They exist in track at the D3 level, and again, in an environment where academics should prevail, the experience should be challenging but enjoyable. My friend - a long time coach at a major university near Chicago, thinks most athletes make a mistake putting too much emphasis on making D1, because they would have better careers and progressions at D2 or D3. D2 has an issue with an overall lack of competitive schools, but exceptions like the Colorado School of Mines are very good.

You mention hitting puberty late which is a factor. This can likely be addressed by referring to 9th grade height and weight (this is a factor with boys and not to be put upon girls). I was 5”2 and 105 pounds in 9th grade. In 12th, I was 5”10 130. Ran with limited training 4:29 as a frosh in the mile, 4:05 as a senior. I didn’t not do anything but grow into my body.

My son has a call with a college swim coach coming up soon. He's a sophomore so this is his first one.

It's a D3 school that might be a slight stretch academically but he would be one of the better swimmers on the team using his current times (which will of course improve before he'd even enroll).

My son had a late start with puberty so I think there is still a lot of potential there. Our goal is not necessarily D1 - it's for him to find a school he loves.
We know there is little money in swimming so that is not our concern.

We just want him to make a good impression on the coach AND to figure out if this school could be a good fit. We will of course visit if he is interested.

Any tips for these kinds of calls?