I remember thinking that I knew pretty much everything I needed to know about coaching swimming (or that I could look up anything that I didn’t know)—and then strutting into Fundamental Skills Coach Training only to realize that there was a whole body of knowledge that I had not previously considered (that I wouldn’t have…
Make a point to begin again. There is no going back—just like we can’t go back in time—only forward. Sometimes in learning it feels like one step forward, two steps back. But the truth is that we can never have the same experience twice. Make it a deliberate practice. Take the opportunity to review what…
Do you feel that you get winded easily when you swim? Do you continuously exhale when you face is in the water? Are you able to get oxygen in and out at a rate that sustains you for the distance that you’re endeavoring? Do you depend on breathing to a single side? Or maybe you…
It’s helpful to know that the laws of physics are always at work. A body at rest stays at rest. Whether it’s getting out of bed in the morning, washing dishes, doing laundry, or getting to the pool; making the first move is the hardest. Once you’re in motion, you are more likely to stay…
What is your goal? It’s important to consider. Is your goal to do a little better than last year? Or last month? Or yesterday? Do you have a plan? If your goal is to eat bon bons on the couch, hurray! But when you choose to get off the couch and out of the box……
I got busy today and didn’t have time to __(insert activity here)__. Can I buy a steak freeze? Sorry, there are no streak freezes. This is real life we’re living! Don’t beat yourself up. Accept the decision(s) you made and move on. Let. It. Go. But don’t skip the next one!
Crutch (noun): (1b): a source or means of support or assistance that is relied on heavily or excessively. Do you have a crutch? A cup of coffee first thing in the morning. A glass of wine while you’re making dinner. Popcorn when you watch a movie. Dessert after dinner. A pull buoy when you get…
Get out of the box! “What box?” you ask… That chair. Your couch. Get up from your table. Out of your room/box. Your house/box. Your car/box. The pool/box. Your routine/box. Shake it up! Do something different. And look around you.
Don’t be afraid to do it again. If you get an unexpected result in your experiment, do it again. Perhaps you didn’t account for all of the variables. What variables are you keeping constant? And which are you testing? Don’t mistake ‘doing it again’ with repetition. If you need to, audit your experiment.
What would it take to turn mindless repetitions into mindful repetitions? How can you make each stroke count? What if less really is more?
Not to compare and contrast. But to wonder and awe! All of the bodies going hither and yon. Whether their ability is known or unknown. Busy doing the best that they can with their accumulated knowledge, life experiences, and understanding. Take a moment, or three — just look around you. What do you see? How…
How many times have you had a bright idea in the shower? Or while swimming? The famous neurobiologist and author, Oliver Sacks, famously came to shore mid swim to “discharge his thoughts”. We have our best thoughts in the water. Why not write them down? They have waterproof notebooks, you know. But that’s not really what…
Try it. For each action, you have to create an equal and opposite reaction. There are many lessons to be learned. I cannot promise that it will improve your swimming. However, it is an awesome experiment.
What does the clock tell you? When to leave. When you arrive. Maybe it lets you know when you need to get out and go do the next thing. But the clock does know what happens in between. Retreat into your body. Note what happens in each stroke. Each movement. Pay attention to to where…
I wanted to ‘fix’ my stroke. I was having shoulder pain when I swam, and I wanted to make it go away. However, it is not a break-fix proposition. If you aren’t making the intervals that you used to or can’t swim as far as you want, or have pain, it has considerably less to…
When you’re looking to improve, I recommend thinking like a scientist. Hypothesize if you want, or just try it out! Employ wonder and test. Pretend there is no right or wrong; discover what works for you. What happens when you stop going through the motions and get curious?
Is what someone said to me this morning at the pool when I mentioned that I want to get better and that’s why I take notes in my notebook. I started when I was young as well, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have room for improvement! Everyone has room for improvement. What’s your…
“Do I want to improve?” If the answer is, “no,” keep doing what you’re doing. If the answer is, “yes,” continue reading. “How do I improve,” you ask? Learn how to learn. With accountability and focus, you can improve at anything. Washing dishes. Folding sheets. Making bread. Playing an instrument. Learning to sew. Knit. Tie…
Add curiosity to your practice. What if I breathe to the other side? What if I push off on the other side? Why are we doing this set? What is the goal? Am I propelling myself forward in every stroke? Or am I going side to side? Or up and down? What is the purpose…
What do you measure to gauge progress in swimming? If you beat the send off times for the set that you did yesterday, do you know how you beat them? If you swim further than you did last week, do you know why? Measuring the wrong thing can give a false sense of progress. Just…