Catherine Walsh '23 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I can remember, I have been in love with swimming. Because of swimming, I understand the importance of time management and taking care of my body. I am hard working, and truly love this sport. The opportunity to train and compete on the daily is something that I thank God for everyday, and I would love to be able to continue my success as a student athlete in high school into college. I love to learn and I WANT to get better, and I am hungry for the opportunity to compete, especially at the collegiate level. I have had to battle through multiple injuries, and bounce back from surgery. This has taught me how to overcome adversity and how to stay persistent with my goals, despite unbeknownst obstacles that may occur.  I push myself and can be very hard on myself both in and out of the pool. I am able to hold myself accountable, and I am self motivated and driven. When I set my mind to a goal or task, I do everything in my power to follow through on it. I pride myself on my work ethic and mentality, and I believe it will help me when swimming at the collegiate level.  My academics are of a great importance to me, and I hold myself to very high standards both in and out of the pool. The grueling schedule of swimming both before and after school, succeeding in academics, as well as working a part time job has helped me to improve my time management skills, balance, and has given me the opportunity to work with a lot of different people.

At the club level, I have had the opportunity to train with swimmers who are on their first club season, all the way up to olympic athletes, so I understand the hard work it takes to be successful at an elite level, and am grateful for the opportunities to be able to train with a plethora of different athletes at all levels.  Between my club and high school team, I have been able to play different roles as a teammate. Some meets, I am a lead contributor, but other times I am simply another athlete on deck giving it my all. I am a great teammate. I also have a good grasp of technique and skills, and I feel that with even more proper technique and training (that of which I could get on a collegiate level), I could play multiple roles on a team.  My favorite part about swimming on a team, most especially my high school team, is the family like comradery of the group. I love the team aspect of the sport, and am so excited to have opportunities to grow even closer on a college team. I believe that no matter what, everyone on the team plays an important role in success, and I would love to be apart of that. I come from a large family and so I work well with other people and take control of a situation when needed. As the oldest of 8, I am an active leader in my daily life. 

As a swim coach myself for younger athletes in the sport, I value coaches IMMENSELY because they do so much for their athletes. I have been lucky enough to have some amazing coaches and I look forward to developing a positive relationship with my coaches in college. I am able to take criticism well and am great at applying corrections and always taking the step to improve my technique and fundamentals, because even after having swum for a great deal of time, there is always room for improvement and I can always do better. Again, as a coach myself, comprehending and readily understanding is an important skill set that I believe I have. I accept challenges and tasks of technical corrections. I look forward to bringing everything I have to the table and be a contributor swimming at the collegiate level :)