College Recruit Rankings Profile: Five-Star Bryan Offutt, Class of 2010

PHOENIX, Arizona, August 24. BRYAN Offutt, a five-star prospect from the Class of 2010, is up next in this summer's series of Swimming World College Recruit Rankings Profiles. Offutt is from Baltimore, Md., and swims for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. He also preps at Hereford High.

Offutt maintains his profile in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks, and specializes in butterfly and IM events.

Offutt's top long course meter times are in the 200 fly (2:02.88) and 400 IM (4:23.96). His top registered short course yards in those events are a 1:52.51 in the 200 fly and a 3:54.10 in the 400 IM.

Where and when did you start swimming?
I started doing basic swimming lessons at around the age of 3 at a variety of different locations. My big introduction to competitive swimming came when my brother, who was rather rotund as a child, began swimming at my summer pool Worthington Valley much to the delight of my Mom. After watching him for a while, I was anxious to give it a try myself, and I joined the team as a five year old.

Who would you name as the most influential person and coach in your swimming career?
It's hard to name any one person as the "most influential", but if I had to pick it would be my parents. They have stuck with me from the highest highs to the lowest lows, and have always offered their support and advice whenever I needed it (and sometimes when I thought I didn't). I'd also have to give credit to my older brother Craig who got me started swimming in the first place, and my younger sister Kelly for making the daily trips to practice a little more animated.

In the same way, it is hard to choose a most influential coach. Everything I have accomplished in swimming can be attributed to the effort of all the coaches that I've had over the years. I've been lucky enough to train with around 5 or so different coaches since I was about 8, and all of them have helped me to improve myself as both a swimmer and a person. Without them, I would not be the person I am today.

What, to this point, is your best moment in the sport and why?
My most memorable swimming experience would definitely be my trip with the National Youth Team to Canada last spring. Being a part of a national team was an awesome experience, and the relays were especially exciting to watch and cheer for. The team atmosphere was totally insane! Everyone was so pumped up before every final that you could almost feel the energy in the air. It was infectious. Not even black eyes and accidental scratches could stop us. The 15 guys on the team bonded really well, and even though we came in total strangers, we all left as really good friends.

Walk us through a day of practice:
Practice usually starts at 3:45 during the school year and 7:00 (AM) during the summer. I usually come in about 15 to 20 minutes before practice to sit around with the rest of the group and maybe do a bit of stretching. We get in and do about a 2 to 3 thousand warm up followed by a main set of about the same length, depending on whether I'm doing the distance set or the mid-distance set. Workouts generally range from 4500-8500 yards and are followed by a dry land that consists mostly of push-ups, med balls, and abs work. Occasionally the guys will go outside and do some 2-2 or 3-3 basketball for a bit of cardio. Nothing prepares you for a long course 4 IM better than getting dunked on by the 6' 3" 190 pound hunk of man that is Austin Surhoff.

What is your favorite set?
My favorite set is probably 16×200 free/im fastest average. Replacing the fly in the IM with freestyle and having three easy 200's between each fast allows you to really blast some good times. It also allows for some intense and often nerve-wracking races between the guys leading the lanes. It becomes extremely strategic, and you really have to get to know the competition's strengths and weaknesses in order to create the best possible strategy to achieve victory (and bragging rights). It is the NBAC swimmers' version of chess. One wrong move and you are out of the race.

What is your least favorite set?
There aren't many sets that I absolutely hate, but I am not a big fan of any kind of long freestyle ladder. The 200 400 600 800 600 400 200 freestyle in particular causes me a lot of grief. You know you're going to be hurting by the time you start the 800, and you're not even halfway yet. It's a trap placed by the coaches to cause an extremely painful last 600 yards. It brings tears to the eyes of even the strongest of men.

What are your short-term goals?
My short-term goals are mainly just to keep improving both my times and my technique. My breaststroke is something I have been working particularly hard on in practice lately, so hopefully that will show up in the coming months. My freestyle also needs a lot of work, so that will be another main focus this season. Above all, I just want to keep having fun. I mean, if you're not having fun then what's the point?

What are your long-term goals?
Like my short term goals my long term goals are to work hard, continue to improve, and to have a good time in the process. As for where things go from there, we'll just have to see.

What colleges are you interested in so far?
So far I've been looking at Stanford, Virginia, Texas and Florida (in no particular order).

What has the recruiting process been like so far, now that you are allowed to be called by coaches?
The process has been a lot of fun. It's been really interesting to talk to and get to know some of the coaches. I haven't had to turn too many people down, which has been a huge relief. I'm really excited to go on my trips and even more excited to pick where I'm going to school. I hope I'm in Gryffindor.

Is there anything else interesting that you'd like our readers to know about you?
I was horrible at swimming when I was younger. I swam freestyle with one arm until I was about 8, and swam backstroke with NO ARMS until about the same age. In my spare time, I like to hang out with my friends and listen to music, play video games, and longboard.

RECRUITS: To make sure we have the most updated information on your recruiting, and to earn the highest star ranking you deserve, please either create a new profile, or request to take over your admin-created account in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks. Then make sure to update your profile with your top times. Click here for information on how to do so.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use