By Michael Kyle
Thousands of high school swimmers every year dream of competing at the collegiate level. While parents encourage their student-athletes to pursue their dreams, they also see the potential for a full scholarship. However, according to Tom Slear’s article “Sticker Shock” at www.usaswimming.org, this is not the case.
“I see it all the time with the swimmers and parents we see," says John Trembley, the men's coach at the University of Tennessee. "What would go to the top high school seniors, those who scored at senior nationals, is not 90 percent or a full scholarship, but 40, 50, or maybe 60 percent. In the 14 years I've been at Tennessee, we've had American record-holders and NCAA champions, some of whom had less than a half scholarship."
Division I men’s swimming programs can offer 9.9 scholarships while their female counterparts offer 14. Not all programs are fully funded, however, and according to Slear men’s programs actually average 6.5 scholarships while women’s programs average 9.2. With teams having 15-18 members, the scholarships are divided up unequally amongst the team with some student-athletes not even receiving any type of athletic aid.
"When you break up and divide scholarships, you have an unfair process from the start," says Jon Howell, who was an assistant coach at Clemson before becoming the head coach of the men's and women's teams at Division III Emory University in Atlanta.
"In one class you might have a woman who does a 23.5 in the 50-yard freestyle on a full scholarship and in the class behind her a sprinter who is just as fast getting only books."
As parents try to help their swimmers through the recruiting process, it is important for them to keep expectations in line with these realities and to make sure the number one priority is finding the right college or university that matches with their child’s academic and athletic criteria.
(Source: USA Swimming: http://usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=404&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=725&ItemId=720)
