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

2021 Trials Update Day 3

Day 3 Observations

Addie Rose swam the 100 Bk today. Race analysis review showed that we were out a little slow 30.04 at the half way point. Our goal is always to swim the first 50 in under 30 sec. When she made the Wave 2 cut ARB's first 50 was 29.7. However, as I have stated earlier in the blog that we are here to RACE and that is what ARB did in the 2nd 50. Coming home in her fastest 50 of the year. ARB ended up 32nd less than .90 from making semi finals, again another goal for 2024.

For the racing at finals we saw a sort of changing of the guard. Two teenagers made the team in the 100 Fly, the winner setting a new American record. The women's 100 Bk again the younger athletes make up the top 8. Its a little sad when you see a 2016 Olympian not make the team. They have dedicated 5 years to get ready, and one thinks if we had not experienced the COVID pandemic and swam the Trials in 2020, would that have made any difference? I think yes, in some circumstances. It is hard, really hard to make the team.

Finally Michael Andrew finally made the team in the 100 Breaststroke. Michael turned pro when he was 14, in fact he is probably the longest professional swimmer here in the US, he is 22 now. If you turn pro you cannot swim for a college, instead he received endorsement money to help him train and compete. Most coaches thought there is no way this "kid" was going to make it, well did he prove the coaching community wrong. Michael is a super young man and if you ever get a chance to meet him or hear him speak, you will know what I mean.

Day 1 Thoughts and Experiences 6/13/2021

ARB RACES the 100 Fly

Addie Rose clocked in with a 1:00.81 in the 100 meter Fly this morning. Her best time in 2021 but slightly off her life time best of 1:00.63. But, the name of the game is RACING here and she did awesome with finishing second in her heat and moving up to 49th position from 63rd. It took a 59.1 to make semi finals, so we have a goal for 2024 :)

Finals Highlight Race
Trials never disappoint, especially the finals and semi finals. The first race was a repeat of 2016 with Chase Kalisz winning the the 400 IM and Jay Litherland coming from behind and splitting a 57 on the free leg to get second. Both swimmer represented UGA and Jay is a Dynamo swimmer. These men both know how to race and put on a fantastic first race.

Observations

What amazes me at this meet, everyone is pulling for everyone. You truly feel a part of Team USA. The amount of coaches and athletes that said good luck to Addie Rose and myself, reminds me that this is the best sport on the planet. It supports our RAYS philosophy of Training for Life (T4L), that you need a supportive community to do anything well in this life. Watching Melanie Margalis tonight being out touched by her former college teammate in the 400 IM and then smiling and giving her a congratulatory hug was priceless. Only in the pool would you see that.

What are the chances of doing a best time at Olympic Trials? 

Look at the results from 2016

Why do I propose such a question the day before the 2021 meet starts? Its simple, it really doesn't matter what time you do, your only goal is to RACE. Racing is the name of the game, how you race in the prelims, semi finals and finals. All have different strategies and all events have different strategies too.

I think we get caught up to much in what time we do in an event, instead of just racing. There is actually a proposal that the International Swim League (Professional Swimmers) that they don't have a timing system, just RACE. I think that would be fun to watch.

Over the next 8 days we will see who came to RACE and who came to get a time. The best racers win and get on the Olympic team.

Heading to Omaha - 2021 Style

Well its that time again for the most exciting swim meet in the World. Not the Olympics, which is probably the 2nd most exciting, but the USA Swimming Olympic Trials. Every 4 years, except this time, USA Swimming host a meet, that will determine who will represent us at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. During these next few months, I will Blog about some things I feel you need to know, plus my experience and honor to be a coach at this spectacle. Stay Blogged :)

7 Distinctions of Coaching Mastery: Create Champions

Guest Blogger - Sarah Sorensen (Trials from the Stands)

Trials From the Stands

Last week, I had the privilege to travel up to Omaha with my mom to watch every session of the Olympic Trials. The nine days I spent there were probably some of the most exciting days I have ever had. Even though the next trials are four years away, my mom and I have already decided that we will be going back, whether I swim or not. In the stands, you can feel the energy and excitement that people always talk about, which is something you just can't appreciate by watching on TV. Other than getting to watch the races first hand, my favorite thing to see was the medal ceremony after each race, where the winner was given their medal and a bouquet of flowers as they were announced as an Olympian. Getting to watch their emotions on the stage gave you a look into their personality, which made me even more excited to see how the swimmers will perform in Rio. I have been to meets with well-known swimmers before, but trials is so much different because literally everyone one of these well-known swimmers that hope to make it to Rio has to be at their best for this meet. It was so cool to see all the swimmers that we hear about and look up to in the same place.

We didn't have any family ties to the swimmers, but some events were still hard for us to watch. Since this year's Olympic Trials had so much young and new talent, it was exciting and very motivational to watch college swimmers, not much older than me, beat the professional athletes that have already had Olympic experience. At the same time, I wanted the older athletes like Missy Franklin and Matt Grevers to make the team again, since I had taken so much inspiration from them and looked up to them growing up. In my opinion, we saw this the most in the 100 back finals where the middle six lanes were younger college athletes that had not yet made an Olympic team, and in lanes one and eight were the two backstrokers that we all grew up watching, Missy Franklin and Natalie Coughlin. This just shows how USA swimming is just constantly improving, which makes me proud to be part of it. Another thing I took away from this was how Missy Franklin didn't seem to mentally give up after failing to make the team in her signature event, but kept moving forward and managed to make the team in three other events by the end of the week.

The most notable difference between trials and the other meets I've been to, besides the caliber of the swimmers, was how genuinely interested everyone was. Each time a heat dove in, all 15,000 people in the stands were dead silent, as in I could hear someone speak from the opposite side of the arena. In every finals race that I can remember, the entire crowd was on their feet screaming by the last 50 meters, except during the Phelps/Lochte showdown in the 200 IM and all of Katie Ledecky's distance races (people were on their feet cheering the whole time). Overall, my first Olympic Trials experience completely surpassed my expectations going in. USA Swimming definitely puts on an amazing show in Omaha, and I left trials with more motivation to improve and a week of incredible memories that I will cherish until I can hopefully get to experience it again in 2020.