Ever since I entered college, I noticed that most swimmers younger than myself (as well as a certain number of senior swimmers) seemed to have developed amnesia with regard to the fundamental responsibilities of a swimmer. Well, amnesia may not be the right word to describe it since I do not think most of them were ever told that such responsibilities existed. But I did hope that they would have deduced such realities after a few years of swimming varsity.
In either case, I think it is time that young swimmers are reminded of the things below. It would be such a pity if you guys do not put to memory and, more importantly, understand them. Trust me--these five things will help in the long run.
We have heard it all before in Coach Carter. "These kids are student-athletes. Student comes first," as Samuel L. Jackson eloquently phrased it. I am not disputing this. It is the obligation of every varsity swimmer--or athlete for that matter--to prioritize his education over his athletics. After all, turning professional is not an option for a Filipino swimmer for obvious reasons.
However, I have seen swimmers using the student-athlete excuse to chronically skip training. Kids, prioritizing academics over athletics does not mean forsaking your swimming obligations altogether. Prioritizing means striking a manageable balance between studying and swimming. The life of a student-athlete is hard to put it mildly. And while your coach, captain and/or teammates allow you certain latitude to skip training in order to study, please be reminded that you have voluntarily joined the team. Meaning to say, you accepted the difficult, complex and sacrifice-ridden life of a student-athlete in all its entirety; you embraced all of a varsity swimmer's responsibilities and obligations with open arms when you joined the team after passing try-outs. Let me stress it again; You joined to team voluntarily. No one forced or coerced you.
Except for certain unavoidable occasions, never use academics to skip team activities such as training and meets. Everyone, even the brightest, of your teammates is experiencing the same amount of difficulty you are going through so you have absolutely no right to complain or give excuses. And while you will have to skip athletic commitments for academic obligations, there will come a time wherein you ought to do the reverse. Whether it be cutting classes for meets, taking exams earlier or even load-reving from a class of the best teacher to the class of the terror teacher since the former coincides with training, you will have to see these through.
Boys and girls, sacrifices go both ways. So keep the student before the athlete alright; just do not be too uptight about it.
However, I have seen swimmers using the student-athlete excuse to chronically skip training. Kids, prioritizing academics over athletics does not mean forsaking your swimming obligations altogether. Prioritizing means striking a manageable balance between studying and swimming. The life of a student-athlete is hard to put it mildly. And while your coach, captain and/or teammates allow you certain latitude to skip training in order to study, please be reminded that you have voluntarily joined the team. Meaning to say, you accepted the difficult, complex and sacrifice-ridden life of a student-athlete in all its entirety; you embraced all of a varsity swimmer's responsibilities and obligations with open arms when you joined the team after passing try-outs. Let me stress it again; You joined to team voluntarily. No one forced or coerced you.
Except for certain unavoidable occasions, never use academics to skip team activities such as training and meets. Everyone, even the brightest, of your teammates is experiencing the same amount of difficulty you are going through so you have absolutely no right to complain or give excuses. And while you will have to skip athletic commitments for academic obligations, there will come a time wherein you ought to do the reverse. Whether it be cutting classes for meets, taking exams earlier or even load-reving from a class of the best teacher to the class of the terror teacher since the former coincides with training, you will have to see these through.
Boys and girls, sacrifices go both ways. So keep the student before the athlete alright; just do not be too uptight about it.
2. Listen to and RESPECT your coach.
Integral to swimming success is your relationship with your coach and/or coaches. We all desire to have the perfect coach--one who is always understanding of our shortcomings and will never give sets we cannot accomplish. As lofty as such dreams are, we know that we rarely encounter such coaches. Often we get the composite coach--the combination of the dreaded one and the benevolent one in certain aspects of his personality. But of course, relationships with our coaches are dynamic.
In the team I came from, I am honestly astounded by how younger swimmers view our coaches. Most of the time, I had to restrain myself from coming down on numerous youngsters because their attitude toward our coaches are downright disrespectful. While most of my teammates dismiss such attitudes as childish behaviors of, well, children, I cannot reconcile such things as gentlemanly, Atenean even. And let us not even begin to discuss the online social network bashing...
Guys, RESPECT ALL YOUR COACHES! You are allowed to have favorite coaches in as much as coaches are allowed to have favorite swimmers. That is a fact of any athlete's life. But respect your coaches indiscriminately nonetheless. You may not like them but you have to respect them, for their authority if not anything else.
Keep in mind that your coaches (well most of them) only want what is best for you. They are hard on you because they believe that you can become a better person through sports.
Do not be scared if your coach comes down on you. Not too much anyway because that is a sign that he still wants to push you; that he still believes in you! Be scared when he ignores you completely. That is an indication of a total loss of confidence and trust. Believe me, I know.
However, if you really cannot swim for a coach you do not like and cannot bring yourself to respect in any way possible, find another one who you will swim for. There is nothing wrong about that. In fact, I highly recommend it.
