Colin Cordes may seem like an ordinary person on the outside; however he is no average Joe.

First off, he is a phenomenal swimmer. He started swimming at the age of seven at the Titan Swim Association (TSA). He is coached year-round by an Olympic gold medalist from Russia.

Colin is not a swimmer you can come across on any given day- he is a one of a kind. He has broken numerous records including the 50 yard freestyle (22.27) and the 100 yard back stroke (53.61). Both of which were broken as a freshman.

Last year he placed 8th in the state in the 100 yard backstroke. “It was very intimidating having to swim against the top swimmers at state especially since I was a freshman and that was my first experience at state. I feel more confident when I race upper-classmen this year because I have had the experience swimming at the state meet” said Cordes. The fact that Colin accomplished this much as a freshman is unreal- this kid is a prodigy and there is no telling where his potential will lead him to. He has already accomplished more in these two years than most people do in all of their four years as an athlete.

“Swimming and school are my top priorities, I plan on swimming at college hopefully at Northwestern of Stanford” said Cordes. Apart from being an all-star swimmer, Colin could also fall under the “genius” category. He is taking four honors classes which include Chem/Phys Hnrs, Precalc Hnrs, English Hnrs, AP Euro. “It is very difficult to manage school and swimming. I have to be very time efficient. I get A’s and B’s in my classes.” Colin has a lot of self-discipline to commit himself to these two things. He is looking towards the future and takes swimming and school very seriously. At this pace, Colin’s future is looking very bright.

However, swimming competitively at school is not enough for Colin. Last summer, he also got to train in the same lane with Olympic swimmer Neil Walker at the University of Texas swim camp. Colin also got the opportunity to race Matt Grovers (Northwestern swimmer, NCAA champ) in the 100 m backstroke at the Speedo sectional meet last summer in Minneapolis.

Even with the swimming and schoolwork, Colin still finds time to fit leisure activities into his schedule. His distinctive array of hobbies includes snowmobiling, sailing, scuba diving, and fishing. “My family spends a week during the winter snowmobiling in Northern Wisconsin. My family has a boat in France and I enjoy exploring the coast of France and Italy during the summers” said Cordes.

In his free time, Colin likes to hang out with friends just like everybody else. Colin also has three younger sisters and they also swim.

When Colin was younger, he used to play AYSO soccer and tennis. He also played the piano, but his swimming and school slowly overshadowed all of that.

So the next time you see Colin “Tiger” Cordes in the hallways of Glenbrook South, you will know there is more to this cool cat than you see.

Shazaad Raja, staff reporter