By Katie Lafferty, Swimming World College Intern.
As the summer season is quickly coming to an end, there are a few important meets that have already occurred, and will soon occur. World Championships will be held in Budapest at the end of the month and Jr. World Championships and World University Games take place in August.
But what does that mean to someone who didn’t compete at the meet? It means that there are new names to learn and more swimmers to follow. Whether you’re a swim nerd or just starting to dabble in the sport, it is important to know some basic things that will help you understand the sport a little more.
After having spent so many years on the pool deck, knowing the names of the top swimmers in the country and how to qualify for specific meets is second nature to a lot of swimmers and coaches. However, for some people, just having fun with the sport is the main focus. With new rules and event changes happening frequently in the NCAA, USA swimming, and FINA sanctioned meets, it gets confusing as to what is happening. So what do coaches and swimmers know and want to know about the sport?
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
For example, Saint Francis University assistant swim coach, Leah Neiheisel, wants her swimmers to know more than just rule and event changes.
Neiheisel said,
“I want swimmers to know about their sport. To understand the history and know who has come before and what we have done and why we do things the way we do now. I want them to know so they can set their goals and have things to shoot for. The more they understand the better they buy into what we are doing why they understand the why and why it helps them get to the next step.”
Neiheisel wants her swimmers to be students of the sport to further their knowledge, which in turn, will help her swimmers to create better goals.
Like Neiheisel, Saint Francis University head swim coach Rory Coleman also believes that swimmers should know the history of the sport. “It provides perspective on where the sport was and where we are going. I think it’s always interesting to look at times over history, to know what it took to win big meets. Also to understand the history of training philosophies and how we got the where we are.”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Rising Saint Francis University senior swim captain, Kasey Marks, gave insight from a swimmer’s standpoint. Marks mentioned how it’s important to know about qualifying standards, but she is more interested in having fun with the sport.
“It’s important to be motivated and know time standards to push yourself to be a better swimmer. However, I mostly swim for the enjoyment of it. I find it easier for me to do better in an event when I am laughing and having a good time with my teammates. Qualifying for a certain meet [just] adds to the excitement.”
Although, Marks focuses on enjoying the sport, she does continue to follow some of the top swimmers in the country. “I follow a couple of swimmers to see how they are doing in meets. I especially follow Cody Miller because he is my best friend’s brother. It is amazing to see how happy his family gets when he does well in meet. This gives me the motivation to try my best at practices and put in the effort.”
When talking with Allie Matti, a sophomore swimmer for Hillsdale College, she said,
“I follow swimmers on social media/their times probably more than most people do, but it’s almost because I like to see them rapidly improving to give myself hope that it’s possible no matter how fast or slow you are. They are inspiring whether they are 15 or 30, and everyone has such a different story. As a 19 year old, I’m still not afraid to fan girl over Olympians, cry when they win world records or get best times. Watching these people are what bring the swimming community [together] today!”
Like Marks, Matti also believes that it’s important to know qualifying times, but agrees that it is not the most important thing about our sport. “I do think it’s important to know how to qualify for these meets for when you are fast enough to go, but it’s not something you should be constantly worrying about. Swimming should be fun and putting pressure on yourself to be qualifying for these meets makes it more stressful than it needs to be. It can be fun to just get in and swim!”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
While talking with several college coaches and college swimmers, it is evident that coaches and swimmers have different outlooks on wanting and needing to know about the sport of swimming. Not only is there a difference between what coaches and swimmers want to know about the sport, coaches have been found to want swimmers to know more about the history of the sport and why things are done the way they are, whereas, swimmers seem to want to have fun with the sport first and foremost, while knowing qualifying times and rule changes second.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.