Pursley Pep Talks: When Opportunity Knocks

Pursley Pep Talks are a collection of coaching perspectives written by Alabama head swimming coach Dennis Pursley. This is the 28th and final installment of the series.

Pursley Pep Talks: When Opportunity Knocks

Our biggest regrets in life are often related to the failure to recognize and take advantage of the opportunities that come our way. When opportunity presents itself, will we be prepared to take full advantage of it?

The answer to this question, I believe, will be determined by the degree to which we accomplish the following objectives:

Superior Preparation

Everyone will bring talent to the blocks in championship competition. Talent alone will not win medals or even enable us to swim personal best times.

In most cases, in order to swim faster than our competition, we will have to be better prepared. We need to remind ourselves of this simple fact when we are tempted to take short cuts or to settle for less than our best.

We must adopt a “whatever-it-takes” attitude and be willing to go above and beyond the commitment that our competitors are making in our preparation for success.

Healthy Lifestyle

Although training for peak performance in championship competition is far more challenging, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be equally important to success.

Illness and injury will not necessarily prevent us from achieving our goals (we all know of athletes who have successfully rebounded from serious injury or illness), but they can diminish the probability of success.

Extra attention to healthy lifestyle choices such as dressing appropriately in the winter, healthy diets, getting plenty of rest and developing healthy personal hygiene habits such as frequently washing your hands could very possibly determine whether or not you achieve your championship goals.

Building Confidence

As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are probably right.”

Doubts and negative thoughts will creep into our conscious mind from time to time, but it is important that we recognize them for what they are: thoughts, not reality.

Beneath these negative thoughts, we must believe that we are capable of accomplishing our goals. Most importantly, we must believe that we belong on the “big stage” and that we are ready to compete successfully with anyone.

Handling Pressure

We can expect the public and media attention to be turned up to a fever pitch in the weeks and even months preceding the championship competition. Will we be distracted and become unglued by all of this pressure, or will we be prepared to handle it effectively—or, better yet, be prepared to use it to our advantage?

We will need to tap into this positive energy and enjoy the experience. The ability to “go with the flow” and “roll with the punches” will also serve us well in pressure situations.

Team-first Culture

A strong team culture cannot be attained without the willingness to sacrifice personal preferences for the sake of the team. The team is important to all of us, but not everyone is willing to make it the highest priority when it conflicts with individual preferences. This, sometimes, requires a leap of faith, but the performance-enhancing and overall experience-enhancing benefits can be immense if we are willing to take it.

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All of these objectives are basic prerequisites to success. Although plain and simple, they can only be accomplished with a strong will, discipline, perseverance and willingness to sacrifice.

About Dennis Pursley

After getting his start as a volunteer coach on Don Gambril’s first Alabama staff, current Alabama head coach Dennis Pursley has gone on to one of the most extraordinary careers in the sport of swimming, a career that led him to be named one of the 25 most influential people in the history of USA Swimming in 2003.

Pursley has helmed coaching staffs throughout the world, including stops as the first head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport, the inaugural director of the United States National Team and most recently the head coach of Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic squad. Pursley returned to the deck in 2003 as the head coach of the Brophy East Swim Team in Phoenix Ariz., before becoming the head coach of British Swimming in 2008.

Pursley and his wife Mary Jo have five children, Lisa, Brian, David, Steven and J.J. Lisa has joined him on the Alabama staff.

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