How I went from JV Swimmer to D1 Athlete (Recruiting + Swimming Tips)

[@one-vs1gl]

i'm literally two and a half minutes in and i feel really motivated already! i've been trying to make it to tapps (texas) state this year, and your videos have helped me a lot :))

[@KyleMillis]

Love to hear this!! Keep it up and best of luck at States hopefully 🤞🏻

[@one-vs1gl]

@@KyleMillis ty! :)))

[@chriscipko152]

Impressed with your success in swimming given your short period of time competing in the sport. I have swam for over 30 years and still enjoy it. Swam competitively during my youth years all the way through college. D1 as a Big Ten Spartan. Now I just swim for fitness and stress relief. Thanks for sharing this video. Good tips indeed that I would echo for any swimmer that has ambitions for collegiate swimming or diving.

[@KyleMillis]

Love it! Go Sparty

[@danidecarlo9715]

Yes!! Finding the right coach is so important! It’s amazing what you can do when you have a coach that believes in you 😄

[@kevindrdrill]

Really cool and inspirational story Kyle! I was also a swimmer in hs but wasn't very good, but I nevertheless still enjoy swimming as a hobby in college for exercise and to remember my swim days in hs. Good luck to u man in your future endeavors!

[@KyleMillis]

Glad you enjoyed it!! Swimming is a great hobby for sure

[@JMONEY-gy6di]

This is a really dope video. I am a breastroker and have been in the sport for a while. It was only recently I made big strides when I went into d2 and went from a 1:04.65 100 to a 59.8 at mid season. Having a fighting spirit and the WANT to get better is what helped me. I want to keep going in the sport and eventually get down to the low 52s or below. I am going to try to attend bigger meets from now on like futures and ncsas.

[@alexandererwin2005]

What year?

[@RBgamerboy11-vs1ii]

I am 12 and I have a 1:40.49 in long course for 100 br

[@matteodeclet5582]

1:04 in short course? what age

[@SPaleocrassas]

This is a great video Kyle! I had a similar situation, I was a soccer player up until the start of my junior year in HS when doctors found a tumor in my hip. It wasn't able to be removed. Swimming was a sport that put very little stress on my hip, and as a summer league swimmer from an early age it seemed like the way to go. BY the end of my senior year I was able to hit some times that could get me into D1 schools, however most of them had no spots left due to a combination of me hitting those times so late and 5th years taking up roster spots. I decided to take a gap year to focus on swimming and also taking some gen eds at a local community college and it was definitely the right choice. Instead of going with a lower level college that had the space to accommodate me but not the resources to develop my swimming, I was able to commit to the school that is perfect for me. Most people think taking a gap year is sorta weird or scary mostly cause not many people choose to, but it gave me an opportunity to not only improve my times for college coaches but also to look into schools that were otherwise off the table!

[@KyleMillis]

What an amazing story! I think gap years are a great way to find the perfect school and find your passion.

[@aleclopez1204]

Thanks, Kyle, this helped me look into colleges because I am a junior in HS. Times aren't all really there but looking into colleges as swimming is something I want to pursue. Your videos help me out a ton thanks, Happy holidays

[@KyleMillis]

Glad I could help! Best of luck in your college search!

[@Aiden-dw1nm]

bro accidentally qualified for state 💀

[@KyleMillis]

Haha I wish it was that easy 🤣

[@sophiahuang1809]

Your story actually really aligns with mine. I swam for a team before freshman year but wasn't passionate enough. I came back after the pandemic super slow, and just this past season I managed to qualify (only for relays though haha) to WIAA States @ KCAC! I also consider myself a sprinter, and 100 Back is my second favorite event to swim. Also, California definitely has some schools I would want to go to. My current dream is to make Futures Championships by junior year (only one more year to do it!!), and its really impressive that you made it by sophomore year. Seeing the tremendous development you made (10 seconds in freshman year?? I only dropped 8 after my return T-T) really gives me hope that maybe its attainable. Since we're also in the same relative location, this might be a bit of a stretch (since there is a lot of Olympic coaches out there) but I think your old former Canadian Olympian backstroke coach may be my current coach! He left from BCST to my current team. I actually just changed teams (to develop more than my 50-100) but I'm wondering if I made the right choice (Given Tip #2, should I have just stuck with the events I'm good at?). Do you have any tips on your mentality with failure? How do you manage to stay determined in practice? When changing from solely sprinting to doing 200s, what were some struggles and how did you resolve them? Is there anything you primarily source the improvement you made in your first 2 years of high school to? Any dryland workouts you recommend for backstrokers? Thanks!

