Hutchinson ’22
McKendree University ’26
MSV had a chance to catch up with Noah Tague at McKendree University and it sounds like his first year of college was a big success for him!
Noah decided he wanted to swim in college because, even though he progressed in his times in high school, he felt he still had some room to elevate his swimming to another level. Based on his results, that’s exactly what he did.
“The training environment is the biggest difference,” Noah said. Just having so many people to train with that are slightly faster than he was, or right behind him, was instrumental in having good practices daily. The overall yardage in college is not drastically different than high school, but they do have double practices twice a week and a dedicated strength coach, which seems to be the major difference.
When asked how difficult it is to manage the balance between school, social, and swimming, Noah said “During the season it can be challenging, but you find a way to make it though. Outside the season, it’s easier”. Most of his social time is with his fellow swimmers, which is very common in college swimming. Similar schedules and similar experiences make it easy to bond with that group.
One other positive he found in his first year was the exposure to international students and swimmers. Noah really seems to be thriving in his new home, both in the pool and in school and has a great group of teammates to support him and share his experience. We are so glad to hear he is doing so well and thank him for spending his time with Minnesota Swim and Vibe.
Advice for athletes thinking of swimming in college: Find a place where you believe the coaches have a plan and know what they are doing. That was the real difference for me.
Advice for soon-to-be Freshman swimming in college: Embrace the unknown. It’s a completely different experience than anything you’ve ever had before, so just embrace it and everything will work.