Thursday, September 11, 2014

THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE SWIMMING AND HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMERS


A few weeks ago, I spoke with a college swim coach who told me something horrifying, although not unsurprising. We were discussing the potential unionization of collegiate athletes, and possibly the ramifications extended to non-revenue Olympic men’s sports, like NCAA swimming. 
“Collegiate swimming might not even exist in 10 years,” he said. 
Obviously, anyone who reads this statement will (or at least should) throw up his or her hands to the sky and cry foul. They will point to all the great teams across the country, the infrastructure of the league, and the commitment several universities and athletic programs make to Olympic sports.

And yet, this coach was not wrong. Widespread change looms on the horizon for football programs, and, by extension, all athletic programs. The fact remains that swimming is mostly a money-losing endeavor for universities, and NCAA athletic departments are, at least at many division one schools, all about business. When an athletic department glances over the bottom line and sees they are losing money, oftentimes, men’s programs like swimming, wrestling, baseball and tennis are the first programs to go.

Also this summer, a swimmer walked into my place of business.A high school junior just now navigating the many various crossroads where her life could go, she was on a tour of several schools, looking at swim programs, . 
She was seeking advice.

So, with these two anecdotes in mind, here are just three pieces of overall advice for any high school junior looking at colleges this fall:

Ask the college swim coach if there is an endowment program, or any plans already in motion to attempt to fully fund the program. 
A few years ago, I spoke to a swimmer who went to his dream school: Clemson. Then after his freshmen year, Clemson cut the swim team. So he transferred to Maryland his sophomore year. Lightning hit twice: That year, Maryland cut the swim team. He had little choice. He quit the sport. 
The fact remains that swimming is, at every school, at every college, always potentially on the chopping block. You have to ask coaches, “Is there an endowment program in place? What are you doing to prepare the swim team to be fully funded? Do you reach out to alumni?” These are important questions to ask, because this is your future. You do not want to  roam nomadically from college to college in search of collegiate swimming. Find out if your school is making aggressive plans to secure self-funding. To ensure the future of the program no matter who is the athletic director or what the goals of the athletic program are.

Look at the swimming culture at the school. 
While there are outliers, if swimming is immensely popular at a certain school, chances are, that school will be less willing to cut the program. Ask the swimmers what the culture is like around campus. Ask the swimmers if there is a “swim tradition,” if the student body comes to the home meets, if there is widespread support for the swim team. If not, ask why. The Michigans or Stanfords will likely not be cutting their swim programs any time soon, but in a modern age when we saw great teams like the men's UCLA team cut or the entire Maryland program cut (with a beautiful 50m facility), no one is safe.

In the meantime, attend college swim meets. 
It’s fun for me, sometimes, to sit on my couch and complain that 35 TV channels feature college football games every Saturday and yet the National Championships for swimming are tape-delayed. But the fact remains that 100,000 people do not show up to watch swim meets. If they did, then we’d see an ESPN of Swimming. Until that day comes, attend a swim meet. Seek out the schedule. Go to a dual meet. Sit in the stands. Pick a team and cheer. We swim fans love to complain about lack of TV exposure, lack of ESPN exposure, lack of mainstream media exposure, but listen: If every state had pools where 50,000+ people jammed into a natatorium to watch a college dual meet, swimming would have the exposure. Most times, college swim meets have just a spattering of folks, most of whom are related to the swimmers themselves. College swim teams need to do a better job on the whole getting students to meets, and we as a swim community need to do a better job going to them. Once you attend some meets, you’ll be able to compare accurately different programs, different coaching styles, and different cultures.

Swimmers shouldn’t be worried or shocked about the collegiate swim team search. We should all be worried and cautious about the future of NCAA swimming. This is nothing new. And the worries are not going away anytime soon.

But with research and preparation, swimmers themselves can pick schools that support strong swim cultures, embrace the sport, and seek out programs that are looking to be self-sustainable.
Strong NCAA swim cultures means a strong overall swim culture.

Good luck, swimmers. 
Fonte
BY MIKE GUSTAFSON//CORREPSONDENT



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