What People Are Saying

Testimonials from College Swimming Guide Fans

When I give college talks to my swimmers, half of the material I use is from College Swimming Guide. It is presented in a step-by-step manner and is to the point.

I have known Michelle for years and she is very organized with a high attention to detail.

I highly recommend that parents, swimmers, and club coaches check out College Swimming Guide.

Raz Cuparencu

Midwest Aquatic Club

USA Swimming National Coach

College Swimming Guide is an absolutely fantastic resource for not only parents of swimmers, but also the athletes themselves. The college recruiting process can be overwhelming and confusing, and this resource acts to both simplify the process, as well as narrow the search for a student-athlete’s perfect fit in a much more efficient and effective way.  
 
Michelle has done a remarkable job of creating this guide, which includes information applicable to each and every prospective college athlete. Whether you’re just beginning your college search, in the midst of it, or narrowing it down to the last couple of schools, the College Swimming Guide is guaranteed to be beneficial when making the big decision of where you’ll continue your academic and athletic career!
 
Ashley Twichell
Duke University ’11
National Team Member
World Championship 2x Gold Medalist
2020 U.S Olympic Team

College Swimming Guide is an awesome resource for both swimmers and their parents.  It really made the whole college recruiting process less overwhelming for us.

At the beginning of the process, the spreadsheets for each conference were a big help in determining which conferences my daughter should target. Once she narrowed it down to a few conferences that were a good fit she was able to look at the times for specific schools within those conferences to create an initial list of schools to research, contact, and visit.

Throughout her junior year, the monthly tasks on CSG’s site were great for understanding what she needed to be doing to stay on track. The sample emails were good templates to follow when she contacted coaches throughout the process.

Michelle was also a great resource whenever we had questions about anything. The private Facebook group is also available to get feedback from other parents going through the process.

My husband and I are thrilled with how the process has turned out. My daughter will be swimming D1 next year for a school that she feels is a perfect fit for her in every way. Thanks for everything Michelle!  We will be using CSG again next year when my son is ready to start the process.

-Cari
Swim Parent

After joining College Swimming Guide, I scheduled a call with Michelle to help us get started in the search process. My daughter wasn’t completely sure if she wanted to swim in college or not so we weren’t sure where to begin.  Michelle was able to answer all my questions about the differences between the requirements of both Division 3 and Division 1 schools. We conducted two searches as Michelle suggested (one to swim in college and one not to swim) and we looked at schools in both Division 3 and Division 1.

I used the College Swimming Guide Facebook group to learn from Michelle and the other swim parents about recruiting. The people in the group asked timely and relevant questions that helped me anticipate what would happen next in the process since I didn’t even know enough to ask my own questions.

My daughter is swimming at a Division 1 Big Ten school now and is very happy with her choice.

I highly recommend College Swimming Guide, it’s a great resource and Michelle’s one-on-one coaching sessions are extremely helpful.

 

-Vivian
Swim Parent

Embarking on the recruiting process for swimming was overwhelming! Michelle’s detailed month-by-month guide of what needed to get done (and her awesome spreadsheets!) were very helpful to keep my daughter on track. Having a group on Facebook to bounce questions off was also very helpful! I highly recommend signing up for the College Swimming Guide to help you navigate the college recruiting process

 
-Jill
Swim Parent
 

There’s no denying that the recruiting process is complicated and stressful, with more twists, turns and switchbacks than a Rock Mountain highway! It’s not only tough on swimmers; it’s tough on parents, too. Michelle Lombana’s insightful private coaching will keep you and your swimmer from falling off the recruiting cliff! We sought her advice on everything from strategic messaging for emails to coaches to effective follow-up after official visits. In Michelle, my son found an unbiased, trustworthy expert whose advice he followed without question; in Michelle, I found a confidante whose support (and wisdom) I definitely needed. Thanks to Michelle’s guidance, my son conducted a successful college / swim program search. He received roster-spot offers from coaches at four highly selective colleges and was accepted ED1 at his top choice school. Do your swimmer and yourself a favor: Engage Michelle as a private recruiting coach. It’s worth every penny—and more!

