Swim Opinion is courtesy of Tara Beth Freeman
One of the major goals of swimmers is to complete at the collegiate level. However, often times athletes attend college with a focus only on their sport, therefore missing out on many academic opportunities (which can often times actually benefit an athlete’s athletic performance). Here are 5 classes which have aided in my collegiate athletic experience.
1. Kinesiology
The study of movement. As an athlete majoring in Applied Health Science, I get pretty excited about studying movement and how the body works. Although I went into the class knowing very little about the subject matter, I finished the class with not only a better understanding of human movement, but also a 6 second time drop in the 100 fly from my time in the previous season, after completing of a semester-long biomechanical analysis on butterfly.
2. Anatomy and Physiology
What better way to understand the basics of breathing in swimming than learning about the respiratory system in class! Similarly to the way that flipturns are a lot easier once you understand how they work, breathing (or trying to hold your breath) makes a lot more sense when you understand the logistics.The irony of completing Spirometry testing in lab before going to the doctor less than a week later to take the exact same test for an Asthma diagnosis is pretty great, too.
3. Genetics
While an athlete can’t change their genetic make-up, they can learn some pretty crazy things about genetic disorders- some of which can actually aid in swimming success! Having a professor announce to the class that guys are stronger and more muscular than girls- with the exception of competitive female swimmers- is also a great reason to take a genetics course.
4. Concepts of Conditioning
While some swimmers might not like to admit it, there is a strange sense of joy that results from completing a good dryland workout. We swim all day long, but physically feeling the sweat drip down your head while completing 50 pushups is quite satisfying. In Concepts class, not only was a dryland workout an automatic portion of class, there was a ton of applicable information learned from lecture, regarding how to train one’s body for health and well-being. Not to mention the best part- Water Polo Fridays!
5. Created and Called for Community (CCC)
Ah, the benefits of attending a small, Christian college of the liberal arts. While this class might not be offered at all institutions of higher education, it is likely that some type of freshman seminar course is. While these types of classes can seem slightly pointless as times, embrace them. Not only are they a great time to form a great group of friends outside of your swim team family (because although you will most likely want to spend all your time with your teammates, balance in friendships is key!), it will also probably be your easiest college course. And who knows, you might learn a thing or two about leadership, work ethic, and team-building!
College is awesome. Being a student-athlete is even better.
It is a time to grow as a student, an athlete, and person as a whole.
Key advice for those heading into college as a student-athlete: Love learning, don’t stress too much, make sure you laugh each and every single day, tell your teammates you love them, and don’t pull an all-nighter your first night at college.
