When Luke Reilly decided to attend the University of British Columbia it was because the school not only satisfied his present needs but also could address his future swimming goals.
After carefully judging the pros and cons of many schools the Richmond, B.C., native decided to stay home because UBC offered him some continuity. A successful career with the UBC Thunderbirds could earn him a spot on Canada’s national swim team and allow him to continue training at the National Swim Centre – Vancouver.
“I wanted to stay at UBC because it was world-class swimming and a world-class school,” said the 17-year-old, whose goal is to compete at an Olympic Games. “I really like the team, the coaches and the environment.
“It’s really fluid. I get to train with the national training centre. There are lots of other swimmers on the team that already have gone to the senior national level.”
Reilly was recently named Swimming Canada’s Junior Male Swimmer of the Year. His fifth-place finish in the 400-m individual medley at the FINA World Junior Championships in Dubai set a national age group record.
Tom Johnson, the long-time UBC and national team coach, said Reilly was identified early as one of the up-and-coming age group swimmers in the Lower Mainland. He swam with the UBC Dolphins program, so moving onto the Thunderbirds was the next logical step.
“He’s a good enough swimmer but he was somewhat under the radar,” said Johnson. “He had decided pretty much last spring he was going to stay in Canada.”
Enrolling at another university in Canada or the U.S. would mean adapting to a different city and new coaches.
“This has been so much easier,” said Reilly. “The coaches I am coached by here now, I have been coached by for the past two years.
“I was pretty comfortable with them. It was a natural environment and pretty stress free. It was really easy to get used to.”
Reilly admitted he did consider heading south of the border.
“I did give some thought about going to the States,” he said. “I had an SAT tutor. I was getting ready to write my SATs when I decided I really wanted to go to UBC. I wanted to stay in Canada.”
Johnson said the Thunderbird program develops its swimmers with an eye to moving them onto Canada’s national team where they can challenge for Olympic and world championship medals. Many U.S. universities have different priorities for their swimmers.
“We have a have continuity of care,” said Johnson. “We have a program that will look after those kids 11 months of the year and keep moving them toward the international scene as a priority.
“In the United States their priority is, first and foremost, score points for me at the NCAA or conference championship. Our whole program is more about getting them into the international arena, then blooding them and developing them in that arena.”
Reilly, the oldest of three children, was actually born in Dallas, where his father was doing his residency for medical school. The family stayed there for only a few weeks after he was born.
“It was an accident of birth,” Reilly laughed.
Growing up Reilly attended Red Cross swim programs and was swimming competitively by age five. For the last few years he’s been coached by Brian Johns, a three-time Canadian Olympian and former world record holder.
Reilly made his mark at the 2012 Summer Nationals when he won the 400-metre individual medley, which qualified him for the Junior Pan Pacs. This year he represented Canada on the Australian Junior Tour and competed at the NSW Age Championships where he won three medals.
Reilly showed flashes of his potential at the FINA World Junior Championships in Dubai where he finished fifth in the 400-metre individual medley. He was the fastest swimmer in the preliminaries, then his time in the final knocked more than two seconds off the previous national age group mark of 4:20.67 set by Alec Page in 2011.
For Reilly the meet was a taste of what to expect when he sinks his teeth into more senior competition.
“It was a lot like a senior meet at a junior level,” he said. “It was a great stepping stone for progressing to the senior level.
“You could see what it was like but not have the full stress of the senior meet. It was a dress rehearsal for senior meets.”
Reilly, who also swims the 200-m IM and 200-m butterfly, brings some idiosyncrasies to the pool. In the past, he would drink a Pepsi before racing in the 1,500-m. He still slaps his quads on the starting block before a race.
So far racing at the university level has been a learning curve.
“You have to go from race to race, even if you are tired or even if you are stressed,” Reilly said. “You have to keep going, not let the stress or exams get in your way.
“You just swim.”
IN FRENCH COURTESY OF SWIMMING CANADA
Centre national de natation correspond aux objectifs de Reilly
Quand Luke Reilly a décidé d’étudier à l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique, c’était non seulement parce que l’institution satisfaisait ses besoins présents, mais aussi parce qu’elle s’occupait de ses objectifs futurs en natation.
