NT_061319

54 | June 13, 2019 | The Northbrook tower sports
northbrooktower.com
Purdy ready to take confidence to Iowa
Andrew Favakeh
Sports Intern
Talk to Ryan Purdy and
it doesn’t take long to notice
his confidence.
The Glenbrook North
boys swimming and diving
alumnus didn’t always
drip confidence. After a
lackluster junior season
where he didn’t win a
race, he blamed himself.
He knew he lacked the
blazing speed and notable
times big colleges
searched for in recruits.
So when the University
of Iowa called, he answered.
No other colleges
called before and none
have called since.
It was simple: Iowa or
bust.
“When they recruited
me, I knew I wasn’t
very fast,” Purdy said.
“I wasn’t going to be a
highly recruited kid, to be
honest. My times simply
weren’t there. They were
one of the only teams to
recruit me and give me a
chance.”
He slightly improved in
the summer, but his largest
step forward happened
in the fall. As a football
player all his life, he had
to make a choice to leave
the game that held family
value.
His father Matt Purdy
served as the team’s assistant
coach, but in order
to succeed in swimming,
he needed to focus on one
sport.
It was his first time
swimming in the fall.
Though he didn’t record
his best times, he was
swimming dead-tired,
pushing his limits.
He knew if he could
swim fast sans tape,
shave, or fast-suits, his
times would rise.
That, they did. In fact, in
this season’s IHSA State
Meet, he won three state
titles, all of which were
school records: the 200-
yard individual medley,
100-yard backstroke freestyle
and the 200-medley
relay.
But before his confidence
could return, he
needed to change. He
used to pressure himself
before races: Am I holding
myself back? Even as
he came down with the
flu three days before the
state meet his junior season,
he blamed himself
for not making the “a or
b” final. Now, he takes
deep breaths before every
meet, envisioning himself
touching the wall and
raising his fist.
“What I did my senior
year was just relax before
the meet,” Purdy said.
“Because I knew if I put
pressure on myself before
the meet, it wouldn’t have
gone the way I wanted it
to. I just let loose and let
it happen. I didn’t worry
about the meet.”
He also didn’t let his
college decision get in the
way of what he wanted to
accomplish in his senior
year. Purdy first visited
Iowa in September of his
junior year before visiting
campus again for a junior
day.
No other school reached
out to Purdy, but that was
fine by him.
“They were in a position
in early November
where they probably saw
that they were taking a
chance on this kid,” Spartans
head coach Jarod
Schreoder said. “By February,
they’re thinking,
‘holy cow, we’ve got a
really good one coming
in.’”
When he visited Iowa
City, Iowa, he found what
he wanted in his college
team: friendships. Purdy
liked how it seemed everyone
on the team had
bonds and were close with
each other, something he
cherished with his own
teammates in high school.
“Once you get to the
college level, you find
that these teams aren’t a
real team, just a lot of individual
guys swimming
for themselves,” Purdy
said. “That’s the one thing
I didn’t see in Iowa, I saw
a true team that cares for
each other and push each
other in practice.”
So while there were no
other suitors, that didn’t
matter. Purdy signed his
letter of intent to swim at
Iowa in October.
Iowa hasn’t had much
success in a competitive
Big Ten. The Hawkeyes
finished eighth out of 10
teams at this past season’s
conference meet with 560
points — conferencechampion
Indiana finished
with 1,705.
Purdy sees it as his
freshman season with a
strong freshman class
coming in. He knows
there will be plenty of
two-a-days, if not threea-days,
but Purdy is ready
for the challenge.
“College is a whole new
beast, whole new training,
education … ,” Purdy
said. “It’ll be a lot different
than I’m used to, but
it’ll be a good change. I’m
looking forward to it.”
He’s got the confidence
for it.
Glenbrook North boys swimming and diving alumnus Ryan Purdy will swim at the
University of Iowa next season. 22nd Century Media File Photos
Purdy broke numerous pool and school records during his senior season.