Everyone Needs to H.E.A.R.
Everyone Needs to H.E.A.R.
Last weekend as part of the Illinois Swimming recognition banquet, and house of delegates USA Swimming National Team Director Frank Busch did a coaching clinic. At this clinic he talked about things that make a huge difference for young swimmers.
H—Humility
Always be humble and gracious in both success and failure. One of the examples Coach Busch used was the Men's 400Medley Relay at World Champs. If you are unfamiliar with this swim, Team USA won the event by 5 seconds, but was disqualified for a false start by breaststroker Kevin Cordes. During the post race interview teammate Matt Grevers supported his teammate saying he could have finished a bit better on backstroke. The two other teammates showed great humility by picking up Kevin and letting everyone know that no one person should take all the blame—or all the credit.
E—Ego
It is OK to have Ego in the racing pool. Bring all your confidence to every race. Know what your swimming superpower is and be excited to use it. A little swagger when racing and training is a good thing. Just remember to flip the switch to the OFF position after the race or after practice.
A—Accountability
Own It! If you aren't coming to practice like you should, or you aren't giving 100% ---be accountable to yourself and your teammates. If you don't swim as fast as you want to take a good hard look in the mirror, be accountable to yourself and ask the question, “did I do all that I could in preparation and during the race?”
R—Respectability
Make yourself and your team respectable by how you train, how you race, and how you treat others. BSC Teammates need to always be aware they are not just representing themselves, they are representing their team, their coaches, their community, and their families. Everything we do should show honor and respect in school, in the community, in the home, and in the pool.
Take some time this week to do a self-check and see some little things that will make a huge difference in your own swimming and in our team.