[@marcosricopeng]

What an incredible story and damn you've come a long way!!

[@KyleMillis]

Much appreciated Marcos, it’s been fun to share it with ya!

[@runfunmc64]

dirty swims dude. swam d3 and it was great! didn’t go 45 in my 1 free but did it with a relay takeoff so i’ll take what i can get. keep it up!

[@KyleMillis]

45 is a tough barrier! Great story and thanks for the support!

[@evanconti4874]

Hey Kyle, I found your videos not too long ago, and they’ve been really interesting! Especially since I’m a 200 backstroker and a sophomore in high school. Going into high school season I have a 1:50.0 and this video really helped to kind of see what a D1 elite swimmers times were in high school.

[@KyleMillis]

That's awesome, I'm glad you found this video, that was the exact goal of the video. Happy Swimming!

[@BlossomyPen6275]

I go 2:12.42 teach me the ways

[@Unknown-ox1yq]

It's insane how you went from 1:06 to 54.1 in the same year!

[@giantusa]

6'6"

[@daveb2778]

we had a guy who was around 6,8" join the swim team in High School, Already built well from lifting and other sports, he went on to brake state Records and get a full ride scholarship, only swam two years in high school and yea, it's mostly in the genes, tall, slim, big feet and hands all thats needed with some coaching to be really fast at sprinting, you fit that category so that happened to you too.

[@KyleMillis]

I mean definitely a much larger story of hard work than just natural talent but you’re right, definitely helps.

[@grovulin1504]

You’re my fav swimmer Kyle, merry Christmas and have a happy new year

[@KyleMillis]

Thanks so much 😀 Merry Christmas and lots of new videos in the new year!!

[@bryandiffenderfer7978]

This is awesome! Proud of you and congrats on all of the success!

[@KyleMillis]

Thanks Coach Bryan, couldn’t have done it without ya! Go Dolphins!

[@danpopper3488]

Those were huge drops man. Sophmore rn and I’m thinking about swimming in college. This helped a bit thx

[@KyleMillis]

Glad it helped, lots of great tips coming similar to this so make sure to tune in!

[@theangryegg8458]

I’m retired now but I see how some of the points in the video applied to my swim career. My sophomore year championship season and entire junior season were wiped out because of the pandemic and tough covid restrictions so by the time I came back senior year, it was too late for recruiting. I dropped my 100 fly from 55 to 51.40, 200 free from 1:48 to 1:45.1, and 200 fly from 2:01 to 1:55 since my times were 2 years old but by then it was too late for anything above D3

[@KyleMillis]

I can’t imagine swimming through the pandemic in HS especially at such a pivotal time in your swimming career. Great of you for making the best of it!

[@aidangeorge7012]

I had a similar path except I decided to go to community college for this year to have an extra year to improve and talk to coaches. This was definitely the right plan for me I dropped a ton of time and now I'm getting offers for official visits that I would have never got if I didn't take the gap year.

[@realalbertan]

@@KyleMillis we lost a few kids but got more boys from other clubs moving to our program. Our team is in its best shape since 1999.

[@User-nk2bw]

Moral of the story: you need to be 6’6 and have a insane ability of doing swim for only 4 years and going to junior nats

[@anisa3079]

are you 100% sure you didn't have any swimming background prior to high school??? It's insane how naturally speedy you are. i've been swimming more than half my life (7 years) and still haven't been able to break 1:10 in 100 back😂 ( for reference i swim around 5000 yards 7 times a week but another factor could also just be i'm not a backstroker lol)

[@KyleMillis]

Like I said, I’d done summer league and had a pool in my backyard but never really got into it. I’d be interested to see what type of training you’re doing in those 5k yards, any speed or pace work?

[@anisa3079]

about a mile of that 5k is just warmup but after that we usually do a pre-set/prep set which takes up a bit more than a mile then we go into our main set which takes up the rest of the 5k. it usually varies whether we’re working on sprints or pacing. in general, we do a lot of everything, but mainly pacing. we have the occasional week where we focus in depth on each stroke with a ton of drills. we also have drag days every once in a while where we come dressed in layers of clothing and just swim in that.

