Swim Like an Age-Grouper…Perform Like a Champion

Photo Courtesy: Connor Bailey

By Nikki Cannon, Swimming World College Intern

Since graduating college and becoming an official “swammer” I have transitioned my life from the pool to a classroom, where I assist sixth grade students. Being around them has not only reignited my love for recess, Beverly Cleary books, and fun pencil toppers, but has also taken me back to a much simpler time in my swimming career.

You see, I LOVED swimming when I was 12. I lived it, I breathed it, it was probably the main focus of my energy at the time. But somehow along the way, things changed. Swimming turned from something I got to do, to a chore, or even job, that I was forced to do. I went from begging my mom to let me do a double to dreading morning practice. I went from getting over a race that went poorly within a few seconds, to replaying every minute detail in a practice set that didn’t go well.

What changed? Some people might say that as I got older I became more realistic, but I would challenge that embracing our inner age-grouper (or even self) may allow us to accomplish things we may not have otherwise dreamt of.

1. Unleashing Your Childlike Wonder

swim-jitsu-age-group-phoenix-club-az-2015

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

Remember the days when every practice was a mystery? It was like this exciting adventure; what am I going to learn or do today? It’s pretty easy to get jaded, purely because of the repetition the sport requires. I recall very clearly that my “Oh, I bet practice is going to be fun” feeling transitioning to assuring myself that practice would be awful.

We begin to think that we are all-knowers and thus become rather cynical in swimming. It’s not only that we lose a sense of wonder, but also that we begin to think we know what will happen. We begin to create self-fulfilling prophecies.

This practice is always hard. I NEVER do well at dual meets. I ALWAYS swim slow in practice.

What would happen if you didn’t put those limits on yourself? If you could enjoy that hard practice, swim fast at a dual meet, and surprise yourself with speed during a hard set at practice?

2. Why Not?

Photo Courtesy: Fitter and Faster Swim Tours

This next one ties in closely to my first tip, but with a little twist. But first a quick story. I once had a teammate who truly put no limts on herself or her swimming. “Why not?” was basically the motto to her swimming career. She was an amazing trainer and racer and held herself to very high standards. While doing pace I would crank my head over to see if I heard correctly…..if she was going to hold that pace, her total time would be almost 6 seconds faster than her goal time.

“Dude, why are you going so fast?” asked one our teammates.

“If I’m going to go that time, I need to be this fast.”

You see, to this teammate there was no reason why she would not be able to go that t minus six second time. This teammate became one of the first NCAA qualifiers on our team. The point is, my friend didn’t list all the reasons she wouldn’t be able to be fast; she was tired, she was too slow, she wasn’t tall enough, she wasn’t talented enough, no. She simply asked, “Why not?”

3. Letting Go of Failures

Photo Courtesy: Kristy Kowal

One summer, I absolutely bombed my taper meet. It was awful, especially after all the hard work I had put in, and the care I had invested in my swimming. The next summer, as I stood next to my block at the same meet, at the same pool, the official blew the whistle. I had a flood of memories, like a terrible flashback of how badly I had done before. I was paralyzed with fear.

Now, is this the ideal mindset to be in before a race? Absolutely not. But how many of us held on to memories like that as a child? I could barely remember the last practice I had been to when I was 10, let alone a year prior.

What if you let go of failures instead of letting them dictate your future? What if you took away the lesson without internalizing the fear of repeating your mistake? How much faster could you be? More importantly…how much happier would you be?

Embrace your inner child and have fun!

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