Promising Seniors-To-Be 2007: Brian Howell

PHOENIX, Arizona, June 15. BRIAN Howell, who swims for Bill Whatley with Archbishop Moeller High and Chris Wolford with the Cincinnati Marlins in Ohio, is the next person in our Promising Seniors-To-Be series on SwimmingWorldMagazine.com

As of the June 13 National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) release of All-American candidates, Howell is ranked 13th in the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.81 and has a time of 4:35.79 in the 500 free applicant list.

Howell chatted with SwimmingWorldMagazine.com about his career thus far and his future goals.

Was there a watershed mark in your career that made it clear you had a gift for the sport and could achieve big things?
It was probably the summer during my sophomore and junior year of high school. I had a very good year of training that summer and at the sectional meet at the end of it – I achieved the 200 IM, the 200 back, and the 400 IM Junior National cuts. Then, I went and had a pretty decent meet there. I would say that was when I realized that I would be able to achieve even greater things hopefully.

What type of interaction do you have with your coach when it comes to training? What kind of input do you have?
I have a great interaction with my coach, Chris Wolford. Whenever I have a question about why we do a certain type of drill or anything about a certain set we are doing, he is always able to back it with a pretty thorough explanation. When Chris first started coaching me two years ago, he was very good at picking up what kind of training I needed in order to excel within the sport. He is able to keep me focused. If something is wrong, he'll let me know it and we'll work on fixing it right away. I think that is a key part in the relationship between a coach and a swimmer.

What are your goals for your senior season?
My goal for this senior season is to keep improving my times overall. This summer, I would like to achieve the Olympic Trial cut in the 200 IM, but for the high school season I would like to repeat as state champion in the 200 IM at the Ohio High School State Championship. I would also like to try to win the 500 free at state also. I think that I have a very good shot at achieving both of those goals and I look forward to working toward them.

Who has made the biggest impact on your swimming career to this point?
I would say that my parents have made the biggest impact on my swimming career. They were always willing to drive me wherever I needed to be no matter what time it was. Also, they were the ones that would spend countless hours sitting on a bleacher waiting for me to swim the very last event. My parents have been my biggest supporters.

Also, if I didn't have the people that I train with everyday, I'm not sure where I would be in the sport right now. It's so nice having a solid group of swimmers on the Cincinnati Marlins that you know you can count on to push you during a hard set or put you back in line if you are messing up with something.

Have you verbally committed to any University? If so, which one and why? If not, who is in your top five and why?
I have not committed to any university yet. I'm generally looking for a school with a warmer climate, if possible, and one that is pretty strong in academics as well. Right now my top five, which is subject to change, is Florida, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. Right now, I really like Florida because they have a really strong team, especially in the individual medley part, and I think that training with those swimmers would be very good for me. Also, Kentucky is another good choice because I'm very familiar with the campus and the coaching staff between both my parents going there and some of my other coaches having good connections with them.

What has the recruiting process been like for you?
So far the recruiting process has been pretty crazy. I'm getting letters and e-mails left and right from a lot of good schools. So, I'm really looking forward to July 1 so that I can get a chance to talk with all of the coaches.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

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

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x