Max Laney knows what dedication is.
The senior captain became an ASU swimming enthusiast before he entered high school.
Laney first knew he wanted to swim for ASU when he was 12 years old after observing a sports swimming camp at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
“I knew I was going to swim here,” Laney said. “Seeing what was happening in the pool and what the swimmers looked like, I knew I wanted to swim here.”
Laney came to ASU in 2006, and he said his freshman year was not easy. He said the methods of the coaching staff at the time didn’t fit him and weren’t what he needed to improve.
Despite that, Laney made it to the finals in three events at the Pac-10 Championships during his debut season.
“As a freshman, the team was really small,” Laney said. “Now, the team is a lot better than it was four years ago.”
In his sophomore season, Laney took four seconds off his 200-yard backstroke time from the previous season and earned himself a spot on ASU’s all-time list in the 200-yard backstroke in an “A” consolation final with a time of 1:46.99.
During his junior year he earned a career best in the 100-yard backstroke and became ninth on ASU’s all-time list in that event.
Laney is the perfect example of what ASU wants to see happen with its athletes — consistent improvement over the four years they train and compete as a Sun Devil.
“Max had a tough first year, but he built back in his second,” ASU associate head coach Simon Percy said. “He had an outstanding junior season, and this year he has really improved.”
Laney has improved his times in all of his races since freshman year. It took dedication and a true passion for his sport to make it through the four years, as Laney had to adapt to several new sets of coaches and different coaching philosophies.
Laney credited the changes he’s seen in his performance during the last five months to the new coaching staff.
“The new coaches this year had a pretty big impact since the suits were banned,” Laney said. “I think that if I was on the same course that I was my junior year with the old coaches that I probably wouldn’t have improved as much as I did this year. The new coaches are definitely a big part of it.”
Laney said what’s made him improve with the current coaching staff is the team’s focus. All the men on the team look at swimming and everyday practice differently this year.
“We come for a purpose — we do it and we get out,” Laney said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, let’s just joke around and have fun.’”
Laney has used the same pre-meet warm-up routine at every ASU meet over the last four years: A 1200-yard workout. Laney swims 200 yards, kicks 100 yards, and repeats the exercise four times. He then goes 75 yards, consisting of a mixture of drill kicking and swimming, and repeats that 12 times.
“It really gets me focused and into my swimming,” Laney said.
Laney’s personal best in the 200-yard IM is 1:50.31. His best time in the 100-yard backstroke is 49.16, and his best time for the 200-yard backstroke is 1:44.85. His personal record for the 100-yard fly is 49.78.
Laney’s four years of hard work are paying off, as he’s still seeing significant improvements in the tail end of his senior season.
In the last dual meet of his Sun Devil career, Laney won first place in the 200-yard backstroke against UA, clocking in at 1:46.79. It was his best time without a suit for that event. Laney also placed second in the 200-yard IM against the Wildcats.
Laney said he has enjoyed his time swimming as a Sun Devil.
“It went by fast — faster than I thought it would,” Laney said. “I think I’ve almost gotten everything I could out of it, including a bunch of really close friends on the men’s team. Overall, it’s been really successful.”
Reach the reporter at nicole.klauss@asu.edu