Après avoir soigneusement étudié les pours et les contres de plusieurs institutions, l’athlète originaire de Richmond, en C.-B., a décidé de demeurer chez-lui parce que l’UBC lui offrait de la continuité. Une carrière réussie avec les Thunderbirds de l’UBC pourrait lui valoir une place dans l’équipe nationale de natation du Canada et lui permettre de continuer à s’entraîner au Centre national de natation – Vancouver.
«Je voulais demeurer à l’UBC parce que c’était de la natation de niveau mondial et une institution de niveau mondial, a dit le nageur de 17 ans dont l’objectif est de participer aux Jeux olympiques. J’aime vraiment l’équipe, les entraîneurs et l’environnement.
«C’est vraiment fluide. Je m’entraîne avec le centre national d’entraînement. Il y a beaucoup d’autres nageurs dans l’équipe qui sont déjà au niveau national senior.»
Reilly a été récemment nommé le nageur junior de l’année de Natation Canada. Sa cinquième place au 400m QNI aux championnats du monde juniors de la FINA à Dubaï a établi un record national groupe d’âge.
Tom Johnson, l’entraîneur de longue date à l’UBC et de l’équipe nationale, a dit que Reilly a été identifié tôt comme un des nageurs groupes d’âge prometteurs dans le Lower Mainland. Il a nagé avec le programme des Dolphins de l’UBC, donc passer avec les Thunderbirds a été l’étape suivante logique.
«Il est un nageur suffisamment bon, mais il était en quelque sorte sous le radar, a dit Johnson. Il a décidé pratiquement le printemps dernier qu’il demeurerait au Canada.»
S’inscrire à une autre université au Canada ou aux É.-U. signifiait s’adapter à une ville différente et à de nouveaux entraîneurs.
«Cela a été tellement plus facile, a dit Reilly. Les entraîneurs qui m’entraînent ici sont mes entraîneurs depuis les deux dernières années.
«J’étais pas mal à l’aise avec eux. C’était un environnement naturel et pratiquement sans stress. C’était vraiment facile de s’y habituer.»
Reilly a admis qu’il a étudié l’idée d’aller au Sud de la frontière.
«J’ai eu des idées d’aller aux États-Unis, dit-il. J’avais un tuteur SAT. Je me préparais à écrire mes SAT quand j’ai décidé que je voulais vraiment aller à l’UBC. Je voulais demeurer au Canada.»
Johnson a dit que le programme des Thunderbirds développe ses nageurs en visant les placer dans l’équipe nationale du Canada où ils peuvent viser des médailles olympiques et des championnats du monde. Plusieurs universités américaines ont des priorités différentes pour leurs nageurs.
«Nous devons avoir une continuité d’attention, a dit Johnson. Nous avons un programme qui prendra soin de ces jeunes 11 mois par année et qui les poussera vers la scène internationale en priorité.
«Aux États-Unis, leur priorité est, d’abord et avant tout, d’obtenir des points pour moi aux championnats de la NCAA ou de l’Association. Tout notre programme est axé davantage sur les développer pour le niveau international, puis les pousser et les développer à ce niveau.»
Reilly, le plus vieux de trois enfants, est en fait né à Dallas, où son père faisait son internat pour l’école de médecine. La famille est demeurée là uniquement pendant quelques semaines après sa naissance.
«C’était un accident de naissance», dit Reilly en riant.
En grandissant, Reilly a suivi les programmes de natation de la Croix-Rouge et a nagé en compétition à cinq ans. Depuis les dernières années il est entraîné par Brian Johns, trois fois olympien canadien et ancien détenteur d’un record du monde.
Reilly a fait sa marque aux championnats nationaux d’été de 2012 quand il a gagné le 400 mètres QNI, ce qui l’a qualifié pour les championnats pan-pacifiques juniors. Cette année-là il a représenté le Canada dans la tournée junior australienne et a participé aux championnats groupes d’âge NSW dans lesquels il a gagné trois médailles.
Reilly a montré son potentiel aux championnats du monde juniors de la FINA dans lesquels il a terminé cinquième au 400 mètres QNI. Il a été le nageur le plus rapide dans les rondes préliminaires, puis son temps dans la finale a retranché plus de deux secondes au record national groupe d’âge de 4:20,67 établi par Alec Page en 2011.
Pour Reilly, la compétition a été un avant-goût d’à quoi s’attendre quand il participera à d’autres compétitions seniors.
