Courtesy of athlete mental skills coach Brian Alexander and Champion Swim & Travel Experience
What are the obstacles you face to improving as a swimmer? Look no further than your passion for the sport. The top swimmers in the world all have talent, but the difference that establishes them as elite level athletes is their enthusiasm and vigor to want to learn from other swimmers and coaches. Becoming a student of your sport is not an imposition if you wholeheartedly want to become faster and more technically sound. The biggest challenge in knowing how to expand on your knowledge or increase the rate of learning is knowing where to start. The greatest swimmers all start becoming students of the sport early on by studying great swims and swimmers during their free time.
Here are some study skills and tips you will learn from Champions Swim and Travel staff Olympian Lenny Krayzelburg:
1 – Maturity factor is the number one obstacle for youth
- It is tough to focus as a young swimmer all the time but if you show enthusiasm and positive energy for the sport then coaches will feed off that too and want to go above and beyond to teach you the sport
- Mental and physical maturity do not develop at the same pace for everyone
2 – Communicate with coaches and teammates and ask for feedback
- Open your mind to receive feedback on your stroke and approach to swimming
- Ask questions of your coaches such as “What am I doing now that I could do better?”
- Listen to the words people say rather than their emotion
3 – Watch other great swims at meets or on video and study video of yourself
- Watch the best swimmers on your team to learn the details of their stroke by looking and thinking how they are swimming so fast
- Break down the technical aspects of world record swims on video and take notes so you can apply them in practice
- Ask a parent or coach to capture video of your races or practices and learn what drills you can practice to improve your own stroke
4 – Patience is the key for those working and not seeing immediate results
- Learning and developing habits takes time and commitment
- Young swimmers may need time to physically develop before seeing results from the work they have put into their swimming
- Believe in the process and the results will start to come
Learning can be one the hardest things to master because it takes a great amount of focus and humility to constantly seek to improve. When you eventually find success at the top of the swimming world, the biggest challenger you will find will be yourself. If you can continually beat the person who stares back at you in the mirror, then you will become the greatest swimmer you have ever seen.
About Champions Swim & Travel Experience
Champions Swim & Travel Experience was founded by Olympic Champions Lenny Krayzelburg and Jason Lezak, giving swimmers a chance to spend eight days interacting and learning from direct under their tutelage, getting advice on improving strokes, receiving motivational guidance, video analysis, tips for pre and post race approach, nutrition, and more.
Out of the pool campers will take part in cultural and educational experiences touring one of the oldest and most historical countries in the world. This is truly the experience of a lifetime that aims to enhance the campers’ athletic and cultural knowledge. We believe that the experience of a trip to Israel can be a building block of their cultural identity, and that by providing this opportunity to young swimmers, we can strengthen bonds with the land and people of Israel and solidarity among swimming communities worldwide.
To sign up or learn more go to www.championsswimtravel.com
About the author: Brian Alexander is a mental skills coach who combines eight years of experience as an Olympic level water polo athlete, a master’s degree in sport psychology, and business leadership training and coaching from The Ken Blanchard Companies. He helps athletes and performers of all ages tap into their performance potential.
Contact info for Brian Alexander:
Website: www.athletementalskillscoach.com
Twitter: @BA_POS_MIND
Facebook: Athlete Mental Skills Coach
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brianalexander3
Champions Swim & Travel Media Contact:
Bobby Brewer
Director of Marketing
Champions Swim & Travel Experience
323-940-3303
[email protected]
Swim info is courtesy of Champions Swim & Travel, a SwimSwam partner.