Common Denominators in Great Performances

We are in the midst of championships season, with a few swimmers still training for NCAA's next week while a majority of the team is done and in the evaluation process.  As I look back on the season, we always have a lot of great swims, but I am always looking for what separates the "JAW DROPPING, WHERE DID THAT COME FROM" swims from the typical end of the year time drops or even an off meet.

Here is what I believe to be the common denominators.  This is assuming your athlete does the work during the season and yes, there will always be athletes that defy the odd's.

1.  All the flowers in the garden are blooming!  The athletes that I see have the best performances have many flowers in their personal garden and they are all blooming.  If you ignore academics, your relationships, your faith, your garden will not be complete.  When we step up to compete, we compete as the complete person.  I have had several swimmers come out of high school too one dimensional, in that life is just about swimming.  This can only last for so long because life is not one dimensional.  Make sure your athletes are growing all the flowers in their garden, and make sure they are all blooming.  You will be surprised how well they will perform in all area's of their life.


2.  The Need to feel valuable to the team!  Without a doubt, the level of importance an athlete feels to the team is critical.  When an athlete feels valuable to the team, they have a much better chance of finding that jaw dropping performance.  This is nothing new, it's the performing for something bigger than yourself concept, it works.  As you watch your team compete during the big competitions, ask yourself, Does everyone feel valuable to the final product?  Some athletes will sense this just by where they rank on the team with their speed, however, to have everyone feel valuable it takes work from the coach and attention to the relationships built throughout the season.


3.  No Fear of Failure! If I look at the jaw dropping performance over the last few years, it is kind of ironic that the athletes that accomplished them are the athletes that would have handles failure the best.    It's not that they don't care, because they care a lot, it is a big part of their life.  I guess it comes back to having several flowers in the garden and realizing this is only part of the big picture, and that sometimes failure is part of getting better and growing up.