Colin Gaines '22 Recruiting Profile

It  took me a while to find my sport. I tried baseball, soccer and others and they were just not for me. My father was a swimmer and water polo player and coach and about three years ago he suggested I try swimming. It didn't take me long to realize this was the sport for me.

While I haven't been swimming long, I have made a commitment to becoming better and faster. In my freshman year at Irvine High School I started on the freshman team. During that season, my coach told me I would be moving up the following year. I assumed that meant Junior Varsity. But during my virus-shortened sophomore year, I was splitting time between JV and Varsity. And some of my times were in the top four or five among all swimmers at all levels.

During the pandemic there is no organized swimming in my area. But, we have a great swimming facility, Woollett Aquatics Center, near my house that does allow socially-distanced lap swim. My father created workouts for me and I trained on my own. 

We had a slightly modified season in 2021, with fewer meets and almost no attendees. The work during COVID paid off and I was named to the Varsity team for 2021. My times continued to improve and I was honored to receive the Varsity Most Valuable Swimmer at the end of the year. I was also honored that my teammates voted me to be Team Captain for the 2022 swim season.

As a student, I get decent grades with about a 2.7 grade point average. Academically, my goal is to strengthen my learning skills and, as a result, my GPA. I enjoy the sciences and I would like to study biology in college. I love animals so I am especially interested in zoology and wildlife biology. I have also enjoyed being exposed to technical theatre in our drama department. I love being part of theatrical presentation ... just not from the stage!

I would also love to be able to swim in college. I realize that I am making up for lost years in terms of training, but I love the sport and I am motivated to become faster. I also love the comradery of being on a team. The best friends I have made in high school are those that I swim with. 

Thank you for your consideration and taking the time to read my personal statement.