North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Late-Bloomer Crowder Keeps Up With the Pack
9/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
BY TIM PEELER
“What are the coaches trying to do, kill us?” he thought to himself.
Little did he know that the first 1,000 yards was just the pre-practice warm-up. That inaugural campaign was a little rough for the muscle-bound freshman, a walk-on who quickly learned that even sprinters had to do endurance training.
There were times he didn’t think he would make it. But he’s glad he did. “It was crazy,” Crowder says. “I have never been through anything like it. It was a good experience, though it was very, very, very tough. I learned from it though. I got a lot more mature because of it.”
Honestly, though, Wolfpack swimming coach Brooks Teal wasn’t sure if he should keep Crowder, a recruited walk-on, on the roster. He just couldn’t keep up. “He is a sprinter speed, explosiveness and power are his strong suits, but his endurance is really weak,” Teal says. “It took him a long time, most of the first two years, to just be able to keep up with the rest of the group in practice.”
Now, as he prepares for his senior season, Crowder has much bigger aspirations. After training side-by-side with Olympic hopeful and NCAA champion Cullen Jones, Crowder has shaved nearly a second-and-a-half off his career marks in the 50-yard freestyle and more than three seconds off his best time in the 100-yard freestyle.
“Sprinting is all about racing,” Teal says. “Usually, the best sprinters I have coached have had good people to race against in practice. And Cullen has sure been that for Brian.”
Crowder became a regular contributor to the Wolfpack’s scoring last year and qualified for the USA Nationals for the first time.
Not bad for someone who never devoted himself to just one sport while at
“I tried getting into club swimming when I was 11 or 12,” Crowder said. “But I just wasn’t that good at it. I decided that I wanted to participate in a lot of different sports. One of the main reasons is that I just wasn’t that good at swimming is because I was better at other sports.”
That decision clearly hindered Crowder’s endurance development. Still, he was a talented enough swimmer as a high school senior to win the 200-yard freestyle and finish second in the 50-yard freestyle in the
“This is one of those sports that takes so much mental strength that you can get burned out on it really quickly,” Crowder says. “Some people, it is better to start later and not burn out, while others can be a late bloomer, which is what worked for me.”
Crowder, who has been elected team captain the last two seasons, spent the past summer working at the Candler Swim Club so he could keep a more consistent training program in preparation for his senior year, instead of pursuing a 40-hour-a-week internship that would have given him credit towards his degree in Business Management. Crowder is an honor roll student who could graduate in December, but is spreading his final classes over two semesters so he can compete this season.
Crowder also spent the summer working on using his powerful body he’s one of the team’s strongest members to improve his turn and improving his flexibility, in the hopes of shaving a couple tenths of a second off his lifetime best time of 21.11 seconds in the 50-free, which he recorded at last year’s ACC Championship. Last summer, working on the principles Jones learned while training with Team
“One of the things that really keeps me going is that almost every meet now, I set a new best time,” Crowder said.
Working with training buddy Jon Vorpagel, Crowder continues to prepare for the coming season. And Teal is glad that he decided not to kick Crowder off the team.
“It makes me feel a little dumb, based on what we would have missed out on if I had followed my instincts and not given him a chance,” Teal says. “Fortunately, I have had some other spots in my career that I can easily remember that opened my mind up a little more to know that things you can’t always perceive are possible. It makes me really proud of him for his persistence. A lot of people who had to overcome and struggle through and not be able to keep up with the team or feel like he was contributing early on would have given up.
“That is a really testament to his persistence and determination.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
