Pursley Pep Talks: The Issue of Winning

Swimming World will publish a collection of coaching perspectives written by Alabama head swimming coach Dennis Pursley. This is the 21st installment of a series that will be rolled out throughout the coming months.

The Issue of Winning

During a half century of involvement with competitive swimming, I have observed an interesting array of attitudes and perspectives toward the concept of winning.

At one extreme, there are those who believe that a focus on winning is misdirected and unhealthy, putting undue pressure on the competitors. These people tend to downplay the importance of performance. They focus instead on the value of participation in a broad sense. They are usually intimidated by talk of medal counts and team scores.

At the other extreme are those who believe that winning is everything—and the only thing. They adopt a win-at-all-costs attitude and believe that, “First is first and second is last.”

To them, we have failed if we have achieved anything less than a gold medal or a first-place finish in the team standings, regardless of the circumstances.

I really don’t share either of these perspectives.

It has always been my opinion that winning—in the spirit of good sportsmanship and fair play—is a worthy, noble and honorable goal for which to strive. I believe that we lose the spark that helps us become the “best that we can be” when we stop trying to win or neglect to include winning as one of our objectives.

The greatest competitors and most dominant teams typically respond positively to the challenge of winning. They will enthusiastically embrace it and relish the opportunity rather than shy away from it. This challenge brings the best out of them.

My view departs from the “winning-is-everything” perspective in the sense that I do not believe that success or failure is contingent upon achieving this goal. “Heart,” passion and competitive determination are the measures of success. The key question is not whether or not we have won, but whether or not we have left “no stone unturned” in preparing to win, and have completely spent ourselves in the EFFORT to win. Theodore Roosevelt may have said it best when he said:

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”

Vince Lombardi put it more simply when he said:

“Winning is not everything, but making the effort to win is.”

How much more exciting would our sport be if every competitor would step up to the blocks in every race with the intention of winning; and every team would expect to be challenged to win medals and would respond positively to that challenge; and every swimmer would want to be aware of and motivated by the team scores and medal counts; and, regardless of the outcome, all of our athletes could “hold their heads high” and experience the great intrinsic rewards that result from knowing they have given all that they have to give.

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 and David have joined him on the Alabama staff.

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