Courtesy of Gary Hall Sr., 10-time World Record Holder, 3-time Olympian, 1976 Olympic Games US Flagbearer and The Race Club co-founder.
The task of selecting the best possible college for a high school swimmer can be daunting. Working your way through the many NCAA rules, regulations, and college options for both swimming and academic programs is like trying to find your way through an inordinately complex maze. Sometimes you simply don’t know which way to turn as a college swimming recruit.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Timing is another issue. With the most recent NCAA recruiting rule changes, swimmers need to be prepared to make earlier decisions than ever before. While the junior year in high school was once the pivotal year, the sophomore year has now become the most critical year for swimmers to show their athletic potential. Often, college swimming athletic scholarships become committed during the junior years. Academic choices made as a freshman or sophomore are now more important than ever before. Since growth spurts occur at different ages among swimmers, swimming at a high level during the sophomore year can be challenging for some.
Throw in the differences between swimming scholarship opportunities for young women vs young men (due to Title IX) and the three different divisions of NCAA schools with very different rules and you have one gigantic puzzle to figure out. That is why we started offering Race Club College Placement Camps; to help you navigate through the maze.
AGENDA
On Saturday and Sunday, October 12 and 13, The Race Club is hosting a two-day College Placement Camp in Coronado, California. Our guest speaker, each afternoon via teleconference, is Greg Earhart, Executive Director of the College Swim Coaches Association of America and founder of www.collegeswimming.com. Greg has an encyclopedic knowledge of college swimming and will answer many of your questions.
The afternoon sessions are didactic instruction in the classroom for parents and swimmers, focusing on subjects such as how to cut through the NCAA red tape, social media presence, and telephone etiquette. The morning sessions are hands-on swimming, dedicated to help you sprint faster, start, and turn better and learn fundamentals of proper swimming technique.
COLLEGE PLACEMENT VIDEO
For those interested, we offer a college placement video for any swimmer, which highlights all of the swimmer’s athletic talents and personality. We then share the video with the coaches of the swimmer’s top school choices. We have found this to be an effective way of getting more of the coach’s attention for the swimmer.
TESTIMONIAL
Here is what Dave Sherk, father of Race Clubber, Zach Sherk, had to say about our College Placement Camp in February in Islamorada, Florida.
Just wanted to take a moment and Thank you and The Race Club for the camp. Although we went through recruiting for a different sport, I found the information provided very helpful with regards to navigating the waters of college swimming. No pun intended.
At The Race Club, we pride ourselves in helping our members find the right college fit for academics, swimming, and social interaction. We have an excellent track record in helping place our Race Clubbers in the schools of their choices. We hope to see you at Coronado in October for two fun days of swimming and learning about college swimming. You can register on our website at www.theraceclub.com.
If you can’t make this one, catch the next Race Club College Placement Camp in Islamorada, Florida on February 15 and 16, 2020.
Yours in swimming,
Gary Sr.
Gary Hall, Sr., Technical Director and Head Coach of The Race Club (courtesy of TRC)
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THE RACE CLUB
Because Life is Worth Swimming, our mission is to promote swimming through sport, lifelong enjoyment, and good health benefits. Our objective is for each member of and each participant in The Race Club to improve his or her swimming performances, health, and self-esteem through our educational programs, services and creativity. We strive to help each member of The Race Club overcome challenges and reach his or her individual life goals.
The Race Club provides facilities, coaching, training, technical instruction, video, fitness and health programs for swimmers of all ages and abilities. Race Club swim camps are designed and tailored to satisfy each swimmer’s needs, whether one is trying to reach the Olympic Games or simply improve one’s fitness. Our programs are suitable for beginner swimmers, pleasure swimmers, fitness swimmers, USA swimming or YMCA swimmers, or triathletes; anyone who wants to improve swimming skills. All of our Race Club members share an enjoyment of being in the water and use swimming to stimulate a more active mind and body.