[@BrianPryzby]

He's also 6'6, genetics and natural ability can take you an incredibly far way

[@maxwellbalva6207]

It also matters how much of each stroke you are doing. If you are only doing free on your main sets, that is likely the only stroke that you will get good at.

[@grippy2k]

crazy story, I'm just a distance swimmer who been grinding it out. Just got my first winter juniors cut in the mile and 1000 a few weeks ago as a 14 year old

[@KyleMillis]

Wow, that’s very impressive! Juniors at 14?! I never was at that level, keep it up!

[@hxndxrs0n815]

holy fuck thats fast, I didn't even make JO's bruh

[@itzmyzt5201]

At 14 I go a 54 100 fly and I’m hoping I can take it to the next level so thanks for the advice

[@adrienlerouge9887]

0:27 OAK HILL PARK!!!! Bro was it coach lauren or dal when you were at mv?

[@milobrown1892]

Thank you for this inspirational story. I hope to do this too

[@KyleMillis]

Go for it, you got it!

[@rodrigoherrera1851]

Merry Christmas Kyle 👍

[@KyleMillis]

Merry Christmas!! Thanks for watching

[@monkeydhemyy2640]

I’ve been swimming for a bit and my dream is to also be a d1 swimmer this helped me a lot thank you

[@tmdillon1969]

I went to HS in the 80s. I switched sports from football to swimming due to a neck injury during my freshman year. I switched schools and my buddy talked me into going out for swimming. Neither one of us knew our hs was a national public powerhouse swim program and suddenly we're doing 5k-10k a day in the water. I never had a shot at a D1 with my size but maybe if I got along with my coach I might have developed into a D2 swimmer. He led us to three consecutive state titles and a national ranking of #2 my junior year and #4 my senior year. He then went on to his alma mater in the MAC and became the winningest coach in conference history. But we did not get along and he would not move me into a faster lane to move my training up even though I asked multiple times. It's really important to have a compatible coach! I swam masters 10 years ago and the coaching was so much better. That's weird to say in contrast to a coach with dozens of awards and trophies on his wall but it's the truth. He wrote me off and I was too young and too insecure to fight back or swim somewhere else. This young man took agency for his career at a very young age and he's to be commended for that.

[@KyleMillis]

Quite the story! It’s so funny that you didn’t even know your HS was a swimming powerhouse haha. Lots of my HS friends didn’t even know the magnitude of the level our swimmers were competing on.

[@tmdillon1969]

@@KyleMillis I grew up in the midwest and football was king. Upper Arlington HS was winning championships in multiple sports so watching people swim was at the bottom of the list. I think we won 6 state championships in my junior year between swimming, cross country, etc. They're usually ranked #1 in NISCA in the 1500-2000 sized public high schools, combined boys and girls. It's funny that I was sprint free and breast in hs but in masters, I was 200 breast, 200 back, and mile.

[@andrewlardieri4110]

Merry Xmas Kyle

[@KyleMillis]

Merry Christmas 🎄

[@philipmeyer7402]

Wow this is really incredible. I’m swimming it’s almost impossible to do this

[@seantheswimmer]

56 as a freshman is wild for ur first year. im in my 4th year swimming, still a freshman, but at 58

[@scotttromp]

This is way to close to my story. Basketball freshman year to swimming, started jv at 1:07 back to 55, then 52 high, then 50 by year but I went to Texas 😂. How nice was it to go best time every dual meet in everything?

[@KyleMillis]

What a great story, very similar indeed! Never went any best times at duel meets but was always close haha!

[@christinatsai]

I like this video so much, it’s very organized and inspiring. Btw, where did you go for California Summer League? My kids (age 9 &11) are shuffling between summer league and year around team in north CA.

[@BlossomyPen6275]

Very inspiring, I have top seasonal nag times (on swimcloud) and I think I have a chance to get your level. I’m also a backstroker so I can compare i guess

[@KyleMillis]

There ya go! That’s super cool, keep it up.