3. Never mind that no one watches your meets or even cares that you are a varsity swimmer.
Coming from a school whose administration, faculty and staff absolutely worships basketball and football as much as the student body, I understand completely why grade school, high school and college swimmers are very much frustrated when their achievements go unnoticed. Imagine swimming for your school for four grueling days trying to win a team championship by winning individual medals and breaking records without receiving so much as a thank you for your efforts regardless of the end result. Would not you feel upset, frustrated even angry at that? And when you hoist up your trophy at the end of the day, you do not even see the direct representatives of the student body--the varsity cheerleaders--because they are off at Araneta cheering for the basketball team full force. Get my point? (For my opinions about the aforementioned, click Burst My Babble Part 1 and Burst My Babble Part 2)
Coming from a school whose administration, faculty and staff absolutely worships basketball and football as much as the student body, I understand completely why grade school, high school and college swimmers are very much frustrated when their achievements go unnoticed. Imagine swimming for your school for four grueling days trying to win a team championship by winning individual medals and breaking records without receiving so much as a thank you for your efforts regardless of the end result. Would not you feel upset, frustrated even angry at that? And when you hoist up your trophy at the end of the day, you do not even see the direct representatives of the student body--the varsity cheerleaders--because they are off at Araneta cheering for the basketball team full force. Get my point? (For my opinions about the aforementioned, click Burst My Babble Part 1 and Burst My Babble Part 2)
In my years of swimming for my school, I have learned that while such a reality is dreadful, you are setting yourself for more than you can possibly imagine if you dwell on it too much. Lobby hard and fight for the recognition you deserve and do it the right way. Other than that, just swim. Leave it out on the pool because at the end of the day, your achievements are only as important as what you make them regardless if your school recognizes your or not.
For you grade schoolers, take it from me. Do not quit swimming to shift to the popular sports so that your peers will regard you as an athlete. You are an athlete, young man! And trust me, while your basketball batchmates bask in limelight now, their numbers will dwindle with every year level you progress since there are fewer and fewer leagues wherein basketball teams can play in high school and only the UAAP division in college. Only a few of them are good enough to make it to the UAAP Seniors Division so come college, the only league you will see these guys is the IAC (kind of like your Intrams in grade school). But if you stick it out with swimming, chances are you will still be enjoying the perks of a varsity member in college. (If you are wondering what some of the perks are, well, Ateneo College is co-ed!)
Here's another food for thought. While your basketball batchmates only play in one league be it PAYA, PRADA, PSBL and the like, you will be swimming in all of them! So technically, you are a member of at least two teams! How's that!
So keep swimming, young men. Keep staring at that emotionless black line and endure the proverbial chlorine-smell and tan lines. It will all be worth it in more ways that you will ever expect.
4. Competing does not start and end with the meet.
During my time as team captain for the college team, I cannot remember a time wherein I did not stress this. The competition does not start and end with the meet; it begins the moment you wake up everyday and will only end once you finally hang up your swimming gear. Competitive swimming is a consummate sport. The key to success is to keep swimming even when you are not swimming.
During my time as team captain for the college team, I cannot remember a time wherein I did not stress this. The competition does not start and end with the meet; it begins the moment you wake up everyday and will only end once you finally hang up your swimming gear. Competitive swimming is a consummate sport. The key to success is to keep swimming even when you are not swimming.
But how do you swim without swimming? Easy. By going the extra mile. Apply Magis in your sport! In my experiences, you accomplish a lot of your technique improvements and stroke corrections when you are not swimming. In every waking second, think about what will make you stronger, faster and better. Be as cerebral as you possibly can out of the pool because when you are racing, more often than not, your instincts take over. Also, take advantage of technology! Watch Youtube videos of the legends like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Ryan Lochte, Grant Hackett, Kosuke Kitajima and other elite swimmers to learn from them and see what you can possibly adapt.
Guys, never believe anyone who tells you that you need only to defeat your opponents during competitions. That is a total misconception. While the goal is to defeat your opponents during meets, the only way to do so is by defeating him in every aspect of the sport. It is true that you do not control what your rivals do but regardless, make sure that your goal is to outwork him in training by acting as if you are already competing. Outsmart him by eating the right food. Overpower him by religiously attending gym and land training sessions before pool workouts. But as creative and as unorthodox as possible!
5. Enjoy every second of swimming; have as much fun as you can.
Enjoy swimming as much as you can, young ones. Swim every swim as if it is your last and enjoy the company of your teammates as much as you possibly can. As amazing as life is, it is also unforgivingly unpredictable. So love swimming, even if she plays hard-to-get.
Enjoy swimming as much as you can, young ones. Swim every swim as if it is your last and enjoy the company of your teammates as much as you possibly can. As amazing as life is, it is also unforgivingly unpredictable. So love swimming, even if she plays hard-to-get.
A word of warning though. As much as I advocate having fun, please keep them in the proper perspective and in line. When it is time to get serious, do not fool around. Focus your attention at the task at hand and have fun afterward, once you and your teammates finish the set. Surviving hellacious sets are always fun and entertaining to look back on. Especially when one of your teammates is a sport when he is the butt of all the innocent ribbing and jokes!
Boys and girls, I hope that these five things are clear enough. If you have any questions or concerns, never hesitate to leave a comment!
Take Your Mark!
No comments:
Post a Comment