Maxwell Peterson '14 Recruiting Profile

My first words were “hoop, ball, dunk.” Throughout my life I’ve played baseball, basketball, football, ultimate Frisbee and swam in the summer. My sophomore year I went out for football and was on the fast track toward Varsity after only two days. The very next day I slipped and tore my ACL, which changed my life forever. The recovery and rehabilitation process grew my fascination for biology and medicine. Now I want to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biomechanics or Human Biology. Ever since I was three years old my dad has called me "dolphin boy”, I never wanted to get out of the water.  I loved swimming more than anything else. Once my nine month recovery period from surgery was over, I could barely make it up the stairs, run 100 yards or swim more than 25 yards. For the first time in my life, I was out of shape. I was determined to become an athlete again and I buried myself in books about nutrition and bodybuilding, then I started working with a trainer. I hauled my oversized, doughy body to his garage three times a week and worked harder than I ever had before. Sweat poured off my face, while my heart pounded to the beat of my trainer screaming for one more, one more squat, one more pull up, one more press, I worked my back into sports.  The first thing I was cleared to do was swim. I fell in love with the sport again, there is no feeling quite like launching off the blocks into the pool, rocketing forward and slicing through the water. I joined a club team, and have now been a full time “swimmer” for a year. I swim 48 weeks a year, and I miss it in the 4 weeks I don’t, there is no place I’d rather be than at the pool at 6:00 a.m. I have had amazing success in my first year of club swimming, I qualified and placed in the top 6 in the 50 free at state and broke my school record, an unforgettable experience. Then, I qualified for Junior Nationals in the 50 free and had the honor of attending the most incredible and inspiring event in my life. Now I want to get back to those kinds of meets. The kind where you stand behind the blocks, and time is frozen, all you hear is your heart beat and you prepare for the most incredible race of your life. I want to be the greatest swimmer that I can possibly be and I know that collegiate swimming is the perfect place for me.