Nicola Koss '21 Recruiting Profile

The first time I went into a pool I instantly felt a bond and appreciation for the water, and how smooth I traveled through it.  At the age of 6, I tried out for HCY and made the team, making that an unforgettable moment in my life because I was finally part of a team that I could contribute to.  I have been swimming for ten years, and over those years, my primary stroke became freestyle, and my secondary stroke was backstroke.  Throughout my swimming career, I have faced various obstacles such as changing teams and coaches leaving.  I have also had many victories, such as making all the freestyle events from the 50 to the 1650 for Junior Olympics, and making freestyle finals for the 50 (2^nd place), 100 and 200 at Senior Zones in Buffalo, New York in 2019.

I can contribute to your team because I am a hardworking and dedicated swimmer.  On my old team Blue Eagle, I showed leadership skills when teaching little kids how to swim.  While on Blue Eagle I had many challenging practice sets and always completed the practice no matter how hard it got.  My current team STAC has helped me get faster and tougher as a swimmer.  I enjoy a good challenge when it comes to swimming.  I love inspiring others and helping them in hard times.  My coaches would always say that they enjoyed coaching me because I would do exactly what they ask without complaint.  My teachers have told me that I am very good at advocating for myself.  Academics always comes first before swimming because I feel it is necessary to maintain good grades.

I look forward to going to a college that is safe, welcoming, and has supportive, dedicated students.  Throughout college I want to push the limits in swimming as well as academics to help me grow as a person.  Whenever I saw my brother swim in college, I would become more and more excited to start college swimming.  Swimming has helped me get out of my shell and meet many new people.  It is a marvelous way to immerse yourself in a different world.  I am very eager to start the journey of college and experiencing college swimming.