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This program will help you and your swimmer navigate through their college decision-making process. The FM College Pipeline offers a systematic approach to helping your swimmer identify the colleges / universities that meet their academic, athletic and personal needs. Additionally, the FM College Pipeline will help your swimmer create a strong plan to prepare their swimming times and academic records to meet the requirements of those schools in order to achieve their ultimate goals.

The stronger your swimmer's plan, the more successful they will be at gauging their options. It’s crucial to have a clear idea of each school’s academic and athletic requirements and to understand what will be expected of them as a student-athlete once they are admitted. Early preparation will focus your search and eliminate last minute surprises later on in the process.

Going thorough the college search process may seem intimidating, but the research process can be interesting and fun. Remember that you are looking for a college / university to fit your swimmer as a student, an athlete and a person. Although you and your swimmer’s thoughts may change from 8th grade to 12th grade, having the swimmer know themselves and what makes them happy is crucial to choosing the right school for them.

Follow the pipeline below to keep your swimmer on track as they progress from 8th through 12th grades. You can navigate yourself through this pipeline, or FM offers packages providing personal assistance to guide you and your swimmer through the process. For more information call our office at (800) 266–5179

Glossary of Terms

Leslie Lucas

College Swimming Consultant

Since 2007 Leslie and her company, College Swimming Consulting, has guided swimmers and their families to find the right fit at every level nationwide, from Junior College to NAIA and the NCAA Division I/II/III levels. Leslie focuses on the specific academic and athletic goals of each swimmer, and provides recommendations that have the highest likelihood of meeting both of these needs in the demographics of their choosing.

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PRESENTATIONS

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CORNERSTONE	GRADE	PRESENTATION	COMPLETE?
College	9th	Solidify your HS Academic Plan	is_not_completed
College	8th	Introduction to the College Pipeline	is_not_completed
College	8th	Research Colleges Based On Needs	is_not_completed
College	8th	Research High School Academic Requirements	is_not_completed
College	8th	Select Your Primary Stroke And Events	is_not_completed
College	8th	Solidify Swimming Technique	is_not_completed
College	8th	Research College Swim Programs	is_not_completed
College	8th	Solidify Cornerstones Of Athletic Performance	is_not_completed
College	8th	Plan High School Classes	is_not_completed
College	9th	NCAA Rules For High School Freshman	is_not_completed
College	9th	Do Extracurricular And Volunteer Activities	is_not_completed
College	9th	Strengthen Cornerstones Of Athletic Performance	is_not_completed
College	9th	Check Taper Meet Results	is_not_completed
College	9th	Check And Adjust Your Plan	is_not_completed
College	10th	NCAA Rules For High School Sophomores	is_not_completed
College	10th	Sign up for PSAT or PLAN	is_not_completed
College	10th	Register With NCAA EC	is_not_completed
College	10th	Check Your Academic Progress	is_not_completed
College	10th	Fill Out Swimming Recruiting Forms	is_not_completed
College	10th	Strengthen Cornerstones Of Athletic Performance II	is_not_completed
College	10th	Explore Potential Academic Majors for Colleges	is_not_completed
College	10th	Follow Schools And Teams On Social Media	is_not_completed
College	10th	Narrow Down Your List & Schedule Unofficial Visits	is_not_completed
College	10th	Check Taper Meet Results II	is_not_completed
College	10th	Shadow Mentors / Explore Academic Majors	is_not_completed
College	10th	Send Updated Times	is_not_completed
College	10th	Check And Adjust Your Plan II	is_not_completed
College	10th	Request HS Send Your Transcript	is_not_completed
College	11th	Decide When To Take Standardized Test	is_not_completed
College	11th	Send Updated Times II	is_not_completed
College	11th	Research Graduating Swimmers	is_not_completed
College	11th	NCAA Rules For High School Juniors	is_not_completed
College	11th	Schedule and Make Additional Unofficial Visits	is_not_completed
College	11th	Set Up Official Visits With Coaches I	is_not_completed
College	11th	Check Your Academic Progress II	is_not_completed
College	11th	Take Standardized Tests	is_not_completed
College	11th	Strengthen Cornerstones of Athletic Performance III	is_not_completed
College	11th	Send Updated Times III - End Season	is_not_completed
College	11th	Schedule Remaining High School Courses	is_not_completed
College	11th	Check Taper Meet Results III	is_not_completed
College	11th	Send Updated Times IV - End of Spring	is_not_completed
College	11th	Letters Of Recommendation	is_not_completed
College	11th	Check And Adjust Your Plan III	is_not_completed
College	11th	Request HS Send Your Transcript II - Update	is_not_completed
College	11th	Narrow Down Your List II	is_not_completed
College	11th	Rank Schools And Explore Admission Options	is_not_completed
College	12th	Send Updated Times V	is_not_completed
College	12th	NCAA Rules For High School Seniors	is_not_completed
College	12th	Set Up Official Visits With Coaches	is_not_completed
College	12th	Check Your Academic Progress III	is_not_completed
College	12th	Meet With High School Guidance Office	is_not_completed
College	12th	Attend Official Visits	is_not_completed
College	12th	Apply To Schools	is_not_completed
College	12th	Continue To Strengthen Your Primary Stroke And Events	is_not_completed
College	12th	Receive and Sign National Letter Of Intent	is_not_completed
College	12th	Look Into Scholarships And Fill Out FAFSA Form	is_not_completed
College	12th	Send Updated Times VI - End Of Season	is_not_completed
College	12th	Check Taper Meet Results IV	is_not_completed
College	12th	Use Time Improvements To Make A Deal	is_not_completed
College	12th	Sign National Letter Of Intent	is_not_completed
College	12th	Request Amateurism Certification	is_not_completed
College	12th	Train Hard Over The Summer	is_not_completed
College	12th	Send Final Transcript And Proof Of Graduation	is_not_completed

