Courtesy of Avery Manbeck
1. Get to know your teammates. 4 a.m. sucks a little less when you’re swimming with friends.
2. Have Fun. Winning doesn’t feel as good when you’re miserable.
3. Never underestimate the power of a Fistbump. (Also applies to high fives.)
4. Dance up the blocks.
5. Write down your goal times. (And actually look at them.)
6. When you hit the invisible wall and feel like you’re not improving, don’t give up.
7. To quote my coach, ” do it wrong in a different way.”
8. Encourage. Your teammates in practice will make you faster too.
9. Realize that you deserve to win too.
10. You are not defined by the cut times you make or meets you attend.
Avery Manbeck is a senior who swims for The Potomac Marlins and will swim next year at Ohio Northern University.
The principles behind these tips will carry you far beyond the pool. Relatively few adults have figured this stuff out (although most of the successful ones have) so it’s pretty amazing to hear these thoughts from a high school senior!