Quote:
Originally Posted by thealmighty
Does Bear being a good distance swimmer entice more schools to maybe be interested? I would think there are far fewer kids who excel at longer races?
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Interesting question...to a certain extent your assessment is accurate, the number of sprinters far exceeds the number of mid distance swimmers which far exceeds the number of full distance swimmers, so the pool of people colleges have to choose from is much smaller. However, there are less events a distance swimmer can score in, usually it's just the 1000 or 1650 free (whichever that conference uses for their championship meet - both events aren't typically swum at a conference championship), and the 500 free (which mid-distancers also swim). Making matters worse a typical distance swimmer won't help in any of the 5 relays, which creates a situation in many colleges where distance swimmers aren't recruited as hard do to the limited return.
There are some exceptions to that rule, like the distance swimmer that is good enough in another event that they can score. Typically, for distance freestylers that's the 200 Free, which also means that the swimmer can be part of the 800 free relay, but that additional slot where a distance swimmer can score could be anything. The distance swimmers that have the ability to score in 3 events become extremely valuable, and they are ones that colleges fight over. Obviously, what it takes to score varies depending on Division and Conference, so that's where the research into teams, conference final results, etc. comes into play.
As we get deeper into recruiting, I'll post information on where Bear fits on the team and in conference to provide you with some perspective. I'll do the same for Bailey as well, if she decides to continue to pursue college swimming.