One race at a time...

Modern technology is great.  Thanks to the internet you can sit at home and actually watch a swim meet almost 400 miles away.  Now, I would much rather be on deck coaching, but this is the next best thing.  I am very fortunate to be helping 3 great college programs; California University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Hartwick College.  For the next 2 days Cal U and Wesleyan are swimming in the John A. Pidgeon Memorial Invitational at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and thanks to Swimutopia.com I can watch every race.

While I sat watching prelims yesterday I was reminded of 2 things I have said to swimmers for many years.  “You swim one race at a time and then move on” and “You will not swim your best time every time you body touches the water”.

“You swim one race at a time and then move on” – Each race is a learning experience in the big picture of things.  You go into each swim with a race plan.  It is the goal follow the plan. Then swimmer and coach look back at the race and see what we learned.  First, I ask, “How did you feel?” or “What did you think?” That feedback is crucial to understanding the race and moving forward.  The swimmer usually has a pretty good feel for what went well and what needs work.  Then we examine the start, the turns, the stroke, the splits, and the finish.   Depending on the time of the year and what the goal for each meet is we look at over all time.  Surprisingly, that may be the least important factor to consider.  

A good example of this took place last weekend. My age group swimmers at the Bay View YMCA swam in a pentathalon invitational..  The lowest time for 5 combined events decides the winner.  The events include one of each stroke and an Individual Medley.  The first event was freestyle.  This happens to be this one swimmer's best event.  She was pumped.  Unfortunately, she mistimed her turn, and had to play catch up.  Not her best time, but lesson learned.  She quickly brushed off her disappointment and went on to swim personal bests in the following four events.  There was no time to sit and sulk, wasting energy about what could have been.  She had to move on and and did so with success.

Too often swimmers let one bad race ruin a meet; even a good race can disrupt a meet.  It comes down to that swimmer's expectations of the race, which is where good coaching is crucial.  What ever the meet, the swimmer and coach must be on the same page as to what the expectations of the meet and race are.  Swim the race, evaluate it, and move on.  The funny thing about sports is that emotion comes into play.  Be happy, be sad but know that there is a next race that you need to be ready for.

“You will not swim your best time every time your body touches the water” – It is the simplest of statements and one that holds so much truth.  Too often swimmers go into a meet and expect that “big swim” and the best time that comes with that.  I have often had swimmers who are upset that they did not swim their best time after working hard.  It is a coach's job to help put things in perspective.  There is a seasonal plan that coaches have for their teams and swimmers.  Some meets they will rest for while getting ready for the “championship” time of the season.  I often look at where swimmers were last year at a certain meet to gauge where they are now.  I have said many times “Do you want to swim your best time at a dual meet that no one will remember, or at championships?”  That really puts things in perspective.  As coaches, we  want our swimmers to swim fast and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of their labor.  The reality is that there is a time and a place for everything.  With that knowledge swimmers can enjoy the process, not just the outcome of one race.  Every race and every meet become a piece in the puzzle for a successful season.
With that in mind -
"Go Bobcats! Go Vulcans! Go Tigers!"

Coach Scott