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2013-10-06 3:35 PM

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Subject: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Hello fellow triathletes,

Right now I am in my sophomore year of highschool. I would love to race at the collegiate level for triathlons in the future, but I don't know how to do that? Since triathlons are not offered as a highschool sport, how are individuals chosen to become part of division I collegiate teams? Or if they even have those?

Thanks

-Zach


2013-10-06 5:27 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TheNewBlood

Hello fellow triathletes,

Right now I am in my sophomore year of highschool. I would love to race at the collegiate level for triathlons in the future, but I don't know how to do that? Since triathlons are not offered as a highschool sport, how are individuals chosen to become part of division I collegiate teams? Or if they even have those?

Thanks

-Zach


it's a pretty simple process here at ASU:

Complete forms, pay club dues and show up to practice.
2013-10-06 5:49 PM
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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !



Edited by trishie 2013-10-06 5:49 PM
2013-10-06 7:32 PM
in reply to: trishie

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !





Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges.

Thanks!
2013-10-06 7:33 PM
in reply to: Bunsbert Montcroff

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by Bunsbert Montcroff

Originally posted by TheNewBlood

Hello fellow triathletes,

Right now I am in my sophomore year of highschool. I would love to race at the collegiate level for triathlons in the future, but I don't know how to do that? Since triathlons are not offered as a highschool sport, how are individuals chosen to become part of division I collegiate teams? Or if they even have those?

Thanks

-Zach


it's a pretty simple process here at ASU:

Complete forms, pay club dues and show up to practice.



Alright, I guess that makes sense. So I guess they do not have triathlons competing at the varsity level for colleges. That is a bummer :/
2013-10-06 7:36 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !

Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges. Thanks!

What triathlon have you done and what was your time?



2013-10-06 8:02 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Alright, I guess that makes sense. So I guess they do not have triathlons competing at the varsity level for colleges. That is a bummer :/

Yeah, it's just a club sport.

There are some great collegiate teams at places like the University of Arizona, UCSD, Colorado Univ., and the service academies [and many others], but it's not a "varsity" sport like you'd mentioned. Plus, collegiate triathlon [at least the national championships] are draft legal. Of course teams race in non-draft legal races too.
2013-10-07 7:00 PM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !

Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges. Thanks!

What triathlon have you done and what was your time?




Maple Grove Lifetime Triathlon (Sprint) - 1.20.06
500m swim, 14 miles biking, and 5k
That was my first one, and I placed 2nd in my AG
2013-10-07 7:45 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
2013-10-07 10:22 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by Left Brain
Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !

Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges. Thanks!

What triathlon have you done and what was your time?

Maple Grove Lifetime Triathlon (Sprint) - 1.20.06 500m swim, 14 miles biking, and 5k That was my first one, and I placed 2nd in my AG

Nice....what are your goals in triathlon? 

Sorry......I'm getting to an answer.  It will depend on whether you want to work to be a competitive college triathlete or just have some fun with it.

2013-10-08 6:46 AM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by Left Brain
Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !

Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges. Thanks!

What triathlon have you done and what was your time?

Maple Grove Lifetime Triathlon (Sprint) - 1.20.06 500m swim, 14 miles biking, and 5k That was my first one, and I placed 2nd in my AG

Nice....what are your goals in triathlon? 

Sorry......I'm getting to an answer.  It will depend on whether you want to work to be a competitive college triathlete or just have some fun with it.




My goals are to continue competing and improve overall. As well as increase distances until I can compete in an Ironman. And for college, I would prefer to actually compete.


2013-10-08 7:22 AM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TheNewBlood

My goals are to continue competing and improve overall. As well as increase distances until I can compete in an Ironman. And for college, I would prefer to actually compete.


I have seen a few sprint swimmers transition to racing triathlon at a high level but it usually takes about a year of focused endurance swimming to have them racing well over the 750m and then 1500m distances; often they can swim well for these distances without too much effort but they often then struggle with the rest of the race due to their focus on sprinting in their swim training.

IIWY, based on your triathlon goals, here's what I would do for the next year:

Swim - keep swimming with your club but try to do some 400m and 800m events (even if just a less important meets through the year)
Bike - get on the bike as often as possible; ride mostly hard, sometimes easy and get in as much group riding as you can - preferably with a group that almost or does drop you on occasion
Run - for now, keep doing what you're doing; cross country is great and then transition to 1500m, 3000m and 5000m on the track
Racing - do as many sprint distance events as you can and see if there are an elite events in your area; if there are, try your hand at these to see how you measure up/enjoy draft legal racing

From there, I would continue to do the same type of thing in your jr and sr years but would focus much more on getting into elite events wherever possible and maybe do an oly distance (for fun!) in the summer following your junior year and maybe a couple in the summer (again for fun) following your senior year.

This will set you up well to race at the college level and if you are doing well with the junior elite events, you would do well to consider a school that performs consistently at the collegiate championships.

I would also encourage you to contact Mike Ricci at D3 Multisports (he posts here) as he coaches a very successful collegiate team and can likely provide more information.

Shane
2013-10-08 7:30 AM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
You are well on your way already! Until recently, most college triathlon competition was Olympic distance. Of course moving up to that distance from sprints is not that hard. Once you know what kind of school you want to go to, you can narrow your choice to ones that have active triathlon clubs. As noted, the service academies are very strong in this area, and compete well with some pretty big universities. Also, as a military officer, you have the opportunity to get time off to train and compete - while working in your career.
2013-10-08 7:40 AM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

Zach,

It's great to hear you are interested in triathlon - the sport is growing a ton in the last few years.

