To Gap Or Not To Gap, From The Athletes’ Point of View

Courtesy: Ryder Androsky

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine, Doug King, wrote an article detailing his son’s gap year and what it entailed. If you haven’t yet read the article, go read that first. There was just one thing missing from his article. We never heard from his son on his thoughts about his year. Being that I have now gone through the journey of taking a gap year, here is my story.

• Also Read – Shouts From The Stands: To Gap Or Not To Gap…

Coming out of high school, I wasn’t terribly slow but I definitely wasn’t where I wanted to be. I wanted to live the dream at a Division 1 school and was pretty dead set; that’s where I needed to be. I had little interest in me, and every email I sent to coaches came back with the same dreaded response. “Get Faster”.

I had never considered taking a gap year. I figured if I wasn’t going anywhere by the time graduation rolled around, then I might as well hang up the goggles and just go be a student at ASU. But as my career started to come to a close, and recruiting had not picked up, my coaches sat me down for a meeting. I had 2 very good coaches in my corner, who I trusted. They thought I would benefit from a gap year. They both saw potential in me to get to where I wanted with another year of training. They told me to give them an answer within a week.

At the time there were 2 swimmers on my team taking a gap year. One of them of course is Ryan King, son of Doug King, and Max Nielson. I was good friends with both of them and saw the success that the extra year gave them. Ryan went from nothing and was able to get himself to his dream school, ASU. And Max was able to make it to swim at West Virginia. Both are very good schools that I would have done anything to be in their position.

After finally getting fed up with college coaches slamming doors in my face, I decided to take the path less taken and give up a year of my time to continue swimming. It was in no way an easy decision. I dreaded anytime somebody asked me what I was doing next year. It felt embarrassing telling someone that you were taking a gap year. Most people just don’t understand it. And to be honest, most people just don’t care. They don’t see the dream, so they just think you are stupid for chasing it.

The first months are the hardest months. Not because there is some big training adjustment or anything, but because you get to spectate all your friends going off and having a blast in college. All your social media feed is showing you how much fun college is, while you are stuck in your childhood bedroom trying to fall asleep before a Saturday morning workout. It makes you question your decision every time you see something come up. I quickly turned my mentality around and used this as motivation. That next year I would be in this spot, having the time of my life at the school of my dreams.

Your main friends become your swim team. You see them every day and go through training with them. In Arizona, Swimming is a fall sport for High school. So again in your first months your entire friend group leaves you to go swim for their school. You’re stuck swimming with all the kids who aren’t in high school yet. You’re pretty alone. Luckily, One of my best friends was taking a gap year with me, so I always had him there to get me through the workouts. Having someone there with you makes a big difference. It’s someone there to keep you going. Someone to talk to and someone in the same situation you are in.

Taking a gap year and not being a full-time student really means that you are almost a pro swimmer. Swimming becomes your life. So you need to train like it. One of the biggest issues I faced being a sprinter was that I was (still am) very skinny. I needed to put on pounds of muscles ASAP. I wanted to make sure that I was getting the best weightlifting training possible. So I made the switch to going 3x a week to one of the best trainers. He had a great plan for me and could see the potential in me. It was just on me to put in the work.

It also means that you need to make social sacrifices. Your friends will text you to come out on a Thursday or Friday night. But you know you have morning practice tomorrow. These people aren’t in the same situation as you. They aren’t trying to be a top-tier athlete. It may be hard to say no but trust me, they’re still gonna comment on your commitment post. Don’t worry about it.

I went through the first 6 months of the gap year just fine. I was working hard, seeing improvement in the weight room, listening to everything my coaches had to tell me. But for months I wasn’t seeing any improvement in the pool. I was going times that were similar if not slower than what I was doing a year ago. And it was very frustrating. Every time I was about to jump in the pool I was questioning my purpose. Why was I even still showing up to these freezing-cold morning practices if I wasn’t even seeing improvement? I was scared to look at the clock after my races because I knew I wasn’t going to like what I saw.

All of us have heard the quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” That is exactly what it felt like for me. I knew I needed to make a change in my training or else I would have just wasted another year of my life and not gotten any closer to my dreams. So in January – 3 months before my championship meet – I made a change in clubs. It was not an easy decision, leaving behind the club that I had swam for and the coaches that I trusted and believed in me. But I knew I just wasn’t getting anywhere.

I made the switch to swim for JForce and be coached by Brian Hoffer. I had only recently started working with Coach Hoffer, But I had seen slight success after only working with him for an hour. I knew the great work that he had done with his nephew, Ryan Hoffer, and believed that this would be the right move for my career. I would be making a lot of sacrifices- the pool was very far from my house, it was a small team. But I had already bet on myself by taking a year of my life off for this, I felt like it was time for me to double down and take the leap.

It comes time to travel to Austin for Sectionals. The big meet. My coach and I were nervous going into it. And understandably so, This was the last chance for me to show signs of success and finally drop time in the events that mattered. I knew I was ready, but after a year of showing no signs of progress, there is always doubt in your mind.

It ended up being one of the best meets of my career. I posted best times every time I touched the pool. Finally dropping times after a year of all that hard work. I finally got my summer juniors qualifying time in the 100 fly that I had been chasing for 2 years and went sub-21 for the first time in the 50 free. I was so relieved to finally achieve the times that I so desperately wanted. I finally was able to prove to myself that I could do it

I still can’t say that I am a success story. I am still uncommitted, without a home for the fall, and a stronger desire to be on someone’s roster. But I have unwavering confidence that this will all come together. I am stronger than I was a year ago, I am more confident in what I want for an education, and I know what I still can accomplish in this sport. My Mom will tell you that I am far more mature than I was a year ago and if I had left, I would be in the transfer portal or home by now. I know one thing to be true, wherever I end up, I promise to be a very valuable asset to their team.

Photo: David Levy Photography, LLC.

ABOUT RYDER ANDROSKY

Ryder Androsky graduated high school in 2022 from Gilbert High School. Ryder had a successful high school career, he was a two-time state champion, senior team captain, and two time MVP. Ryder also had a successful academic career, where he was a six time golden scholar and finished top 10% of his class. He is currently unrecruited, but hopes to swim in college in the fall of 2023.