The Summer League Season is drawing to a close and as the Beginning of School nears and the Fall League approaches, practices are heating up. We have had a very good start to our meet season and Coach Ben, Coach Alex and Coach Kris and I are excited for all our continuing swimmers and those who are joining our program for the first time. Performances this Summer have been exemplary and we thank all parents and swimmers for their continued support of our RIO Salado Swim Club Pre- Competitive Program. In order for us to continue having swim meet success during our Spring, Summer and Fall League Seasons, we must have successful swim practices. Here are a 3 Keys to Successful Swimming:
Be Present – Practices at Gilbert, Hamilton, South Gilbert and Queen Creek are Monday thru Friday evenings. Swimmers who participate in Junior 1 and Junior 2 have the option to swim any 3 of the 5 possible practice days. However, practice attendance is only half the battle. Being present at practice not only means showing up at the pool on time, but having the correct mindset when you arrive. When you walk on the pool deck, be ready to train and be ready to work. Swimmers who are active participants during practice and who are paying attention to the directions, instructions and corrections from Coaches, find more success during practices and at swim meets.
Be Responsible – You as the swimmer are the one person who is responsible for becoming the swimmer you would like to be. That means, You are the person who chooses when to attend practices. You are the person who decides how fast you will swim. And most importantly, You are the one person who controls what your attitude at practice will be. Far too often, we as Coaches have swimmers come to us and ask, “Why didn’t I get a faster time?” Here is what you will hear from us in response: “Did you come to all the practices you could? Did you work hard and swim fast in practice? When you were at practice, did you swim the very best you could?” You are the person responsible for how well You perform come meet time.
Be Accountable – For most of us, this is the most difficult aspect of swimming for us to conquer. When we don’t swim our best we need to address the reasons behind it. Maybe we have been sick or out of town. Maybe we made some mistakes during our races, like forgot to streamline or missed a wall on our backstroke flip turn. Perhaps we goofed around at practices instead of practicing our starts. Whatever the reason, you need to be accountable for your actions. Ask questions during practice if you don’t understand. Make corrections to your strokes when Coaches give you advice or critique. Most importantly, talk to your Coaches before and after you race. Allow them to give you feedback about your swim. Being accountable for your swimming, both at practice and at meets, is how we grow, develop, and improve as swimmers.
So, if you are Present at practices, if you are Responsible and attend the practices you should, and if you are Accountable for the work you put in during those practices, you WILL perform well.
– Coach Patrick
