Megan Baio '23 Recruiting Profile

Swimming competitively again has given me something that I thought I had lost forever due to the pandemic, my confidence and a second chance to be the strong person I know I am.   My best self is when I am balanced with sports and thriving in academics.   That was never more apparent to me until one of those was taken away.  There was a short period during the end of my sophomore year when I wasn't on a swim team for the first time.  I was a swim instructor for my local YMCA, but teaching isn't the same as doing.  To bring that missing piece of fulfillment back into my life and to make me mentally strong again, I joined a club swim team in December 2021.  I realize now how fortunate I am to be built as what some people call a natural athlete and use that to my advantage and better myself.   Since I was 6 years old, I had always been a 3 sports year-round athlete whether it was soccer, softball, or basketball, I was always moving.   At the age of 10, I gave up basketball training and joined my town swim team.  It was something that I fought my parents over because I didn't know any of the strokes besides freestyle, and I now appreciate how much they pushed me toward swim. I had always loved the water so it made complete sense to them and kept me physical during the Winter months.  I ended up swimming year-round and while I did fit in the other sports, swimming became my passion.  I had always been against joining a club team because I had never wanted to join a soccer or softball club and had always been asked to do that for those sports.  The difference was I had never wanted to only do those sports and always wanted to be well-rounded athletically.  With swim it was different and I wish I had found my current club sooner than I had.  Swimming and strength training 5 to 6 days a week have given me the foresight, determination, and belief that I can make a difference if I were to be a college athlete by pushing myself while also encouraging my peers.  It didn't really connect with me until this past July, that I had the potential to continue my swim career past high school and that I needed to work that much harder to make it come to fruition. I consider myself as having high morals, am fiercely loyal to my teammates, and am dedicated to showing my potential school in the best possible light.  I understand how important academics are for college athletes and as a student how important is it to have success in both areas.  I can't look back on the path that I have been on with disappointment, it may not have been as straight as I had hoped, but my belief is it's never too late to realign yourself.