Promising Seniors-To-Be 2007: Austin Detra

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 4. RECENTLY, the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) published its All-American applicants through the end of April. With the college recruiting season soon to start in earnest for the seniors-to-be in a few months, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com contacted some of the top prospects to talk about their thoughts on swimming and what they are looking to do in the future.

Our first profile is on Austin Detra, a junior freestyler who swims for Coach Larry Shofe at the Sarasota YMCA Sharks and Coach Steve Brown at Sarasota Christian in Florida.

As of the April 26 NISCA release of All-American candidates, Detra ranks fourth in the 500 free at 4:26.40 and seventh in the 200 free at 1:38.77.

Here is our interview with Detra:

Was there a watershed mark in your career that made it clear you had a gift for the sport and could achieve big thing?
When I was 12 years old at the Long Course Junior Olympics in Orlando and set the 1500 record, I thought that I was getting pretty good.

What type of interaction do you have with your coach when it comes to training? What kind of input do you have?
The relationship Coach Shofe and I have is straight forward. If he doesn't like something I'm doing, he lets me know, and the same for when I do things he thinks is better than a good 12-year-old girl's time. I have a little input when it comes to letting him know how I'm feeling with new things that he adds, or changes he has made. But, with where he has been and what he has done, there is no reason for me to question anything he tells me to do.

What are your goals for your senior season?
My goals are to win the 200 and 500 at our state meet. In the 500, I would like to break the private school record of 4:19.54 held by Fran Crippen. I'd like our guys team to win the YMCA National Championship again. I'd also like to make it into the finals at the Olympic Trials in the 1500.

Who has made the biggest impact on your swimming career to this point?
You can't point out just one person. Obviously, it starts with my family and their support for my goals. My coaches, Coach Shofe, Brown, Sherwood Watts and Mark Matuszak, all have had big impacts getting me to where I am today.

Have you verbally committed to any University? If so, which one and why? If not, who is in your top five and why?
No, I'm interested in Florida, Texas, Michigan, Georgia and California. Florida is the mostly likely situation because Coach Gregg Troy and Coach Shofe have worked together before, and I know what I'm getting training wise if I were to go there. It is also close to home.

What has the recruiting process been like for you?
So far I've just gotten letters, but I've heard that it gets crazy after July 1, which is when I am considered a senior and the colleges can contact me in anyway.

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