SENIOR PREP EYES

 Let's talk about yesterday but first let's all stop and have one good cough.  No I don't know why so many

of you were coughing, maybe the chlorine but I doubt it, maybe fair quality maybe not.  Maybe it became a mind thing where once one of you started you all got the bug.  You all were troopers and you got through what we were trying to accomplish.  Now that we have that out of the way let"s continue on.

That practice was low yardage but with everything done at RACE SPEED except for the 200 swim/kick recovery.  We are at the early part of the season where I wanted to see how you would respond both physically and mentally to that type of workout. It will help us plan a course of action for the next 6 weeks  leading up to the Swim an d Rock meet.

One of my take aways was that we have a lot of work to do mentally with your swimming.  As I watched and talk to a lot of you I got a real sense that the "fear of failure" is holding you back from your true potential.  Correct me if I am wrong but one of the big fears is that of pain but the fact is that you are an athlete and you are going to experience pain  at some point during your swimming career.  What we have to come to understand is that there is a big difference between GOOD PAIN AND BAD PAIN.  Good pain comes from working hard and is normal, bad pain on the other hand is normally associated with stresses or an injury.  Good pain will disappear completely when the activity stops, I promise. If the pain persists itneed to be addressed and usually by someone with more knowledge than I have.  Just an FYI if you have been sick and missed a few workouts in a row expect some discomfort and soreness.  It does not mean something is wrong.  Wev like to call this swimming to get in shape.

An example of understanding the difference occurred yesterday during the set when a swimmer looked at me and pointed to her shoulder.  We got her out and talked through it only to find out that she had been lifting 15 pound dumb bells the day before.   First thought was okay this is more likely good pain,  her shoulders are probably a little sore and fatigued.  We talked through it and after careful explanation of what I felt she was experiencing she dove back in an finished the workout, with a strong effort I might add.

So what are your fears?  I know you have some so I would like each of you to get an index card and write down PRACTICE and MEETS on the top.  Under each I want you to write down 2 fears for each and bring them to practice Thursday so were can talk about them.  No names on cards.  Let's identify some of your fears and than we can begin the process of working through them together.  

Here is what my card would look like.

After I have a chance to read the cards over the weekend we will work on a couple of fears each week.

Let's get past this little obstacle so we can swim fast and relaxed.