 
-Cynthia
Swim Parent
 

Michelle is a recruiting guru and guardian angel rolled up into one!  She answered all of my questions throughout the entire recruiting process. Many of my teammates and friends struggled with recruiting and made numerous mistakes along the way. Without Michelle’s help, I’m sure I would have made some of them myself! Michelle helped me achieve my goal of getting recruited to my first-choice school. I would recommend her private coaching services to any swimmer who is serious about swimming in college.

-Eric
Future College Swimmer
 

I really wish College Swimming Guide had been around when I was going through the recruiting process. My family and I spent many hours researching colleges and reaching out to coaches, without being sure we were targeting the right schools. I was enamored by the coaches that would call my house, but I didn’t realize how many other schools had great programs as well.

This program is better than the “athlete recruiters” that claim to do all of the work for you. A lot of those programs have low success rates for swimmers, so it is great to see that there is now a more focused guide. College Swimming Guide would have cut this time in half by doing the research for us and preparing spreadsheets of Conference Championship Meet Times and Top Event Times at each college.  Having that knowledge before approaching or being approached by college coaches is crucial.

Michelle is knowledgeable about the material and presents it in an easy-to-follow way with monthly action items. Life is busy enough with doubles at the pool and balancing school work. Having someone walk me through the process would have made life a lot easier.

Purchasing a membership to College Swimming Guide should be an easy decision for parents of high school sophomores and juniors.

-Scott R
Former College Swimmer

Thank you for all the help you have provided for my college search! The list that you took time to put together has been very helpful. It has been awesome to have a guide that has already been through this process. I really appreciate your time, expertise, and generosity.

-Abby
High School Senior

My son committed to his school about two weeks ago. He also received other offers.  
He was waiting for a T-shirt to arrive and he finally has announced his college decision with his social media this past Tuesday! ……..it’s a perfect fit for him. 
 
It has been a long and stressful process, but with your step by step guidance and help, he finally found the right college for him. THANK YOU!!! 
 
We may still need your advice in the future and I hope to keep in touch with you.
 
Thank you again,

-AP
Swim Parent

I would highly recommend an individual session with Michelle from College Swimming Guide.   My husband, daughter, and I were discouraged at the time Michelle met with us.  The college swim team doors we had anticipated opening were not opening and we were at a loss.  
Michelle listened to both our swimming and academic goals.  Michelle helped open our eyes to many possible options we had not considered.  She gave us a detailed spreadsheet of places where my daughter’s times fit and encouraged us to keep trying.  She gave us valuable information re: the different  swimming divisions.  
My daughter chose to swim at a Division 3 school which has been a perfect fit so far.  We are so grateful for the excellent individualized information and knowledge Michelle provided for our family.  It was a wonderful turning point in our journey.

-Robin
Swim Parent

Michelle’s services were a huge support in our search for schools.  The detailed spreadsheets were a great reference for determining conferences and schools that were best fits, and the sample emails were helpful in establishing initial communication with coaches. I highly recommend her services!

-Lisa
Swim Parent

Thank you for doing what you do.  Your site was a tremendous help in the recruiting process.  It really helped us (my son and I) set realistic goals and gave us a clear path towards the ultimate goal of being recruited – which he was!!! 

He was given several offers, including an offer from his “dream” school.  He will be a D1 swimmer in the fall.  

Michelle S.
Swim Parent

Thank you so much for meeting with me! You have so much valuable information that has really motivated me to become refocused in my college swim search. You also helped me become more confident as far as schools that will want me.

Olivia
Future College Swimmer

College Swimming Guide is a great tool that helped me make my decision for college swimming. The suggested question list and advice given is gathered from multiple years of experience. I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to do their best in the recruiting process and stand out.

Andrew
DIII College Swimmer

I wanted to send you a note tonight to share the great news!  Through all of your help, support and our Fast Lane Membership (as well as my swimmer’s hard work in and outside of the pool), she has five swim options for college!  From your advice and patience with our endless questions at our first meeting at Starbucks to the tools provided with the Fast Lane, you have been an endless source of positivity and encouragement.  I can’t recommend YOU or the Fast Lane Membership more!!!  The weekly emails, the blog posts and videos, the tools and the access to you have been priceless!

Lisa H.
Swim Parent

College Swimming Guide has been an excellent and truly invaluable resource throughout the entire search process.  From determining our initial list utilizing CSG’s spreadsheets of times, to information on what to ask on visits with college coaches, Michelle’s blogs, website and Facebook page have helped my son feel confident in the process.
 