Check Taper Meet Results IIIbyLisa Pizzuto

Take notice of how the swimmers on the teams that you are interested in are performing at taper meets. Many Division I and II programs will taper their athletes twice during the season, once in December and once at conference / NCAA championships. Keep in mind that some coaches will only fully taper team members who have not already qualified for conference / NCAA championships or minimally rest their team if their conference does not have qualifying standards for their mid-year meet. Additionally, Division III schools sometimes have a shorter swimming season due to conference regulations limiting the length of their season. For that reason, Division III schools may only fully taper their athletes for their conference / NCAA championships at the end of their season.

You can easily find taper meets results for college teams by going to Swim Cloud and searching for the teams / meets you want to look up. You can also go directly to the college’s swim team page for results and associated stories.

Things To Watch Out For

If a majority of the team is not dropping time and progressing, the coach may just be a good recruiter and not developing their swimmers to make time improvements once they get to college. Once you determine when the teams you are interested in are tapering, notice the time drops of the majority of the team. There may be a few swimmers who are sick and not swimming well, however if the entire team is not dropping times from their seed times, that is very telling. Any team can have one bad meet. Determine if it is a pattern by checking previous years.

To research further, you can also look up a handful of the team’s athletes and see how they have progressed from high school through college. USA Swimming Individual Time Search and Swim Cloud can be helpful in this process. Having this information helps you have an understanding of what to expect when you get into the swim program at each school. This information can help you make informed decisions in the future.

