I would like to remind everyone, especially our swimmers, that the goal for meets early in the season is to gain experience racing and learning a little more about specific swimming details that will make you better at the end of the season. I would like for the team to strive toward a mentality of persistence and tenacity in our events. Do not get caught up in seed times, the person swimming next to you, or how much time you dropped or added.
Instead, focus on what you can control which is doing your best at each different phase of the season. Yes, times are important in the sport of swimming, but not always essential early-on for developing the season-ending meet performances. I believe in putting “all of our eggs” (hard work) into a basket at the end of the year championship meet. If you are truly working hard in practice, and also competing as hard as you can in the water, then I have no doubt that the times will come when it matters most.
I want to share with you a great example of this focus, which happened this weekend in the collegiate swimming world. The Auburn University Men’s swim team lost to their in-state rival Alabama Crimson Tide. The Auburn men have won the NCAA championship 4 out of the last 6 seasons and have won the SEC championship regularly. Do you think they are worried about their season now? Do you think their season is over because they lost an early meet in October by a lower ranked, but rested opponent? Do you think they swam their lifetime best times in that meet? Of course not, they are focused on working hard, listening to their coaches and becoming an NCAA championship team once again.
They know that throughout the season there will be ups and downs but the ultimate goal and mentality of that team is to press on and achieve their goals at season’s end. Let’s be that team! Where through thick and thin, we race our hearts out, improve our technique and race strategies, and ultimately know that the work we put in now, will translate into a great result in weeks to come. Keep up the good work, persevere through adversity and let’s be that team who will fight to the end and out-work our opponent.
While at the meet, I did get a chance to notice some items we need to have as Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). Here are a couple of the meet issues:
Weather and temperature – can we control that? No, but we can prepare and make sure that we are not exposed to weather that can hinder our performances. Covering our heads, feet and our bodies is essential and shall be a Piranha rule on the deck. (wet towels do not count) Let’s cover up!
Warm-ups – we need to make sure that we prepare for our races with proper warm-ups and warm downs. It is imperative to train our bodies to cope with the exertion of a race and swim out after our races with a measurable distance. Immediately after your swim, you need to swim out your race with a good distance. For example, if you swam a 100 fast, you will need at least 600 to recover for your next event. And distance is at the very least—ideally you will want to loosen down more to make sure all the lactic acid and other chemical buildup from racing hard is flushed through your muscles and they are ready to go for your next high intensity race. So, as a team, let’s make sure we are doing the right thing when it comes to preparing our bodies in warm-ups and warm downs.
Let’s have a great week of practice, learn something new and apply it to your swims.
Coach Adam
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