Ian Rodriguez '17 Recruiting Profile

Goals, dreams, and aspirations will change over time, yet at this moment I am mostly focused on my education since I understand how valuable it will be in the future, while also giving a great deal of effort in the pool. I work as hard as possible so that I can be the best I can be both in the pool and in the classroom. I strive to get high grades in school and still be at practice on time and work consistently on a daily basis. Many would say that swimming is an individual sport but I strongly disagree, due to the fact that my teammates and I push each other to the breaking point, and then some. I understand that when we get out of the pool we all got through the set together and that that is something to be proud of. My team is my family and we support and look out for each other. I wish to be a great role model for my younger teammates so that they can look up to me, learn to enjoy and appreciate the sport and excel in swimming like me.  I can appreciate that a bad swim is not the end of the world, it’s a lesson learned, and serves as a motivational starting point for me to analyze what went wrong or could have been done better and what I can work on in practice so that I can achieve my goal time or better the next time I swim in competition.  My coaches are my mentors, my role models and provide me on a daily basis with inspiration, discipline, and encouragement. My coaches and my teachers teach me valuable lessons that will help me achieve my main goals in life that include being the best person I can be, happy and kind,  be a great son and brother to my baby sisters, become successful in life and hopefully make it to Nationals, Worlds or the Olympics as an athlete. I find it very important to keep the two biggest parts of my life together, and swimming in college would be a great way to achieve my goals.

On my spare time I help out my water polo team by training the goalies, and mentoring them. As sports play a huge part in my life, why not pay it forward and help others out.