To do the "extra" to be successful

There are so many kids in our country. There are so many kids out there who do sports. Most of the kids make up the majority of our population. To be an athlete though, puts you in a small niche of people in this country. I am not talking about a child who participate in sports, but an athlete that makes sacrifice to be at the top of the game. I stress to my swimmers that when they choose to be an athlete, it is not a choice that one should take lightly. It means that you will push yourself to discomfort in your training, and it means that you will persevere through the good and the bad times. It means that you will be the one that decides that not going to watch that high school football is worth it to continue on your training plan. It is when you sacrifice activities that your peers will be doing to put the extra time into practice or get sleep to allow your body to recover.


Dr. Phil Black calls these people the extraordinary people who do the "extra" to strive to be successful. He mentions that these people see fatigue as "the front door to future success that many others will never enter." He also mentions that these are also the people who, "sacrifice comfort and replace it with discomfort." This note that I am mentioning though he does have a qualifier before it, and it is, "...for only those who dare to strive for the highest level of achievement."

To be an elite athlete is not easy, otherwise there would be a lot of them. Many don't even realize the fatigue and discomfort that others reach to be where they are, and allow themselves to accept that just reaching fatigue and discomfort occasionally is all that it takes. This is what separates the top from the middle. It is more than just showing up, it is more than just pushing hard; it is about pushing yourself to the next level of fatigue and discomfort.

The development of muscles is the breaking down of those tissues in the muscle. That in itself sounds painful and not very comfortable. How can athletes think it only takes some work and the occasional practice where they reach that point of fatigue and discomfort.

This is the biggest lesson for swim coaches Pre-Senior and above need to make sure their athletes understand. The unfortinate part is most of the kids will be so caught up in this society of so many distractions, will be unable to sacrifice what is needed to be most successful. Others will choose not to because they are afraid of what their highest success actually is.

So for those who wish to swim at the highest level, you need to ask yourself, Am I willing to make the sacrifices? Am I willing to do the "extra" required to reach that highest level?