With the help of College Swimming Guide, my son is now scheduled for his official visits this fall and is looking forward to swimming Division 1 in college.  We continue to rely on Michelle’s advice and experience every step of the way.
-Ellen
Swim Parent

At first, the recruiting process was overwhelming. I tried to contact a few coaches on my own and didn’t get many responses. 

College Swimming Guide helped me organize the information and develop a realistic list of target schools. The monthly action items helped keep me on track so I knew what I should be doing throughout the process. The spreadsheets with conference and college times were a huge help and saved a lot of time researching colleges. 

Signing up for College Swimming Guide made the process much easier.

-Name removed due to NCAA regulations

Division I College Swimmer

THHHHAAAAAAAAAANNNKK YOOOUU!!!

I’m finally taking a moment away from the site (cuz I need to feed the kids…AGAIN; lol)

I’ve been going through the info, printing results pages, taking notes, etc!!!! I AM IN LOVE…ABSOLUTE “HEAD-OVER-HEELS, WORSHIP-THE-GROUND-YOU-WALK-ON-FOR-PUTTING-THIS-ALL-TOGETHER-SO-EXPERTLY-AND-EFFICIENTLY” LOVE with this and how it’s laid out! You’ve just made my life so much easier! FINALLY! Someone who delivers on their advertising promises! It’s everything I hoped for and more!!! I only wish I found it sooner! Phew! I might be able to pull this off after all! (I was seriously beginning to wonder if I could!)  I’m just SO grateful! Can’t thank you enough!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!!

-Tonya

Swim Parent

Thank you for all your advice on College Swimming Guide. You were an excellent resource! The conference spreadsheets were especially helpful for my daughter to identify schools that were a good fit. It really made the recruiting process a pleasant experience!

I will recommend all my swim family friends to your site.

-Peg
Swim Parent

We have thoroughly enjoyed your regular emails.  We thank you for the excellent information you provide.  It’s been quite a journey to witness our son go from a shy and quiet 15-year-old to an 18-year-old that is a confident, self-directed leader of his team and his future. We owe some of that transformation to you.  Thank you.  

You provide a very valuable service.  Your message is a swimmer centered approach, not parent-centered.  That distinction is very important.  We, as parents, need to allow our kids to shine. And experience setbacks. It’s healthy.  
You clearly recognize that swimming is a metaphor for life.  Keep up the great work.  

Our son committed yesterday to swim in college.  We are thrilled for him!

Thanks again.  

-Mark
Swim Parent

My son just received his acceptance letter and he has committed to swim in college!  Thank you for the insights, tips, and guidance you have provided us for the past 2 years, my son was able to find a school with an academic and swim program that fits him best. 

-FY
Swim Parent

I did a lot of my own research when helping my son find a college that met his academic and swimming criteria.  In the course of that research, I looked at a multitude of swimming resources relating to the college recruiting process and Michelle’s College Swimming Guide was the best resource I found – by far the best.  While it is a tremendous resource for those unfamiliar with the college recruiting process, it’s equally valuable for those who have already done significant leg work, even if used only to confirm and validate information gleaned from other sources.  Moreover, Michelle is attentive and available to help at all times. 

I am tremendously impressed by the way Michelle took the knowledge she gained as a swim mom helping her son find the right college fit and turned it into business.  What is perhaps most impressive is how Michelle has worked diligently to acquire and provide substantive, relevant and pragmatic information and to develop multiple avenues for effectively communicating that information to College Swimming Guide members and others.  

College Swimming Guide has a well-designed and easy to maneuver website that is kept current.  Michelle provides forms to use for communicating with colleges coaches and detailed spreadsheets of times from colleges and conferences. In addition, she routinely prepares video clips and short articles with helpful tips, she blogs, she regularly sends out emails with links to information and she maintains a College Swimming Guide Facebook page where members can share their experiences with each other.   Michelle is also available to consult on an individual basis.   

Even colleges coaches find information provided by College Swimming Guide to be spot on.  I got the biggest chuckle when a college coach recruiting my son sent him an email with a link to an article Michelle wrote for SwimSwam.  If I had to pick a single resource to use as a guide in the college swimming recruiting process, I would definitely choose College Swimming Guide.

-Ted
Swim Parent

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