Amelia Betancourt '25 Recruiting Profile

  Competetive swimming is a life skill that I believe has given men structure to become a better person and athlete.  My swimming journey started when I was 3 years old; when my dad taught me. As my skills began to improve, I started to compete at various age-group meets and have been hooked ever since! To date, I've been swimming competitively for over 10 years now. Like many, as a young swimmer, I started with my summer league team and then progressed to a year round program as well as my high school team. Currently, I swim for the Lowes YMCA Lightning swim team, in Mooresville, NC. Ive been swimming for my team, under the same coach, since I was 8 years old.  My goal and dream is to swim beyond high school and I seek a program where I am both a cultural fit as well as an athletic asset.  I come from a swimming family where both my parents are US masters swimmers and my 2 younger brothers also compete. You could say that swimming is a lifestyle in our home. 

  I desire to attend a school that pushes me to maximize my potential, makes me a better athlete, fuels my passion for the sport, and allows me to be a role model for younger swimmers.  Another goal that I have for myself is to become a more well-rounded athlete.  As of now, my main goal is to achieve my Junior National cut in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. In addition, I am also working on other events such as the 100 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM, 50 and 100 free so that I can contribute to the overall teams success.

 Academically, Ive been able to maintain a 4.0+ weighted GPA. I enjoy learning and understand that academic success is the key to being a student athelte in college. Ive had to improve my study habits in order to maintain my academic goals, which has been both a positive change and also a challenge. Its extremely important to me to have strong academics so that I can be the best student athlete that I can. 

  However, like any athlete Ive had my challenges with my sport. Swimming has always been the type of thing that is unconditional. No matter what the circumstance are or were, the pool has always been there to fall into. When COVID hit one could say that my life came to a crashing halt. At least thats one way to look at it. Our regionals meet was the first thing the pandemic "took away". I began to become discouraged as the pool time continued to get pushed further and further out. 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and the following months turned into over a year. I however, had an advantage that most do not; an Endless Pool which my parents built in our garage prior to the pandemic. However, even with this tool, I didn't want to swim. And, for a time, I didn't. Yet, over time, I realized that this "thing" was not panning on going anywhere anytime soon and that neither was I. When the 2020-2021 season started back up and I wasn't training with my team, much less competing, I did something about it.  I started training in the endless pool in our garage at 6am. Yes, it was a struggle. I did this not only to stay in the best shape, but also in the hopes that I would have an opportunity to compete again. The pandemic made me realize the true, burning passion that I have for completive swimming, the pandemic also dimmed my fire at times, but at the same time it taught me perseverance, dedication, and courage. 

  I am excited to continue my swimming career in college.  I believe that Im a valuable asset to any team and can be a positive presence. I look forward to this journey as I begin the recruiting process.