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Glossary of terms

NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association is a membership driven organization whose primary function is student-athlete well-being. The colleges and universities that have joined the NCAA work together to create rules for safe and fair competition in college athletics. The NCAA national staff enforces the rules, organizes national championships and provides support for student-athletes and the schools they attend. There are three NCAA Divisions that create their own rules while still working within the principles of the NCAA. Guide for the college-bound student-athlete
NCAA Division I These schools generally have more students, larger athletic budgets and more athletic department support than DII or DIII schools. They can offer partial or full scholarships for athletics depending on the school’s budget. Guide for the college-bound student-athlete
NCAA Division II These schools emphasize a life balance between academics and athletics. Athletes can compete at a high level while maintaining a traditional collegiate experience. They can offer partial or full scholarships for athletics depending on the school’s budget. Guide for the college-bound student-athlete
NCAA Division III The primary focus of these schools is academics. They have shorter sports seasons which reduce student-athletes time away from academic studies and other campus activities. Although the primary focus is academic, some athletes and teams compete at a high level. They cannot offer any scholarships based on athletics. Guide for the college-bound student-athlete
Unofficial Visit Any visit to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense that you may receive from the college is 3 complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like to a campus at any time. You may speak to coaches while on campus except during a dead period in your sport.
Official Visit Any visit by you and your parents to a college that is paid in whole or in part by the school. For swimming, the recruiting budget, not the NCAA rules, often limit the degree to which the visit is paid for. Official visits will vary in length, but cannot exceed 48 hours. When a coach brings an athlete for an official visit, they are investing more than just time into the prospect so therefore are interested in the swimmer.
Contact Any face to face interaction with a college coach (beyond hello) and a student-athlete or their parents off the coach’s campus.
Dead Period College coaches may not have any face to face contact with a student-athlete or their parents on or off the coach’s campus during a dead period. The coach may write or call you during this time.
NCAA Eligibility Center (NCAA EC) Division I and II use the NCAA Eligibility Center (EC) to determine college freshmen athletic eligibility and amateurism. High school students who would like to participate in DI or DII athletics must register for the NCAA EC and be certified by them based on the student-athletes’ HS classes /grades, test scores (SAT / ACT) and proof of graduation from HS. The requirements for DI and DII are different and change periodically. Look for your HS graduation year in the NCAA EC to find your requirements. For DIII you do not need to register with the NCAA EC. Division III schools set their own admissions standards for freshmen eligibility.
Core Course Required to meet Initial Eligibility requirements. These courses are four-year college prep classes in one of the following areas: English, Math (Algebra I or higher), Natural / Physical Science, Social Science, Foreign Language, or Comparative Religion / Philosophy. These classes must be taught at or above your High School’s regular academic level and receive credit toward HS graduation. Cyber and Home School students must make sure that their curriculum meets the minimum requirements prior to taking them.
Qualifier Is a first year student - athlete who is academically eligible to practice, compete, and receive athletically related financial aid. This student has met the core course, test score, and HS graduation requirements of the NCAA division of the college that they are attending.
Partial Qualifier For student – athletes at DII colleges who have met one but not both the requirements for HS core courses and test scores. They may practice with the team at the college’s home facility and receive athletically related financial aid but may not compete during their first year of college enrollment.
Non-Qualifier This student – athlete is not eligible to practice, compete, or receive athletically related financial aid during their first year of college enrollment. They did not meet the core course or test score requirement of the NCAA division of the college that they are attending.
Amateurism - final certified NCAA Eligibility Center has determined that you meet amateurism standards.
Amateurism - final certified with conditions NCAA EC has decided that you must fulfill certain conditions to be eligible to compete.
Amateurism - final not certified You may not practice, compete, or receive athletically related financial aid in the division of the school you applied belongs.