«C’était beaucoup comme une compétition senior au niveau junior, a-t-il dit. C’était une excellente étape pour passer au niveau senior.
«Vous pouviez voir ce que c’était, mais sans avoir le stress complet de la compétition senior. C’était une répétition en costume pour les compétitions seniors.»
Reilly, qui nage aussi les 200m QNI et 200m papillon, apporte des manies à la piscine. Dans le passé, il buvait un Pepsi avant de nager le 1500m. Il se frappe encore les quads sur le bloc de départ avant une course.
Jusqu’à maintenant, nager au niveau universitaire a été un apprentissage.
«Vous devez y aller de course en course, même si vous êtes fatigué ou même si vous êtes stressé, a dit Reilly. Vous devez continuer, ne pas laisser le stress ou les examens vous déranger.
«Vous nager, c’est tout.»
This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of Swimming Canada.
This is an interesting spin by Swim Canada after losing Noemie Thomas from the Dolphins and the Vancouver Centre to Cal for next year. She is certainly higher on Canada’s list of potential medalists at future international A level meets and having her leave for the US college system from one of our best swimming (and education) institutions had to sting for Swim Canada (and Tom Johnson I’m sure).
For all the talk in Canada about trying to keep our best at home, the top young swimmers (especially women) still seem overwhelmingly drawn to the US schools. Luke is a positive case to the contrary, but I think he is swimming against the tide of top swimmers going south.
More Swimming Canada just trying to stay relevant. Instead of paying this Nathan White guy (I assume it’s him because every text he writes reads the same), why not actually do something to help your swimmers? Oh, I forgot…you do that only for the chosen ones.
Cry me a river about swimmers going to the US. The really, really fast go because, let’s face it, they would rather train with the best. And the good (maybe even the somewhat great) go because Swimming Canada doesn’t give them the time of day.
So train the ones who stay behind and when those really, really fast ones are done with NCAA and have had the experience of their lives, they’ll go back… Read more »
There is also nothing wrong with celebrating a strong Canadian swimmer that chooses to stay in Canada to swim and attend university! Congratulations to Luke!
Please stop complaining about the hardship you have to endure swimming in the US with the support of NCAA scholarships paying your way. Have the time of your life…if that is what you are looking for. Don’t think for a minute that Canadian University swimmers aren’t having fun as well. With the opportunity to attend first rate colleges whose tuition is probably 1/4 of the US and the option to live at home, the Canadian swimming system is an excellent choice for many swimmers.
Lots of complaining, finger pointing and misplaced vitriol. Very little helpful suggestion or constructive criticism. Swimparent, either you are a brilliant satirist or a walking stereotype. Either way, you are definitely representing the majority of swim parents in my experience.
Fortunately for me, swimparent’s response does not represent the majority of swim parents in my experience. While speaking to other swim parents during the college recruiting season – this is within the US system – many of us noted ruefully that colleges did not love our children and see their potential the way we did. This is especially true for boys, since most US swim programs have more funds to cover women’s than men’s swimming. So it’s not just Canadian swim parents who feel the lack of love on their kids’ behalf.
But I agree that it would be helpful to hear more constructive criticism. Given that Swim Canada’s goal is to get more medals at the international level,… Read more »
Talking about what Swim Canada has to do in this situation is not entirely fair to them. While I do think they are concerned with the southern flight of college age swimmers I don’t think there is that much THEY can do about it. CIS and the Canadian schools are the ones that have to step up and show that they value what student athletes bring to campus. They have to compete for the top kids with the same vigour (Canadian spelling, eh). Swim Canada and the PSOs are trying (with limited success probably due to limited funds) by financially supporting as many as they can to make up the difference between what the US schools will offer and what… Read more »
CDNswimdad, thanks for your comments. I’m not sure how the rules have evolved in Canada. I was a student athlete there over 30 years ago and was told then that University coaches were not allowed to recruit swimmers. If things are remotely the same now, it’s the universities that would have to change their rules.
In my son’s case, he’d already finalled at the US Nationals and medaled at Junior Pan Pacs in the summer before his senior year of high school, so yes, we were rather surprised at the lack of interest at US – he sure didn’t hear from 50 schools. But he’s in a Canadian school now and swimming better than ever before so he’s happy… Read more »