Michael Arpasi '18 Recruiting Profile

I want to get as much out of life as I can. I place tremendous value on developing myself academically, athletically and personally. I realize already that to be a successful college swimmer, I will need to find balance. The sacrifices I make to have swimming success will not interfere with academic goals.  My fraternity will be my swim team partners and my satisfaction will come from our shared success in the pool and in the classroom. Academically, I would like to study medicine like my father did or pursue engineering. My favorite courses are science and math.

I have been swimming in summer swim clubs since kindergarten. My parents, who don't know how to swim, thought it would be a great way to spend my summers.  I loved it from the beginning. During the seventh grade, I began swimming year round at Birmingham Bloomfield Atlantis 3 or 4 days a week with breaks for vacation. My coach, Vince Gallant, told me that If I wanted to be a good swimmer I would need to work harder.  I didn't understand what he meant in the 8th grade but I sure do now.

High school swimming opened my eyes. The competition was stiff and I learned that the best swimmers have been swimming year round, some with strength coaches and nutritionists as long as I had just been swimming.  Freshman year, my high school team Seaholm Maples were stacked with excellent swimmers. We won the Division 2 state championship and I was able to score points finishing 15th in the 100 fly as a skinny freshman.  I wanted more. Sophomore year I finished 3rd in the fly.  This year I was able to earn a state cut time in every event except the 500 free. At the state meet I won the 100 fly and finished 7th in the 50 free.

I have never had consistent organized supervised dry land weight training. I was never pushed by my parents. I believe that with the right college coaches and trainers that I can improve tremendously, not just in fly but also in freestyle and backstroke which have had less emphasis so far. I am far from my ceiling and I look forward to the opportunity to work hard and compete!