I think Byrne is satisfied with the men's swim team as it is. They are top 20, they don't embarrass him, and everyone likes Jay. Byrne doesn't want to spend any more money than he does already on the program. Which means the roster size doesn't grow nor would he ever look for another coach (more $$).

Many of you must be satisfied too since you always defend the Aggie way. I really won't argue that it doesn't produce good results at the end of the season for the talent we have. I will argue though that other teams repeatedly prove their swimmers can swim fast twice a season, not just once. I just think the Aggie way is not effective for recruiting. And therein lies our biggest weakness. We get Eddie's leftovers and good kids from foreign countries.

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To those that know swimming, you are correct. That wasn't the point I was trying to reinforce though.

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Jeez. Can't I make a little joke?

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I just think the Aggie way is not effective for recruiting. And therein lies our biggest weakness. We get Eddie's leftovers and good kids from foreign countries.

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(Cue the .gif of the dead horse being beaten...)

There will always be high school and college students who "know all the answers". Those are the same kids who decide to be on Texas's Z squad and not be heard from again until senior day where they throw up that hook em like they did something. Not seeing anything wrong with the "aggie" way if we keep moving up in the world like we are. Yeah as bigpapa said it has been slow but until the team drops out of the top 15, I don't see anything but success.

Also i thought the sprinters would have started tapering a month ago Bigpapa

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Also i thought the sprinters would have started tapering a month ago Bigpapa

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How would you know that Mr. Favre?

into a different direction....
A large void has been left by B.M.'s departure -which has not been filled. We've witnessed on the football field what impact a lack of leadership can have. A.F. is an outstanding young man, but does not, alone, have the ability to inspire and take the team to a whole new level.
Last year, Von was that person on the football field. We need a Von or two on our team to move the program beyond top 15. It isn't just past stats that makes a team a winner.

"A.F. is an outstanding young man, but does not, alone, have the ability to inspire and take the team to a whole new level."

How do you know he can't?

As many times as I've retired and unretired and the teams I've played for. I know everything about every team in every sport now Big Papa


#4

You really think Von Miller could have helped the swim team out? I doubt that... I kid I kid.

But how do we know who is inspiring who on that team? I'm with Jersey Shore on this

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Those are the same kids who decide to be on Texas's Z squad and not be heard from again until senior day where they throw up that hook em like they did something. Not seeing anything wrong with the "aggie" way......"

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So good swimmers walk-on at texas just so they can train under Reese?

Does A&M make room for walk-ons? If so how good does a walk-on have to be to make it on the men's and women's rosters? Junior National cuts? National?

Bogustrumper - Remember, Division I schools can only give 9.9 scholarships to men's swimming and diving. If a roster has 35-40 like Texas' does, those scholarships are spread very very thin. A few superstars may get 1/4 or possibly 1/2. The rest get almost nothing. I have been told that everyone at Texas gets at least "books." But what they get is "use of books" not actual money for books. Most of these athletes are essentially walk-ons. They still have to sign a letter of intent.

If the kid is in Texas, paying in state tuition is not such a big deal for most swimmers since swimming is dominated by kids from upper middle class families. They could choose instead to go to Missouri and get 1/4 - but lots of these kids want to swim for Reese.

The situation with women is slightly better since they have 12.8 scholarships.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 12/15/2011 1:13p).]

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The situation with women is slightly better since they have 12.8 scholarships.

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Division One Women actually have 14. But the 9.9 is correct. The majority of swimmers around the country are on very little scholarship.

Favre - thanks. 14 is 40% better than 9.9!

Never thought about it like that Spicewood. Kind of depressing for male athletes

Usually the coaches allow a Junior on as a Captain to understand how everything works. Anybody know if they did this with Fonua?

I can't speak for his leadership, but he is an accomplished swimmer in his own right. He's got versatility. Made it to NCAAs last year on a Freestyle relay, which I've never seen from a Breaststroker. He's got flaws, I think he lacks consistency. But other than that, he's a great racer and very respectable swimmer.
He's no Balazs Makany (very few swimmers are) but he's accomplished enough that guys should listen to what he has to say.

Let's also not forget there are 4 Captains and it takes a lot more than one guy to make an impact. I just hope they (captains) are working together. I just hope its better than 4 or 5 years ago when there was a lot of friction (rumored).

Coach Holmes has some tricks up his sleeve. Potential is here to shock people. Watch this space.

[This message has been edited by aggieswimfan (edited 12/18/2011 6:45p).]

that was deep, and what kind of tricks can a swim coach have up his sleeves?

[This message has been edited by dbcooper (edited 12/18/2011 10:35p).]

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I just hope its better than 4 or 5 years ago when there was a lot of friction (rumored).

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a little bit of friction between the captains is a great thing to have. not to the point where it becomes disruptive and detrimental to the team obviously, but the leadership should be able to question each other to help keep everything as open minded as possible. if you have 3 guys who always agree 100% of the time, then what is the point of having 3 guys as captain, when one guy could make all those decisions himself without anyone elses input?

not sure where you heard that rumor from, or which years exactly you are referencing (id be interested to know), but if my memory serves me correctly 4-5 years ago was a fairly strong group of captains that helped the program take some big strides. i think a lot of times the group of captains has a strong affect on the years following their tenure, as well as the the current year.

keep in mind that to be a captain doesnt mean they have to be the fastest guy on the team. plenty of "walk-ons" have come through the program to finish as captains that never had a huge impact at the NCAA level, or even made it to the meet. there are also plenty of guys whose leadership impacts the team significantly, even though they dont hold the "captain" title.

Yeah aggieswimfan, cant you teell by the way these guys act on message boards and were doing the same 4-5 years ago that theyre totally cool guys who have their heads on straight? LOL!

We know, we know. The team is always making "big strides" every year, yet they somehow never get any better. How many big strides before this team starts finishing in the top 8 or 9 every year like they should be?

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that theyre totally cool guys who have their heads on straight?

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not sure how that came up...but oh well

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We know, we know. The team is always making "big strides" every year, yet they somehow never get any better

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call me crazy, but i think constantly re-setting school records every year would qualify as "getting any better". granted the final NC finishes have not been as high as hoped, but i still think the team is always getting better, especially considering the changes in personnel (graduates, incoming freshman). those "big strides" are not always seen from the outside, but i promise you that very rarely inside the program are there backwards steps taken. even those intangible "strides" that most people cant see help a program move forward.

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How many big strides before this team starts finishing in the top 8 or 9 every year like they should be?

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can you elaborate on what exactly determines where this program "should" be? if the team were constantly under performing at the end of the season and falling short of times/expectations (of the outside/swimming world) i guess i could understand. i do agree i would love to see this team break into the top 10, and that is definitely their goal as a program, which nobody on that team is happy when it isnt achieved. maybe im in the minority here, but i feel like those guys usually over-perform compared to what people expect them to do at the end of the season.