Kate Smarjesse - (Author)

Is Swimming a Team or Individual Sport? When asking the question "is swimming an individual or team sport?" the answer can vary wildly. Though progress is made individually, and you can swim in your own lane, there comes a point in every swimmer’s career when they swim for something more than themse...

12 Questions You Should Ask During College Recruiting Process By Ashley Illenye (Archive) Each year, high school seniors must make one of the biggest decisions of their young adult lives: Where they will spend the next four years of their lives and educations. Recruiting trips primarily decide where...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. Championship season is around the corner for all ages, whether it be high school or college. End of the season meets mean taper—and taper means fine-tuning every bit of your training to assure you’re ready for whatever life throws your way by the end...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. The deadline of November 8 for swimmers to sign their National Letter of Intent has come and past. With that, the spring deadline of April 11 is another two months away, and high school seniors who have not signed their NLIs might be feeling anxious....

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. Keeping good care of your body is an essential part of swimming. Because of the nature of the sport, a swimmer needs every ounce of strength they can get between grueling practices and taxing meets. Because swimmers are trying to go their person best...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern.  Early January means gyms full of people trying to make good on their New Year’s Resolutions. In the swimming world, early January means practices populated with swimmers trying their best to live up to their own resolutions. It’s easy to let yoursel...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. December in the swimming world means midseason meets. Whether your team decided to do a full taper, a three-day drop-off or just wear a suit, a midseason meet may be the second most important meet of your season. Where there are triumphant athletes, ...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. Since its inception, the concept of the rivalry has been one of the most entertaining aspects of sports. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Cristiano and Lionel Messi, and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are all examples of riva...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. College level student-athletes have the epitome of untimely eating schedules. There are 5:00 a.m. practices that you can’t eat breakfast before or you'll get queasy. There’s the 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.class that runs right into any time the dining hal...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. Like most sports, men tend to dominate the field of discussion in swimming, but Katie Ledecky has derailed the discussion and given it a whole new light. Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian and other men, in the past, monopolized the conversat...

By Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. The beginning of July marks a very important time for rising high school seniors and college recruiters. It represents the beginning of the recruiting process and weeding out what schools that you do and do not want to go to. One of the most importan...

By: Ashley Illenye, Swimming World College Intern. Being a student-athlete on any level is very demanding, especially as a swimmer. With three-day meets, 5 a.m. practices, and sleeping and eating habits you have to maintain, there is no question as to how swimming is time-consuming. What happens, ho...

by Ashley Illenye, Swimming World Magazine Intern.  A highly disagreed upon topic in high school and club swimming is whether or not young swimmers should be lifting weights. There are different types of training outside of the pool. Many clubs participate in dryland activities that do not include l...

By: Ashley Illenye, Swimming World Magazine Intern At the beginning of every swim season, college swimmers aim to accomplish their goals at their conference championship. These can be technique related, going a personal best, improving your worst stroke or being a good teammate. However, swimming li...