March is a big month for swimmers as most of them have a big taper meet and are hoping to achieve best times after months of training. You can also begin scheduling college tours and visiting schools.
The college coaches are beginning to focus more time on recruiting current sophomores (in divisions that allow it) and juniors now that their season is ending and most of them have finished recruiting the current seniors. Your swimmer may start receiving more communication from coaches and should be active in terms of emailing coaches back and establishing a rapport.
After your swimmer’s taper meet, they should email coaches at any schools they are interested in, either introducing themself or updating their times. Including information about how they would have placed at Conference Championships is a good idea by saying something like “I swam 57.30 in the 100 breast which would have placed 12th in the B Final.” It is also a good idea to attach a resume to any emails to coaches if your swimmer has not sent one before. Coaches like to know more about the students than just their swim times to get an idea of what they are like as a whole person.
The questions swimmers ask the coaches vary depending on whether it is the first contact or they have established a rapport. As they talk or email more, swimmers can begin to ask more detailed questions.
You and your swimmer may want to watch how teams do at NCAA Championships. Only the very fastest teams and swimmers will qualify to swim there and, in many cases, there will only be one or two swimmers from a team at the meet. You should be able to track live results on Meet Mobile. If your swimmer’s goals include qualifying for NCAAs, he might want to see which teams have swimmers qualify. The dates of the meets are:
NCAA Division I Women March 15-18
NCAA Division I Men March 22-25
NCAA Division II March 7-11
NCAA Division III March 15-18
NAIA March 1-4
If you are planning college tours over Spring Break, schedule early as they tend to fill up during that time of year. NCAA Recruiting Terms explains many of the rules of the recruiting process so you know whether or not coaches are allowed to talk to your child while touring.
Think about having your swimmer take the SAT or ACT “cold” (without a prep class) in the spring or at the end of the school year. This allows him to be familiar with the test when he takes it during junior year and to figure out areas he may need to work on. If your swimmer is planning to take standardized tests in April or May, be sure to register by the following dates to avoid a late fee:
ACT April 15 – register by March 10
ACT June 10 – register by May 5
ACT July 15 – register by June 16
SAT March 11 – register by February 10
SAT May 6 – register by April 7
SAT June 3 – register by May 4
Send the test scores to the NCAA (code 9999) or NAIA (code 9876) Eligibility Clearinghouse.
Coming up in April and May:
- Continue email conversations with coaches if a relationship has been established
- Send introductory emails to coaches at swim programs which are a good fit
- Continue to research schools and swim programs
- Take the ACT and/or SAT
- Plan college tours over Spring Break