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THE WIZARD OF OZ AND SWIMMING


 How can the Wizard of Oz relate to swimming?  What lessons can we learn from the scarecrow, the tin man, the cowardly lion and of course Dorothy herself?  Let’s look at it shall we.

What about the yellow brick road and how does it parallel your journey down the black tile road in 
the pool.  Both of these roads represent the process that one must go through in order to reach an ultimate goal they have.  In Dorothy case the ultimate goal is to find a way back home to Kansas, for us the goals come in all types such as;

  • Obtaining a JO cut
  • Obtaining a NASA cut
  • Making are high school team
  • A record
  • A best time
  • Making it on to that relay at our summer pool
  • Making friends
  • Staying in shape
As you see each of your goals could be very similar, but on the other hand they could differ individually.  Ironically all the characters in the movies had different goals but they all found themselves on that same yellow brick road that they followed to attain their goals.  The road in swimming is not much different then that yellow brick road was, they are both filled with twists,
turns and bumps all of the things that you have to work through to get to that goal.  Not much different then the road of life that you find yourself on.  In order to get to your goal you have to find a way to work through the rough spots and stay on that road, and often as in the movie it takes the help from those around you to stay on that road.

First we have the scarecrow who simply was looking for a brain so he could think and solve problems.

The next character was that old fussy Cowardly Lion, who just wanted to find courage.  Imagine Simba's father Mufasa walking around his kingdom with little or no courage, leaving Scar to run thing

The last of our characters was the lovable Tin Man and his journey to find a heart.


As you go down your own personal "yellow brick road " in swimming there will always be the curves in the road that you need to navigate around in order to stay on the road.  That road may not include the wicked witch of the east or west, along with their flying monkeys or the Winkie Guards.  However the twists and turns and the bumps you encourage during your trip might be just as intimidating and scary.  They could be anything from fear of failure, disappointing someone, hurting at the end of the race or maybe not being able to finish.  Will I be DQ?  Will I miss my event?  

The twists and turns on the road could be as simple as missing a set during practice or more pressing as missing the entire practice.  It could be your thought process such as; Do I really need to underwater for 4-5 seconds, or do need to finish without a breath on this set?  As you see just like in the movie our journey down our road has it's own twists, turns and bumps.  It is how you deal with them face to face that will determine how far down our road you will go.

How do the Scarecrow,Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion relate to us as swimmers.  As we find out in the movie all three were searching for something that they already and always had, a brain, courage and a heart!  The think that all three were lacking was the knowledge and confidence that they already had the one thing that they sought.

First of all we know this generation is much smarter than the previous ones, all it comes down to is using that brain and figuring out what you need to do to get where you want to.  You have to be smart enough to figure out that what we do in practice will have a direct impact on your races.  At the same time the choices you make outside of the pool have to be smart ones to put you in the best possible position for success.

As for courage just like the Cowardly Lion, you already have more than enough.  First of all it takes a lot of courage to stand up on that block, alone looking down that empty lane knowing that his was a trip that you have to make by yourself and the result will be your's and your's alone, no one to blame.

As for the Tin Man and his heart.  All of you already have a big heart ❤️, we have seen it in practice with some of our sets and the way you have responded.  It takes a big heart to reach down and give an all out effort on swims at the end of a long practice.  It shows you not only are able to take responsibility for your own swimming, but you care enough and respect the sport to give that effort.  You may not know it but that takes a big ❤️ 

All three characters went down the yellow brick road to find the the "Great Oz" to find these intangibles that they felt were missing in their lives.  Now we are not wizards and we do not live in the land of Oz, but just like that wizard, we cannot give you something that you already have had since the day you were born.  That's right YOU were born with all three of these.  The job for those of us around you is to make you aware of that and keep you on that road.

As for Dorothy, she also did not need the wizard all she had to do was the same as you
 click your heels together three times and believe in yourself!







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