Bear River's Adamson earns All-America swim honor

Bear River High School graduate Kyle Adamson earned a National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association All-America honor last week in the 100-yard backstroke, meeting the mark as one of the top 100 swimmers in the country in his event. Adamson, who will join the swim and dive team at UNLV next season, got his start in the pool from a young age and while he tried other sports, nothing spoke to him the way swimming did. "I've been swimming ever since I was 5 or 6, but I really committed in high school. That is where I decided to focus on swimming as my own sport," Adamson said. "I played football, basketball, volleyball. I kept playing every sport I could, but freshman year is where I really focused on swimming." While Adamson shifted his focus to the pool his freshman year, he still was flying under the radar as far as collegiate interest was concerned. He reached out to several coaches at Division II and lower-level D-I schools but was told he was too slow. That changed for Adamson during his junior year. "I finally hit puberty and I grew a lot. I got a lot of strength for uplifting, and then in my junior year I kind of popped off and had a great season," Adamson said. "Once I kind of started swimming and winning more my junior year is when colleges started reaching out." Adamson still didn't have an offer he was satisfied with going into his senior year despite a strong school season and appearance in the CIF State Championship meet. It wasn't until the USA Swimming Junior National Championships in Austin, Texas, where Adamson really turned heads and found an offer to compete at the next level he was satisfied with. "I did really well at junior nationals and UNLV bumped up my offer a little bit so around February, I finally decided to fully commit to going there," Adamson said. The Runnin' Rebels rolled out the red carpet for him on an official visit in the fall, but what really sold Adamson was head coach Ben Loorz paying the Adamsons an in-home visit before his commitment. "He came to visit because my parents were still a little unsure about me moving to Las Vegas because of the stigma around the strip," Adamson said. "He was very reassuring to everyone. It's a great coaching staff and a great team." Unlike football or basketball, swimming is a sport where athletes compete right away and Adamson will need to be on his A game from the start, as UNLV opens its next season with Arizona State, one of the top programs in the country. "One big thing about this sport is that every incoming class just keeps on getting faster and faster," Adamson said. "My incoming class has kids who are already going to the Olympics and World Championships in the next couple of months, so it's really important to knock your recruiting out of the park." Adamson was also sure to give thanks to his teammates and coaches at Wolverine Swim Club, noting he wouldn't have been able to achieve what he has without their help.