Thoughts Left Over From The Summer

I have done a fair amount of reading this past summer, mostly books and articles on psychology. This was great because it gave me a different perspective on my own coaching as well as some ability to see and understand things my swimmers were experiencing from a different perspective. I began to notice more than just what is said but how it is said: tone of voice, body language, etc. I also was able to start focusing more on how we prepared rather than just what the steps toward full preparation were. I tried to watch the meet day habits of swimmers on our team and other teams while at Nationals and Junior Nationals and see what differences there were between those who seemingly "achieved" and those who did not.

During this time I was also reading Walter Issacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life as recommended by fellow GCIT coach and history buff Dan Saia. I have always marveled at Franklin's work ethic and intellect, not to mention the fact that Franklin is a fellow Philadelphian. Let me say that I highly recommend this book to anyone. It is, in my opinion, an examination of the true genius that was Benjamin Franklin. There are some mature themes in it (like all of us Franklin was in no way perfect) so parents, please, be sure that it is in the hands of the right young people.

One quote in particular really piqued my curiosity when coupled with what I was observing at Nationals and Junior Nationals:

“An infallible rule: if two persons equal in judgment play for a considerable sum, he that loves money most shall lose; his anxiety for the success of the game confounds him.”
-Benjamin Franklin

This rule applies to many situations in every day life and especially in a sport such as swimming. When it comes to competition a person who is too fearful will end up performing defensively (i.e. to not lose or not fail) and actually fail to accomplish their goals or the task at hand (Issacson 58). Our sport is unique in that victory, nine times out of ten, is not determined by place finish in a race but by the amount of time it takes you to complete the race. The only true foe, in that regard, is time itself.

I began to think that a major difference between those reaching their goals (or "achieving") and those that were not (or "failing") was the confidence they brought to the table. I began to try and assess where this confidence was coming from and began to understand that the "achievers" were not spending unnecessary time before the race thinking about what they will do if they fail to succeed. As coaches we want, above all, for the swimmers to improve in and out of the pool and reach their goals. I personally feel that everyone (swimmer or not) should set high goals for themselves as long as they understand the steps, sacrifices and, above all, time necessary to reach those goals. But if you spend too much time concentrating on failure, to paraphrase an old saying, "You are doomed to repeat it."

One cannot perform at their optimal level if their thoughts are clouded in any way by the fear of failure. You must first acknowledge and accept the fact that failure is a possibility if you are going to be able to avoid it in any way. That being said, you do not have to accept the fact that failure occurred or be happy with it in any way. What you need to do is understand all possible outcomes and move on to the task at hand.

A person must experience and understand the feeling of losing or failure if they are going to be able to truly appreciate winning or achieving. No person, especially a swimmer, should be protected in any way from defeat or failure. As coaches or parents this can be the hardest thing to do: allow a child to fail. However this is most definitely in their best interest (as Bruce and Thomas Wayne say in Batman Begins "We fall down so that we can pick ourselves back up."). We must guide them down the right path toward understanding defeat/failure as well as through the steps toward avoiding the exact same fate in the future. They must pay attention to proper preparation with the understanding that (in a sport where the difference between accomplishing or failing to accomplish a goal can be 1/100th of a second or less) skipping the minutest detail can be the difference between failure and accomplishment.

Everything is a learning opportunity, every accomplishment and every failure. The problems leading to failure may not be rectified in one attempt. While this would be the ideal situation it is just as important to show progress toward rectifying the issues. The more daunting the task, the more time it usually takes to master.

Above all, your mind cannot be constantly clouded by the fear of failure. Once you are able to accept failure as a possibility it will become easier to focus on the task at hand rather than worrying about what will happen if you fail. Some of the greatest accomplishments known to man are preceded by failed attempt after failed attempt. Failure will make you stronger and smarter and make reaching the goal so much sweeter.