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To
maximize your potential as a competitive
swimmer and reach the goals you have set
for yourself, you must train yourself
mentally, as well as physically. To gain
the competitive advantage, you must think
like a winner consistently.
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#1
Keep your swimming fun.
Do
not wait until you win before you start
having fun. Champions go fast because
they are having fun! When you enjoy yourself,
you will be physically looser and will
swim much faster. Performing too seriously
and turning your swimming into all work
and no fun will definitely result in performance
difficulties and burnout. Fun and speed
go together.
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#2
Have clear goals.
Success
as a swimmer begins with a dream...a goal
of how far you would like to go in the
sport. The more detailed a picture you
can paint of this goal, the better your
chance of turning your dream into reality.
Try to have your goals broken down from
long-term, to intermediate, to short-term
goals, so that even on a daily basis you
will have specific goals for practice.
This will help you stay motivated over
the long haul.
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#3
Make your practices important; use
simulation in practice.
Most
swimmers spend the same amount of time
practicing weekly. However, only a small
fraction of athletes improve to their
potential. Too many swimmers go through
the motions in practice. You will compete
the way you practice. Practice mentally
as well as physically. Make your practices
important. The more important you can
make your practices and the more similar
to actual meets, the more likely you are
to meet your potential.
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#4
Focus on your race one stroke at
a time - not on winning or qualifying.
You
will swim your best when your concentration
is on your race, one stroke at a time.
You will choke and swim badly when you
get caught up with outcome, or future
focus, thoughts (i.e. winning, losing,
qualifying time, etc). Swimmers who get
distracted with this kind of future focus
almost always swim tight and feel heavy.
Stay in the now and race and concentrate
on what you are doing while you are doing
it.
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#5
Concentrate = Recognize (Step #1)
= Bring Yourself Back (Step #2).
Concentration
is the key to mental skill to swimming
excellence and mental toughness. Here's
how to do it!
Step 1: Recognize that you are mentally
in the wrong place (i.e. in the future
worried about an outcome or a swimmer
in the next lane).
Step 2: Quickly and gently bring yourself
back to a proper focus. You learn to concentrate
by catching yourself when you are not
concentrating. This is the heart of championship
concentration.
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#6
Learn to quickly let go of your
mistakes and failures.
Champions
do one thing better than everyone else...FAIL!!
When a champion has a bad race, they not
only use this failure for feedback, but
let it go quickly. Do not dwell on the
past. Only go into the past if your past
is a positive, self-enhancing one!
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#7
Stay within yourself - Swim your
own race - Stay mentally in the "Here".
You
will swim your very best when you can
learn to mentally stay within yourself,
focusing on what you have to do and are
doing. Mentally stay in your own lane
when you compete.
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#8
Control your eyes and ears for championship
meet performances.
Learn
to control what you look at and listen
to, both before and during the race. Visually
focus only on things that keep you calm,
composed and ready to perform well. Similarly,
make sure that anything that you "look"
at in your mind's eye are positive and
confidence enhancing. Control your eyes
and ears for mental toughness.
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#9
Visualize what you want to see happen,
not what you are afraid will happen.
Winners
in and out of the pool have learned to
use their imagination (mental rehearsal
and imagery) to help them reach their
goals. Focusing on positive images will
keep you calm, raise your confidence and
increase your chances of achieving your
goals. Practice mental rehearsal 5-10
minutes at a time, preceded by relaxation
in an area free from distractions. Imagine
your performance as vividly as possible,
performing the way you would like to.
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#10
Let it happen = Speed.
When
you swim your fastest, there is an automatic,
effortless quality to your performance.
To swim your best, you have to relax and
let the meet happen. If you make the race
too important, you will try too hard and
swim slower. Trust that you have done
everything that you need to, your body
and muscle memory knows what to do, and
then just let the performance happen.
Swim with effortless effort.
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#11
Swim with no-mind to go fast.
In
your best races, not only do you swim
on auto pilot, but most likely there is
a no-thinking quality to your race. Conscious
thought slows you down and distracts you.
The more you think, the slower you will
go.
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#12
You swim the way you think.
The
difference between your best and worst
swims is usually related to your mental
"strategies" just before and
during your race. Learn to "program
in" positive thoughts and that is
what you will get back out.
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#13
Be positive - nothing good comes
from negativity.
When
you are negative or down on yourself,
you sap your energy; drain your confidence;
and ensure that you will swim poorly.
Practice being positive about yourself,
teammates and coaches, NO MATTER WHAT.
A positive attitude will help you overcome
hardships and setbacks and keep you going.
A negative attitude will trick you into
giving up too soon. Winners in and out
of the pool are positive. "Can't",
"Never" and "Impossible"
do not exist in the dictionary of their
minds.
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#14
Reframe adversity.
Learn
to look at obstacles and setbacks as a
way to get more motivated and to increase
your confidence. Many swimmers complain
bitterly about pool temperature, lane
assignments, rain and fatigue. Great swimmers
use any kind of adversity to help them
get the competitive advantage over their
opponents. You can say to yourself, "everyone
in this race has to deal with this pain,
and I am mentally tougher to handle it
than everyone else".
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#15
Act as if... To become a winner,
you must first learn to act like one.
This
is the master strategy of champions. If
you act the way you want to become, you
will become the way you act. "Acting
as if" has to do with your posture
and how you carry yourself physically.
Watch swimmers after they have had a bad
race and you will discover some interesting
things, such as shoulders drooping, heads
down, facial expression down, and dragging
their feet. If you feel totally intimidated
before a race, act as if: act calm and
confident. Show your opponent someone
who, on the outside, looks in control.
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#16
Learn to be your own best fan.
It
is very easy to be nice to yourself and
supportive when you are winning. Champions,
however, separate themselves from everyone
else because they have learned to be supportive
of themselves when things are going badly.
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#17
You are not your races.
Learn
to separate who you are as an athlete
and person from how you do in your meets.
You are not the result of your races.
If you have a great meet, this does not
make you a great person. A swim meet should
never be viewed as a measure of self-worth
and respectability by you, your coaches,
or your parents!
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#18
Learn to relax.
To
swim your own race and stay within yourself,
you need to have the ability to handle
competitive pressure. Probably one of
the best relaxation techniques is to learn
to slow and deepen your breathing. By
taking a few slow, diaphragmatic breaths,
you can very quickly calm yourself down
pre-race. Practice at home sitting for
5 minutes at a time, inhaling slowly through
your nose to a count of 4, and then exhaling
to a count of 7-8, and continuing this
process for the allotted time. Any time
that you drift, practice recognizing your
loss of focus and bring yourself back.
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