After being told that she could swim here -- but she would be one of the slowest on the team, UNLV senior San Diego product Sydney Schuette felt she had a lot to prove. Mission accomplished – both in and out of the pool. Over the last four years, she has helped her coach start an important community service project, represented her team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and been a member of two All-Mountain West relay teams. As her time in the pool as a collegian comes to a close, here is her story in her own words:
iREBEL by Sydney Schuette
Looking back on my childhood, most of the memories come from sports. When I was 4 my parents put me in the mighty mite soccer league. I began swimming at the age of 5 and throughout my elementary years I tried basketball and softball as well. Although softball and basketball were fun, they were not my thing. When I began swimming, I was coached by my aunt, who swam collegiately. I can attribute my swimming success to her. She taught me how to streamline and yelled at me for breathing off of my flip turns. Soccer was always fun because I played with my best friends have many memories, including my first yellow card. I continued with club soccer and swimming until I was a freshman in high school. After a move from Colorado to San Diego, I was finally faced with what I thought was the hardest decision ever, I had to choose to participate in only one sport. I choose swimming.
In Southern California, club swimming was much bigger than what I was used to in Colorado. It was a big adjustment going from a club team with 15 athletes to a team with over 40. Just a month after moving to San Diego, high school season started and I knew that I made the right decision to stick with swimming. As my junior year of high school wrapped up, I got a sense of excitement and nervousness because I started to receive letters in the mail from schools asking me to come and swim for them. Although I was getting interest from coaches, these schools were D-II or D-III schools and I had always had my heart set on a division one school. I knew a girl from my club team who was a year older than me, committed to UNLV, and said that she loved it. I thought to myself, "Las Vegas? That's not really where I imagined myself going to college, maybe you should just look into it and see if they have your major." After finding out that they had a criminal justice program, I soon found myself filling out the swimming questionnaire online. After a few weeks of waiting, I finally received a call back from one of the assistant coaches asking if I wanted to take an official visit. About a month later, I was taking a road trip to Las Vegas, having no clue what was in store.
My first memories of my recruiting trip at UNLV was standing in front of the Thomas and Mack looking out toward the Strip. Then I saw one of the assistant coaches at the time pull up in a gold Mustang -- he definitely knew how to make a good first impression. The team was so welcoming and that made all the difference. There was nothing else that could say "We are a big happy family" than squeezing the whole team along with the recruits into an elevator at New York-New York. During my recruiting trip, I was told by the coaching staff that they had room for me to join but that I would be at the bottom of the team due to my current speed. That set a fire inside me and caused me to want to do everything possible to get stronger and faster. A few weeks later, I called and made my commitment to become a Rebel. I kept the "You are going to be one of the slowest" in the back of my head for the rest of my time here at UNLV and it has shown me that I am capable of much more.
During my four years at UNLV, I have had amazing opportunities. I have been on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since the end of my freshman year. This year I have served as secretary and had the chance to plan the student-athlete talent show. I helped my coach begin the annual Three Square Splash, which is an aquatic clinic for kids benefiting a local food bank that helps feed meals to people in need across the valley. I have also learned the importance of time management and that being on time to practice really means being 15 minutes early. There are countless other takeaways that UNLV has given me that will help me in life once my time as a student-athlete is up.
Although I am not sure of what I want to do for a career after graduation, I do know that I want to stay in Vegas and be able to help people, especially juveniles, who are wrapped up in the criminal justice system. I want to be able to say that I had a part of helping someone turn their life around and get it back on the right track. Even though I do not have a plan, I am looking forward to the unknown and ready to see where life takes me after graduation.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to be a part of the Rebel Family. The swimming and diving program is on track to do AMAZING things in the future and I can't wait to watch.
The UNLV women are currently competing in Minneapolis at the Mountain West Championship, which wraps up Saturday.