My best advice is to keep working on the swimming and running with your high school teams and see if you can find a Development Team in your area - they are all over the US and are great at developing young athletes in triathlon. Even if your goal isn't to race Draft Legal, you'll get a ton of experience and learn a lot of skills that will help you in DL and non draft racing.

If you have any specific questions send me an email straight up as I'd be happy to answer them: mike at d3 multisport dot com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

2013-10-08 10:01 AM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

You've got some great answers from Shane and Mike.  If you are interested in tryin gyour hand at Jr. Elite draft legal racing I would go to USAT's website and watch for those races.  Typically there are 4 or 5 per year, including F1 races, and they are limited to 75 entrants, and they fill up FAST!  That's one good reason to be hooked into a Youth High Performance or Development team because you get the notifications on when the races open for registration.  The Jr. races sell out the fastest.

If you are not familiar with draft legal racing and want to see how you fare in that format, swim alot.  I saw 3 kids come to the team my son is on this year at the Jr. level and 2 of them got lapped out of the race (in this format you will be pulled from the course if you get lapped on the bike) because they got out so far behind on the swim.  You will need to swim a 750M in about 13 minutes.  To be competitive you will need 9 minutes.

This year there looks like there will be Jr. Elite races in Sarasota, Dallas (both F1), Richmond, Va., Seattle, Des Moines, and the Naitonal championship race will be in Westchester, Ohio.

Additionally, there are "talent ID" races where youth development coaches attend in Columbis, Mo., Omaha, Ne., and another that I can't think of off the top of my head.

What part of the country are you in?  I can more easily point you in the right direction for a development team if I have that info.

2013-10-08 12:47 PM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

In the NE area of the country there are variety of races through the Northeast Collegete Triathlon Conference.  Here is a list of schools that participate:

<a href="http://nectc.net/teams.php">http://nectc.net/teams.php</a>

I'm guessing that each region of the US has a type of governing body that sets up races for colleges in the area.

 

 



2013-10-08 3:01 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TheNewBlood
Originally posted by trishie

I don't think colleges offer varsity triathlon teams.

However, I was at a race today and there were TONS of colleges with teams -- lots of college kids!

Can you swim? I'd recommend joining your school's swim team (if it has one) or looking for a local team. I see you already run track, so that's great. Do you ride at all?

Great goal and good luck with your training !

Ok that is what I was wondering also, if they had varsity teams. I can swim, I am already on the swim team and after my first year of swimming ever I am on the Varsity team. Swimming sprints and relays (23.2 is best 50m time) is my thing though, not long distance swimming. I run track and I also run cross country, so I have the distance for the running. I ride a lot with my father, just not on the road. I have done one triathlon already, so I do have experience. I just want to further prepare myself for the possibilities offered by colleges. Thanks!

Good Luck!

As a former sprinter myself I would suggest working with your coach now on the distance stuff.  I never like distance swimming and even though I was on a swim team from a young age  through college it was never my thing.  I could do it because I had the base (thanks to a HS coach who loved long workouts)  but didn't do it well because I didn't like it or see the need other then training.  If you want to compete at the level you hope to use your HS coach now, great resource.

(23.2 is best 50m time) - great time for your first year on the team.  SC or LC?

2013-11-16 10:08 AM
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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
My school, Marymount University (Arlington, VA; Division III) was the first in the country to have an NCAA varsity triathlon team (for both men and women). The team is very much in its infancy and won't have any NCAA competition until other schools begin to add teams also.

As many others here have noted, the club scene is alive and well at many schools around the country.



Edited by Dunn Right 2013-11-16 10:09 AM
2013-11-16 6:55 PM
in reply to: Dunn Right

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

It's great that a school has taken the lead on this however it will be a LONG time until there is men's Triathlon at the NCAA level. Women's triathlon should happen much sooner, hopefully.

2013-11-16 7:32 PM
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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Just curious as to why women's triathlon will happen a lot sooner.
2013-11-16 7:50 PM
in reply to: Dominion

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

Originally posted by Dominion Just curious as to why women's triathlon will happen a lot sooner.

title 9



2013-11-16 8:26 PM
in reply to: dmiller5

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by dmiller5

Originally posted by Dominion Just curious as to why women's triathlon will happen a lot sooner.

title 9




^this
2013-11-16 11:37 PM
in reply to: Dominion

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

Title IX.

2013-11-17 7:43 AM
in reply to: Dunn Right

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?

Originally posted by Dunn Right My school, Marymount University (Arlington, VA; Division III) was the first in the country to have an NCAA varsity triathlon team (for both men and women). The team is very much in its infancy and won't have any NCAA competition until other schools begin to add teams also. As many others here have noted, the club scene is alive and well at many schools around the country.

My son is a freshman at Pitt and trains with their triathlon club.  Their program is growing in number of participants and organization quickly.  Steel City Endurance provides them with coaching.  You guys are close enough that you could consider coordinating an informal event with them at an existing race somewhere between Arlington and Pittsburgh.

 

2013-11-17 10:01 AM
in reply to: TriMyBest

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Subject: RE: Becoming a Collegiate Triathlete?
Originally posted by TriMyBest

Originally posted by Dunn Right My school, Marymount University (Arlington, VA; Division III) was the first in the country to have an NCAA varsity triathlon team (for both men and women). The team is very much in its infancy and won't have any NCAA competition until other schools begin to add teams also. As many others here have noted, the club scene is alive and well at many schools around the country.

My son is a freshman at Pitt and trains with their triathlon club.  Their program is growing in number of participants and organization quickly.  Steel City Endurance provides them with coaching.  You guys are close enough that you could consider coordinating an informal event with them at an existing race somewhere between Arlington and Pittsburgh.

Thanks for the heads up; that would be awesome! I'll pass that info along to the coaches.
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