Building Success At The College Level

Photo Courtesy: Brooke Wright

It is no secret that success builds upon itself. Results are the foundation of reputation, and these key facts are why the top NCAA swimming programs-Texas, Stanford, Flordia, Cal-often find themselves at the top of the NCAA Championships year after year. However, if a program is looking to develop, how might this be accomplished? How does new blood enter the old ranks?

Perhaps the most obvious example would be hiring an established coach like Arizona State has done with Bob Bowman.

A year ago, the Sun Devils scored only two points at the NCAA Championships, a 15th place finish by sophomore Patrick Park in the 200 butterfly. Fast forward a year, and Bowman developed freshman Cameron Craig into the Pac-12 swimmer of the Meet after he produced 200 freestyle time of 1:31.71. That swim ranked in the top ten all-time and destroyed his seed time of 1:34.57. Arizona State finished fourth at Pac 12s this year while improving their team score 129 points, a shift that included the team’s first conference relay victory in 20 years.

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Prominent club coaches moving to and from the NCAA is nothing new. Bowman himself was once the head coach at Michigan, and coaches like David Marsh has spent time at Auburn and SwmMAC Carolina. Sergio Lopez has taken a number of prominent coaching positions before taking up the associate head coaching job at Auburn. Marsh just agreed to pull back from his role at the club level, and while he has not made his future plans clear, it may be prudent for colleges to inquire about his services.

Of course, good coaching is not everything, though it certainly provides a lift. More crucial to a program is to recruit athletes and convince said athletes that they can improve. Texas has long had a formidable mid-distance group and its latest iteration is no different. The Longhorns are set to add JohnThomas Larson to the roster next fall, who is already a 4:16 500 swimmer. Texas also received a 2018 verbal commitment from National High School record holder Drew Kibler and may take a look at local product Matthew Willenbring, who has swum 1:35.21 in the 200 freestyle.

Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Martin

For their part, the NC State Wolfpack has become extremely formidable in recent years. A school perhaps best known for producing Cullen Jones, the NC State men captured their third straight ACC title in 2017. That victory marked three wins in six seasons under the guidance of head coach Branden Holloway. Prior to that, the squad had not won an ACC crown since the 1991-92 season. The drought had lasted even longer on the women’s side, stretching from the 1979-80 season until this year.

Ebbs and flows in athletic competition are natural and can be used to maintain interest in sports. Ivy League programs no longer fight for team titles like the 1940s. Similarly, Indiana University has not been able to fully recreate the magic of the late 1960s and early 1970s. “Success” in athletics is is a highly subjective term, but to have a chance at victory, programs require quality coaching, strong recruiting, and some luck too.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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