[@thekylester]

We both have the same transitions from basketball to swim, but one, im 5’11” and two, my progression was worse. I just came back to swimming after quitting at eleven my freshman year and i was trash. My sophomore year was way better and my junior year went well, but no state. I am still out of shape through all years in hs despite getting faster. I just had my junior year and no state and im pushing to get at least one state appearance. The only issue is that i am so far off to what is state standard. There is only one club team in where i live and we have good relations. I just got more new bests, but at what cost since im not even close to whats better for my chances at state

[@KyleMillis]

Just focus on chipping away at getting more and more best times and before you know it, state won't look too far away. Don't focus on the end result, focus on the day to day.

[@User-nk2bw]

I think I’ve lost all hope I’ve been swimming 7 years and I’m not this fast but this guy just jumped right in 😔

[@slimebeehoney]

Hi Kyle, my son and daughter are part of bcst

[@slimebeehoney]

Once my son went to talk to Andrew about food😂

[@KyleMillis]

That is awesome! Great team

[@YoungCalebCarr]

What do you think I could do as a senior who wants to at the Collegiate level.

[@KyleMillis]

Stick to your training plan and send as many emails as possible getting your name out there. There’s a program for your there!

[@sammmmyas4786]

I currently go a 26 low in the 50 back and a 57 in the 100 back. Do you have any recommendations on how I can lower this 100 backstroke time to somewhere in the 53-54 range? I'm having a lot of trouble with losing time as that second 50 is always so hard to finish.

[@BlossomyPen6275]

Threshold and running. Your heart needs to adapt to sprinting for longer amounts of time

[@heathsmith1841]

i'll say this swim is purely genetic and a lot of dedication and hard work

[@KyleMillis]

I don’t think genetics plays as big a factor into is as I’ve seen people from all shapes and sizes succeed in the sport. It definitely helps, but it’s not impossible!

[@aquabraydin]

Do you have any tips for me? I am a free sprinter who wants to swim at the collegiate level. I am a freshman in high school and swim a 25.4 second 50 free and a 56.2 second 100 free. I cant join a recreational league since i live in a fairly rural area, and the closest one is about 45 minutes away from me and no one is really keen on taking me to practice. Is there any possible shot of going to the collegiate level if i dont swim in the recreational league and eventually make it to a sub 22 50 free, and a sub 48 100 free?

[@KaizenKade]

Hey Kyle, great vid. I’m a college swimmer myself. What do you use to film these videos?

[@KyleMillis]

Thanks for the support, I used a Sony A7iii to film this

[@kmax88pupfn46]

i have a question. what google do you use. thank you. And you are a very good swimmer

[@KyleMillis]

I typically use either the arena cobra ultras or the Speedo speed sockets!

[@davidj.ritter]

You got any tips for a gym plan for swimming? with like reps and sets, excerises like varying every day?

[@matteodeclet5582]

how tall/heavy were u during each yr as I was wondering where I would be compares to you I am (6 ft) 14 freshman

[@douglaslaramore5189]

Kyle just wondering if you were the faster kicker on your different teams? Seems like the best kickers advance to the best swimmers.. Just curious..

[@Immortal-215]

How do you go so fast while treating swim for fun? I can't go anywhere near that

[@KingGAMING-kk9ej]

Can you tell more of your LCM times?

[@derekm1918]

Interesting that both our journeys are very similar, unfortunately due to the pandemic I wasn't able to start club swimming as early as I wanted, which significantly slowed my development, so I was forced into the tough decision of taking an extra year, post-graduation so I can make up some of that ground. Hopefully I can also pick up a few winters cuts since I'll still be 18 at that time.

[@KyleMillis]

If there’s a will, there’s a way! Best of luck in your swimming journey!

[@Incognito-nl8xh]

Andrew Nguyen is literally my coach now

[@KyleMillis]

He’s the best, right?

[@skiiipawbs]

My End of season 100 bk time was 56. Need some height to get down to 50 or something 😭

[@leonator3000]

hey awesome video!! i have a few questions. My goal is to swim at a D1 level and i wanted to know if i was at a disadvantage bcs I'm not living in the US. I train and compete in SCM and LCM. Do u have any advice? thanks a lot

[@christianmiles3498]

bro was already stacked as an 8th grader

[@KyleMillis]

Appreciate it, lots of growing was done still!

[@DanielKrich40]

Did you ever wish the pools were indoors because of the weather?

[@KyleMillis]

In HS, I swam indoors almost always in Washington. I’m indifferent personally, practicing outdoors is necessary to prep for backstroke at outdoor meets.

