{"id":346060,"date":"2019-01-09T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=346060"},"modified":"2019-01-08T15:51:42","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T22:51:42","slug":"swimming-world-presents-inspiring-swimmers-and-testing-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-inspiring-swimmers-and-testing-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents: “Inspiring Swimmers…And Testing Limits”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspiring Swimmers…And Testing Limits<\/span><\/h3>\n

In this two-part series, four veteran coaches share insights on how they motivate the athletes entrusted to their care.<\/p>\n

This month: Gregg Troy<\/strong> and Jessica O\u2019Donnell<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspiration and motivation to complete a task in swimming, indeed life, can come from many different sources. It can come from within, a family member, coach, teammates or some other external source.<\/p>\n

Once swimmers are inspired to complete a difficult task, the resulting action often involves a test of one\u2019s limits. Perhaps one of the most celebrated examples in swimming is Jason Lezak<\/strong>\u2019s overhauling of Frenchman Alain Bernard in the men\u2019s 4×100 meter free relay at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His motivation was obvious. He had teammates, a country\u2019s national pride and gold medals at stake. Testing limits was surely in play, as his 46.06 relay split, the fastest in history, attests.<\/p>\n

Gregg Troy<\/strong> (3x Olympic and former University of Florida coach)<\/span>
\n\u201cTo inspire swimmers and test limits successfully, you have to create a group culture looking for certain goals. Those goals might differ from individual to individual, but the culture has to be goal and performance-oriented. If it is, then each individual can figure out his or her niche.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point, it becomes an individual discussion with the athlete\u2014i.e., where do you want to be and how can I help you get there? And that becomes the platform to decide, \u2018OK, this is where you want to be and what kinds of things are we going to need to get there?\u2019<\/p>\n

Jessica O\u2019Donnell<\/strong> (former head age group coach, Sun Devil Aquatics; family therapist)<\/span>
\n\u201cAt meets before you can help pull that stellar performance out of a swimmer, it\u2019s about knowing the swimmer as an individual. What motivates them? Does a loud public declaration of their goal in front of teammates ignite their fire? Or maybe a quiet whisper of, \u2018You\u2019ve got this.\u2019<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to know your swimmers. But in order to be successful at meets, you first have to lay the foundation for stellar performances consistently in practice. Then, when you get to a meet, you can look the swimmer in the eye and say, \u2018You\u2019ve done A, B and C. This is just the icing on the cake.”<\/p>\n

Next month: Coaches Richard Hunter and Catherine Vogt.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about how these coaches inspire their swimmers, check out the January 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em>, available now.<\/p>\n

Swimming World subscribers can download this issue in the Swimming World Vault<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"SW<\/a><\/p>\n

[PHOTO BY DAN D\u2019ADDONA]<\/p>\n

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