The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
My story: A Longhorn portrait of Will Licon
12.01.2015 | Men's Swimming and Diving
The junior national champion and the Longhorns host the Texas Invitational this week at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Will Licon isn't one to shy away from competition. In fact, he engages it at every opportunity.
Take last year as an example. Then a sophomore for the men's swimming and diving team, Licon also had a class with Ricky Williams. Yes, that Ricky Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner and record-setting Longhorns running back.
"They would have test challenges, and see who scored better," longtime swimming assistant coach Kris Kubik says. "Will is the kind of guy who can pull that off."
Perhaps that's just a byproduct of a life devoted to discipline. Licon has been swimming since he was 7, competing since he was 9 and actively training to the best swimmer he could be since he was 10.
"I guess it was as serious as it could be as a 10-year-old," Licon remembers. "I wanted to stick it out and see what I could make of it."
The results now speak for themselves. Last year, Licon pushed the Longhorns to an 11th NCAA team title with individual championships in the 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke, while also finishing runner-up in the 200 IM. He swam the breaststroke leg on Texas' national-champion and school record-breaking 400 medley relay.
Licon claims the relay victory to be one of "the highest points of my life." One that is closely followed by the memory he holds of the team uniting in front of an orange UT Tower with the No. 1 lit up on all sides.
"I grew up in the state of Texas. I know how meaningful that Tower is, when it's all orange with a 1 on it," Licon says. "You come to The University of Texas, and our goal every single year is to win a national title for the school and everyone who supports us. We have that work ethic, because it's the Texas mentality. We hold each other accountable for it."
Licon credits his family for doing everything they could to support him as he focused on furthering his potential in the pool. Born in El Paso, Licon moved with his family to Plano so he could train with a competitive club and high school program.
For his final two years of high school, Licon moved to Cedar Park, just north of Austin, and lived with a host family so he could train with a club team whose head coach he knew well. Licon's parents, brother and sister returned to their native El Paso.
"It was very hard the first couple of months. I was scared. I was on my own," Licon says. "I forced me to grow up on a whole new level."
As Licon transitioned from his mom's home-cooked meals to washing his own clothes and preparing his lunch, the familiarity of the pool provided a much-need salvation. A swimmer's life is nothing if not ruled by routine: wake up early, swim, go to school, swim again, study and sleep for hopefully six hours per night.
"It prevented me from thinking about being lonely or missing my brother and sister," Licon says.
By time Licon arrived on the Forty Acres as a freshman, he was already well-versed in what his first-year peers are adjusting to – homesickness and doing their own laundry. He was ready to embrace the college atmosphere.
"He was ready to explore this campus and everything it has to offer academically, socially and athletically," Kubik says. "He was and is very outgoing."
As a freshman, Licon finished among the top 10 in the 400 IM and 200 breaststroke. He credits the training program conceptualized and perfected by head coach Eddie Reese and Kubik for his improvement in overall strength, flexibility and technique in the water.
"I trust those two men with my life," Licon says. "I'm just honored and privileged to swim for them."
Reese, ever the master of understatement, says his Longhorns do two things well.
"We individualize, and we're real consistent," Reese says.
For Licon, that meant swimming backstroke for an hour three mornings a week, because that's his weakest stroke.
Even though Licon's life is one scripted for championships, he still maintains an appreciation for each moment that allows him to demand the best from himself whether training, racing or studying.
"He has a unique combination of all the things (Reese) wants someone to have," Kubik says. "He's punctual, polite and he inspires his teammates and those around him to be better. He does all the work necessary to do really well when the lights come on.
"And when the lights do come on, he races with passion as opposed to fear."
Players Mentioned