[@DanielKrich40]

And if I personally don’t like outdoor pools and not a backstroker, would you recommend staying away from a college because of that ?

[@nobodyshere7193]

Im in england and i just realised half way through the times are in yards like i was thinking this guy was going sub 50 on back in 100m. But like if u could at all translate this to english because i dont really know high school stuff like senior or junior year

[@malliasdimitris94]

Hi Kyle! Great one as always.I would like to ask you a question which I have been thinking a lot about lately. Why did you follow such an intense swimming schedule in UNY of Berkley since you wouldn't follow a Olympics swimming career?

[@KyleMillis]

All for the NCAA championship swim meet! Not everyone has the opportunity to be an Olympian but we have our own championship meet against the best of the best college swimmers.

[@calebchen9304]

Bruh I wanna swim but I’m just slow my best event is 200 Im and i go 2:10 and im a sophmore You are just him

[@KyleMillis]

Hard work and effort will pay off, I wasn’t as fast in the 2 IM my sophomore year 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@drewarney]

bro literally swam at my high school

[@KyleMillis]

What high school you at??

[@drewarney]

@@KyleMillis I swam at MV my freshman and sophomore year

[@krystianplays]

WHAT in the world how did you get 27 on 50 back do u mean 37

[@KyleMillis]

Scy I go 22 SCY 50 Backstroke now 😝

[@krystianplays]

@@KyleMillis oh congratulations but i meant at 13 or 14 year old like ur first race u did at the start of the carear u said you got 27 at grade at 13 or 14 so how were you so fast aslo keep up the good work love the vids

[@Simply_fabulous7]

Bros got my 50 fly time for a 100 back 😭

[@RBgamerboy11-vs1ii]

My 50 fly time is a 44(yards)

[@hershey2581]

Congrats on your successes and dedication. But that title is misleading. you're not actually a jv swimmer, and starting out your high school career around a 27.1 50 back is better than most swimmers will ever achieve.

[@KyleMillis]

No my high school swim team was quite fast. 27.1 wouldn’t have made varsity, the JV team was almost 2-3x larger than varsity as they were quite select.

[@hxndxrs0n815]

Bruh how tf do you swim so fast? I train 6 times a week and 5000-6000yardage per practice and still isn't as fast as you in 8th grade

[@KyleMillis]

I’m a big advocate over quality over quantity. If you’re into the shorter distances, it doesn’t make sense to be doing more than 5k. Do more speed work and have consistent 4k yard practices, it will pay dividends.

[@hxndxrs0n815]

@@KyleMillis I do 500free and it's 5:52 right now I'm im a 14 year old guy. It's considered pretty bad on my club but on my highschool its considered legendary lol

[@bd570]

The natural talent and speed u have is misleading for this video. Goin to cal after not really caring about swimming is impressive! That’s not normal by any stretchx

[@KyleMillis]

I care about swimming, don’t get that mistaken. I still swim 2-3 times a week. No doubt generics was a big help. However, I think the tips laid out can be applied to all aspiring athletes.

[@HighlightWorkshop]

i’m gonna rip creatine to get big

[@KyleMillis]

I mean… not that it won’t be effect but idk how well it will translate to swimming 🤣

[@HighlightWorkshop]

@@KyleMillis ill get huge like manadou and go a 22 in free hopefully

[@MarnixSeth]

how is it possible to swam 48 seconds when the world record is 51 seconds

[@RBgamerboy11-vs1ii]

The world record is 51 seconds in meters. Kyle went a 48 in yards

[@rohithpramod6353]

What a chad

[@KyleMillis]

What a Kyle **

[@LK-cj5wv]

I so wanted to watch your clip, but your incessant gesticulation was too much. Zoom in on your face and leave your hands out of the frame or please, learn not to keep moving your hands with every single word you utter. It isn't necessary, you are an excellent speaker. Dang, I wanted to watch some swimming...

[@zackdarnell9516]

You barely swam lmao you just decided to do it for fun and were good at it cause ur 6’6 you really can’t be giving any advice lmao

[@austinb2177]

He did work for it, but tbh I do prefer taking advice from short swimmers. They have to grind a lot more and overcome more obstacles, so they have more knowledge because of that. It’s like dunking a basketball - would you rather take advice from the 6’3 guy who can naturally dunk easily, or the 5’7” guy who worked hard to get his vertical?