PODIUM SWIM

What is a podium swim? 

During the last few years, I've come to realize that when our athlete's race, they need to do just that - RACE. Remember when they first started summer league as a 10 & under. When they touched the wall what did they want to know? Their time? No. It was "Did I win or what place did I get."

As an athlete gets older, they place more emphasis on the time they swam and less on what place they got.

Why is that?

We know the older and faster an athlete gets the more pressure there is to perform faster times than before. Pressure from within and from the outside occurs. I am guilty as much as anyone of thinking they should go faster every time they race. Realistically, that's not the way anything works in life, otherwise, we would all be perfect.

So as we go into our first Championship competition, I am reminding my athletes to RACE and no matter what heat you are in, make it a "PODIUM SWIM" - Top 3 in your heat.

If that occurs, they'll probably get the best time too.

Do you follow the Calendar or the Compass?

It took me a while to learn to follow my compass and not so much the calendar. 

"The compass matters more than the calendar. Your direction is more important than the speed you are getting there."

The compass makes you think about where you are going and needs your attention every morning you wake up. It would be best if you took the time to pause and reflect each day. The calendar comes with a to-do list and a list of deadlines and if I'm honest it will wear me out. 

The compass asks you what I need to do today to get to where I want to be.

If you just follow a calendar you feel you've accomplished something today, but the more you follow the compass, the more you can make choices that get you where you want to go.

They Don’t Think AS We Do

I have been coaching for nearly 40 years, plus I swam competitively for another 20 years. Why did I stay in the sport for so long? I had a great experience.

When you look at youth sports today, young kids are under a lot of pressure from every part of their life. They have their peers, their coaches (teachers), and their parents, all wanting different things from them. I don't know if I could have grown up with so much pressure on me.

What I've discovered over time is this. Kids do not think like we do or look at sports like we do. OK everyone knows that especially parents, but when it comes to teaching, parenting & coaching they don't have to adjust to us, we have to adjust to them.

At a swim meet the 10 & Under are there for FUN. Their fun includes the experiences of grandma and grandpa watching them; being with their friends; and of course the biggie, the concession stand. That's what it's about in their world. In ours, it's about what their time was, whether did they do the event correctly (no DQ), and our biggie who they beat. Yes, we can all get caught up in the last one, way too soon in our careers. Let's try not to do that - ever; even when they are older. Remember Competition means to compete with - not against.

The kids that are successful, which to me means they have a long prosperous career are the ones that have the BEST EXPERIENCE

 We have to make certain we’re not spoiling their experience