If you are a top-notch high school swimmer or diver, it is very possible that you could earn yourself a scholarship to your favorite college! Whether you are the best in your school or you think that you have great potential to be the best, you have to take certain steps in order to get noticed by the coaches at any given college.
Scholarship Basics
There are many colleges in the NCAA that offer swimming and diving scholarships. Both men and women can take advantage of some of the $1 Billion allotted amongst the best athletes in every sport; including swimming and diving. Swimming and Diving are considered "equivalency sports". These types of sports are different from "head count" sports, such as basketball and baseball. That means that the coaches have a few options when it comes to passing out the scholarship funds awarded to their colleges. Coaches of "equivalency sports" can provide swimmers and divers three different types of scholarships, including:
•Full-Rides (all of the college costs for courses, books and living are covered)
•Partials (some of the costs are covered)
•Walk-Ons ( the athlete is awarded funds based on an try-out given by the coaches)
The Breakdown
The NCAA awards swimming and diving scholarships to men and women. For the gentlemen swimmers and divers, there are no fewer than 190 colleges that offer scholarships.
Division I colleges are allotted close to 10 scholarships each and Division II colleges are granted 8 scholarships per school for their male swimmers and divers. There are about 250 colleges that award scholarships to women swimmers and divers. Each Division I school can offer 14 scholarships and every Division II college can give out 8 swimming and diving scholarships for the ladies.
In total, there are over 1,800 scholarships awarded to male divers and swimmers every year. For the women swimmers and divers, over 3,000 scholarships are divvied up each and every year. So whether you think you are good enough for a Division one team or think you should start off a little more slowly, you have a pretty good shot at that scholarship money.
What's Your Flavor?
So it is finally time to think about where you would like to attend college... Do you have anything in mind? If you are talented enough to obtain a swimming and/or diving scholarship, then you have a lot of places to look at.
For both the ladies and the gents, the University of Arizona offers a great swimming/diving program. Not only do you get to enjoy the beautiful weather that Arizona has to offer every single day, you will also get to take advantage of some really great facilities to both train and compete in! The Hildebrand Aquatic Center has the seating capacity of 600 and uses state-of-the-art lighting to help you look your best. Whether you compete in short or long competitions or diving, the University of Arizona may be a wise choice for you.
Like the University of Arizona, the University of Hawaii-Manoa boasts incredible swimming/diving programs. You can live in paradise and practice/compete there, as well! The Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex (DKAC to the locals) is comprised of some of the coolest and most functional training/ competetion, including: 50-meter training pool, 25-yard competetion and diving pool, long course pool, diving facility (also the competetion pool) that has one-meter and 3-meter springboards, as well as platform towers. As if that weren't enough, the DKAC even has a hot tub to rest those weary muscles and an underwater viewing room so the coaches can see every move you make!
Versatility is the Key
Swimming and diving athletes on the collegiate level are very talented individuals. If you want to have a shot at getting a scholarship, you need to make sure you can master and compete in more than one event. Coaches value you more if you are versatile. So, polish up your skills and make sure you are able to compete in more than one event. It is likely that your talents will be profiled to some of the best colleges!
Market Yourself
The bottom line is this: if you don't let the coaches know you are around, they will never grant you a scholarship! You really need to get your face and name out there. You can either do it yourself, buy completing an athletic profile and sending it and any video footage you may have to every single college on the list; or you can hire a recruiting service to take care of it all for you. (Hiring such a service will not result in any penalty from the NCAA)