By Bryce Perica
For a variety of reasons, a swimmer’s times can plateau in high school and not improve for six months, a year, or longer. No matter the stage of a swimmer’s career, this can be a troubling, stressful development. But for high school swimmers who are hoping to make the jump to the next level, plateauing can create anxiety and doubt about being able to present yourself as a strong, appropriate fit to your dream college.
A number of parents and swimmers we have heard from wanted to know if coaches change their recruiting approach when a swimmer appears to plateau. We inquired about this and asked the coaches if there is any advice they can offer to a high school recruit whose times have not improved.
As long as an unsigned high school recruit has already attracted a team’s attention with their best times, worrying about plateauing should not concern them too much. Coaches would love to see a high school recruit continually drop time, but that is often an unrealistic expectation. There are ups and downs in every athletic pursuit. What matters to many coaches is that you have gone fast at least once. “We will continue to recruit an athlete who has gone fast, as it is ‘in them’ and they do not necessarily lose it,” wrote George Kennedy, Head Coach at Johns Hopkins University. “It is up to all of us to help find a way to ‘bring it back’.”
“If a recruit’s times have plateaued it is imperative that they address this with the coach,” wrote Jim Bolster, Head Coach at Columbia University. “The recruit should be upfront about the issue and talk about the circumstances that have led to his/her flat line performances.” Whether it is plateauing times or something worse, like a disciplinary issue, communication between recruit and a potential college coach is emphasized again and again by the coaches featured in this series.
Most importantly for the recruit, if your times are plateauing do not call it quits. “Be willing to walk-on to a team and work toward a scholarship,” said Matt Gianiodis, Head Coach at Michigan State University. “Sometimes lack of time drop is in direct relation to motivation. I do not believe that you have to adjust your plan/dream based on one season or one year.”
Gianiodis’ advice underscores the options available to “plateaued” recruits once they arrive on campus. The new environment alone might provide the necessary changes in a swimmer’s training schedule to boost moral or motivation, which are sometimes the culprit of plateauing swim times. “Changing the venue can help, such as swimming crosspools or working on tempos,” said Kennedy. “Many athletes swim faster in relays—take a Friday and work on relays. Many relate to peers—have a peer-coaching day. The first step is being sure the athlete wants to be great!”
However, if you arrive on campus in poor shape, there is not much a coach can do to your training routine to increase motivation. Arriving a bit soft sets you up for a string of bad days, not making the travel team, or worse, being cut. Plateaued swimmers should never forget that they swam fast before and can do it again. If they keep this in mind, chances are the times will eventually drop. In the meantime, it will greatly affect their attitude at practices and be conducive to a well-knit team, which, coaches reminded us, is certainly a goal.
“As college coaches, our constant battle is creating a strong team with athletes from many different backgrounds,” wrote Coach George Kennedy. “Once the athletes are surrounded by other athletes with great attitudes and work ethic, the ‘sky is the limit’ with how fast they can go by racing each other in practice and working with one another toward excellence.”