Fluid Mechanics Program

FM Technique For over 30 years, thousands of swimmers have elected to work with Fluid Mechanics because our level of instruction and approach to teaching is different than anything they would find elsewhere. Through our proprietary training system, our instructors work one on one with your swimmer to break bad habits and master advanced techniques.
- Keystones Track 13 x 1 hour classes covering 4 topics with 3 classes in each topic (ex. Freestyle). This program is meant to develop the basic structure (6 – 10 most important aspects of the stroke) of the topic being covered. FM offers stokes, turns, and starts tracks. At certain tier levels, topics can be mixed and matched during a track.
- Dimensions Track 13 x 1.5 hour classes covering 1 topic at a higher level of learning. These classes cover the basic Keystones followed by classes in Advanced Structure, Hydrodynamics, Force, Timing, and Blending, with additional classes devoted to stressing the skills that have been learned so that they can be cemented in practice.
FM Strength Fluid Mechanics’ private strength training courses are designed to gradually build your core muscle groups so you can compete more effectively against other swimmers. We have been working with competitive swimmers for over 30 years and are experts in helping these athletes train to their maximum potential while reducing the risk of injury. Our training not only focuses on sport specific exercises, but the precise work out you need to prepare for your individual events. Here is a run-down of our course offerings and how they can help you build strength, speed, and endurance.
- Primary Movers These three sessions lay the groundwork for the high-performance swimming capability desired by peak athletes. We base our instruction on the ILS Triad, which is designed to 1) identify the motion involved for each particular movement; 2) locate the muscle being used; and 3) select the appropriate exercises to strengthen these muscle groups.
- Dryland Variations This three-session program expands upon the Primary Movers course by introducing multiple exercises for each primary muscle group. We focus on body-weight exercises, such as specialized push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups, to gradually build muscle throughout the body’s key target areas. Swimmers in this course will continuously modify their approach, enabling them to work key muscles from various angles, and quickly ramp up their strength and endurance.
- Devices After the first two courses, you will be ready to move on to use additional equipment to beef up your training and continue to gain strength. Devices like medicine balls, physio balls and stretch cords can be extremely helpful in preparing swimmers for more-advanced weight training with reduced risk of injury. Under our expert guidance, we will lead you through these exercises, tying each movement to the specific muscle groups that need attention.
- Weight Lifting Our private weight training program is designed for advanced swimmers who are looking for significant gains in strength and endurance. We use free weights and cable systems to increase the resistance that a swimmer’s muscle must overcome to propel them forward and greatly improve their power. As a prerequisite to this course, swimmers must first complete both the Primary Movers and Devices programs.
Conceptual Brain Fluid Mechanics has developed a proprietary program that helps swimmers hone in on the areas of their brain that need training and transform them into intensely focused athletes. The use of motivational words of encouragement, goal-setting techniques and generic platitudes often fall short of what is needed to succeed. Our experts use visual methods to develop better focus, accelerate progress, and harness emotion to supercharge your performance.
- Exploring the Brain This course, a prerequisite to other FM Conceptual Brain courses, teaches participants about the five major sections of the brain and how they interrelate. Participants gain an understanding of the flow of thoughts and emotions, as well as insight into the brain’s primary functions. This course lays the foundation for more advanced work in discerning how specific brain processes affect performance.
- Focus This course is ideal for those who sometimes experience a lack of focus at critical moments during training or competition. To gain a crucial advantage and achieve important goals, swimmers learn to channel positive thoughts and emotions while screening out ones that have a negative influence on performance. In our Focus course, we teach participants how to control and improve their ability to concentrate using proprietary techniques that employ proven visualization methods.
- Accelerating Progress This course helps each swimmer gain the knowledge and skills needed to achieve their goals. Whether you have reached a plateau, want to develop faster, or need to effectively apply constructive changes, this course is exactly what you need to continuously move forward.
- Harnessing Emotion Humans are the most powerful living beings on the planet. Learn just how powerful your emotions are and how they impact performance. This course will help you tackle emotional obstacles that can hold you back from achieving success. Whether you experience anxiety during competitions, have trouble managing emotion, or want to gain a mental advantage over your competitors, this is the course for you! Through our unique training methods, you will gain the necessary tools to accomplish your goals.

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Check Taper Meet Results III

Leslie Lucas

College Swimming Consultant

Check Taper Meet Results IIIbyLisa Pizzuto

Things To Watch Out For

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