Aspiring swimmers are invited to join us for an upcoming webinar with one of America’s leading college coaches to get an insight into life as a student athlete at a top swimming program.
On Monday 9 December (7.00pm GMT), FirstPoint USA are hosting a online webinar with Dave Rollins, a Hall of Fame swimmer at the University of Arizona, and now Head Coach at NCAA DI Florida Gulf Coast University.
A standout collegiate athlete in his own right, Dave Rollins was a nine-time NCAA All-American and national champion as a member of the University of Arizona swimming & diving team from 2002-06. In 2017, he was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.
He began his coaching career in 2006 while still fulfilling his curriculum requirements at Arizona, and took on his first collegiate coaching role at Northern Arizona University the following year, where he spent three seasons as assistant coach, playing a major role in the growth of the program.
Rollins then moved to the prestigious Ohio State University, initially as assistant head coach before being promote to head coach in 2016, enjoying a successful tenure with the Buckeyes, helped lead the program to four consecutive top-three finishes at the Big Ten Championships, including a runner-up finish in 2015, as well as four straight top-18 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
He is now in his ninth season as Head Coach with Florida Gulf Coast University and has overseen the growth and development of the Eagles swim and dive program, achieving success in the CCSA Championship and twice being named CCSA Coach of the Year.
The webinar will cover a range of topics, discussing life as a collegiate swimmer, insights into NCAA DI recruitment, competition and athlete development, the NCAA as a platform to develop Olympic swimmers and divers, the transition from elite swimmer to Head Coach and a look back at Dave’s own impressive collegiate swimming career.
The discussion will be hosted by FirstPoint’s Director of Olympic Sports Laura Lewis, who has worked with several notable swimmers and divers within our program including Stella McCardie (University of Connecticut), Danielle Guerin (UMass Amherst), Jake Hutchinson (Keiser University) and Nula Gow (Florida Atlantic University).
Laura said “We are looking forward to having Coach Rollins as our guest speaker for what will be an insightful and informative webinar on collegiate swimming and a must watch for any swimmer with aspirations to compete and study in the States.”
The college swimming scene is stacked with top level swimmers and you only have to look at the recent Paris Olympics to appreciate the world class standards and competition. Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience not only as a coach at the highest level with Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio State, but as a top class athlete from his time at Arizona State University.”
To find out more about US swimming scholarship opportunities, click here
