Swimming World Presents “The Next Step After A Poor Performance: Recovery That Defines An Athlete”

Swimming World February 2020 - Poor Performance - The Next Step - Michael J. Stott - Caeleb Dressel and Gregg Troy at 2018 US Nationals
Left Sidebar

Poor Performance: The Next Step

By Michael J. Stott

At one time or another, disappointment haunts the dreams of even the best swimmers. And often it is the recovery from that disappointment that defines the athlete and, perhaps, the swimmer’s future.

How can coaches help athletes move on from disappointing performances?

“I don’t have any real magic,” says Gregg Troy, three-time U.S. Olympic coach and now the elite performance coach at the Gator Swim Club. “We need to be honest with our athletes.” Troy notes that it is important to distinguish mid-season evaluations of process (and opportunities to institute immediate change) from evaluations of season-ending disappointment. “The latter entails a discussion between athlete and coach about where you are, where you wanted to go and why you didn’t get there,” he says.

“How one discusses discouraging swims is dependent upon age, maturity of the athlete within the age, event swum and time of season. It is individual,” Troy emphasizes. “Some people handle disappointments and make them into challenges; some take disappointments, and they become something they really worry about. You have to learn from them, move on and not dwell on them.”

Very young swimmers excepted, when looking from an end-of-season perspective, “nine out of 10 times, swimmers were doing disappointing things in practice. Here the message is the need to go back and do better. Either the goals were too high and the swimmer hadn’t worked well or long enough to achieve them, or they hadn’t been doing the right things. They have to do a little bit better,” Troy says.

For more advice from university coach Eddie Reese and high school coach Elizabeth Hansen, 
Check out the February issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

Swimming World February 2020 Cover - Ranomi Kromowidjojo

Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You
Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

Want More? Subscribe With This Special 2-Year Offer!

New! 1-Year Digital Only Subscription for just $39.95 Order Now!

Non-Subscribers Can Download This Issue For Only $5.94

017 BREASTSTROKE BARRIER BUSTERS
by David Rieder
The history of the men’s 100 and 200 yard breaststroke has included long stretches of chasing legendary records followed by a shorter period of continuous improvement.

019 LEARNING FROM ADVERSITY
by David Rieder
Minnesota’s Max McHugh was involved in a drive-by shooting last summer, but he believes the incident has left him with a fresh perspective and gratitude for everyday things in his life, including swimming. That approach has fueled his impressive return to the pool.

021 A SENSE OF DÉJÀ VU
by Dan D’Addona and David Rieder
Savannah College of Art and Design (NAIA women), Keiser University (NAIA men) and Indian River State College (NJCAA women and men) appear ready to show the swimming world something it has seen before: repeating as national team champions.

023 THE FIRE INSIDE STILL BURNS
by John Lohn
When discussing the best women’s sprint freestylers heading into this year’s Olympic Games, most frequently mentioned are Australia’s Cate Campbell, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and the USA’s Simone Manuel. But don’t count out triple Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands, who feels her best swims are still to come.

025 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: DUKE
by John Lohn
As Swimming World continues its “Takeoff to Tokyo” series, a century has passed since Duke Kahanamoku last reigned over the water world, but his name—and merely his first name—remains synonymous with greatness in  multiple ways.

027 THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
by Dan D’Addona
The future looks bright for junior diver Ashley McCool after transferring to the University of Florida.

COACHING

009 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: CHARLES “RED” SILVIA
by Michael J. Stott

013 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: PLAN FOR A BREATHING PATTERN
by Rod Havriluk
Swimmers should plan a breathing pattern prior to each swim to gain the most benefit for both racing and training. The breathing pattern should limit head motion for better focus on technique and also provide sufficient oxygen for better performance.

015 POOR PERFORMANCE… THE NEXT STEP
by Michael J. Stott
At one time or another, disappointment haunts the dreams of even the best swimmers. And often it is the recovery from that disappointment that defines the athlete and, perhaps, the swimmer’s future.

030 SPECIAL SETS: GEORGE HAINES AT WORK
by Michael J. Stott
It never hurts to be a student of the sport. Sometimes that means visiting archival material, be it documents, voices, videos or all of the above to reacquaint ourselves with coaching legends and the methods that made them so effective. Here, Swimming World features the legendary George Haines.

043 Q&A WITH COACH ADAM HOYT
by Michael J. Stott

044 HOW THEY TRAIN ROGER GU AND GRACE GOETCHEUS
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

012 DRYSIDE TRAINING: STROKE STRENGTH SERIES—BUTTERFLY
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

040 GOLDMINDS: PARTNERING WITH PARENTS
by Wayne Goldsmith
A simple, but effective strategy for coaches to engage with, connect to and educate the parents of the swimmers on their team is through the development of a “Training Manual for Swimming Parents.”

046 UP & COMERS: ZURI FERGUSON
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS

007 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

008 BEYOND THE YARDS

033 2020 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY

047 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x