The Recipe For Champions

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

By Erin Keaveny, Swimming World College Intern

It’s 5:00am and a blaring alarm interrupts a sweet dream. It feels like you fell asleep only twenty minutes ago. Walking out of your bedroom you turn around and take one last look at a cozy, welcoming bed, knowing you have a cold, imposing pool ahead of you.

You have a choice.

You can either lament lost sleep, or shake off that sleepy mentality, and go into practice ready to put in work. Dragging yourself out of bed before the sun rises for a practice is not most people’s idea of fun, but you’re not most people.

The life of any athlete is filled with choices. Sure, elite athletes were born with natural talent, and blessed by genetics. Champions aren’t born though, they’re made. What separates the G.O.A.T.s from the rest is their attitude, and how they dedicate themselves to their sports. The way that they navigate daily choices and approach every practice is what separates these athletes from the rest of the pack.

Whether you love or hate them, some of the most successful coaches and athletes of all time have similar ideas on what makes greatness.

Bob Bowman, Michael Phelp’s coach, commented that “what makes champions great is what’s up here” pointing at his head, “and what’s in here” putting his hand on his heart. Bowman strongly believes that natural talent is far from an athlete’s most important asset, something other coaches agree with.

The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick called four time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady “not a great natural athlete.” Belichick continued to say that what separates Brady from other players is that “nobody’s worked harder than Tom” and “he’s earned everything he’s achieved.”

American football legend Vince Lombardi summed up what he thinks it takes to be a champion. “Let me tell you what winning means… You’re willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else.” Five time World Series champion Derek Jeter echoes Coach Lombardi in his statement that “there may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.”

Champions aren’t made at a meet, or a practice. They work towards their goals every second of every practice, and when they reach their goals, they set their sights on even greater ones.

Getting through a practice you might not want to be at is never easy. But if you don’t put your best foot forward because of things that happened outside of the pool, or things that you can’t control, you’re only cheating yourself. By not treating every practice like its your most important one, you might be holding yourself back from greatness.

So the next time that 5:00am alarm goes off, remember that the only one who can make the choice to be great is you.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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