Sorry about the lapse of time from my last post. Bloggers Block as well as being busy with the finishing of the High School Season, and maintaining all the other aspects of aquatics that I do. Still a little bit of Bloggers Block, but I thought this seemed close to what I have been thinking and talking about lately.
Read articles for swim coaches about how it is so important that you must develop a culture. You must change a culture that is holding your team back from further growth. They provide all the reasons of why you need to change or develop your culture, and provide the different aspects that are good to be part of a swim teams culture. I always end up asking myself, "Ok, so how did you change your culture?" Some articles hint at things done, and then others just completely forget about telling us ways that we can change the culture. Many times it is in articles not about changing the culture that really give insight on how to change a culture. So, I am going to throw some things about developing or changing a culture of a swim team, by talking about things that I do. I have no idea if these are good ways, but they seem to be somewhat working.
First thing I asked my future Head Coach in a meeting with her was, "What do you want this team to be? and what is the culture you want to define this team?" She said a few things, but the main idea was that she wanted a team that was built around the idea that no matter their talent level; our swimmers were going to achieve by being hard working. I was all for that, and I knew things that I wanted to do to develop this culture.
The main message I told my group, was that you can't out talent your competition. You can only out work them. Control what you can control, which is ones work ethic. Take pride in the effort even more so than the result. These talks to my swimmers my kids know when one is coming, as they all start telling everyone to start being quiet because it was speech time. That lets you know that I like to take my group to the side and have talks about these kinds of topics.
How else do I develop and change the culture to that which we want. Advancing groups is based upon practice ability. Not age (even though part of consideration) or by performance speed (also considered though), but on what they are capable of doing at practice. I preach that they must earn their way to the next group. Hard work is how to get there, not by just performing and not by getting older. We don't just push you through because you spent your time necessary to be moved up. There are some cases of older swimmers which I make them a deal. These deals normally incude them proving their desire for one season of hard work to move up. Many accomplish this when we make a deal, even though this is exactly what I have been asking of them the whole time. Sometimes, they move up and then they stop working like the previous season, and I recognize that I made a mistake, but there are other times that that one season of hard work leads to more seasons of hard work. That is when we have succeeded.
The next way is by playing favorites. There are many other articles talking about how playing favorites is a positive thing. I am going to explain how it helps build a culture. Our team wanted the work hard culture, so obviously then as a coach, if you play favorites to the hard workers, then you are perpetuating the culture that you want from the team. If you begin to give time to those that don't put the time and effort forth, then you send the wrong signal to the team. This could cause others to act less like the group of swimmers that you want, and you have now changed the culture in the wrong direction. At the beginning levels, a coach doesn't play favorites at all, as it is more of a learning environment. As they develop in the system and more work is asked of them to perform to the next level, then this method becomes useful. Hardest working is different than fastest swimmer. When first establishing this culture it may not be this way, but soon enough the team will grow to show that the swimmers who pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and beyond their current abilities, are also the ones that are achieving more than those who just depended on talent.
These methods are unpopular and some people are not going to like them, but they are effective ways to develop a culture for a swim team based on hard work. You are going to lose some swimmers along the way, but the hard workers stick around and eventually you end up with a team that is achieving beyond their talent. It is not about creating a champion (waiting around for the talent to come to you), but to create an environment where champions are inevitable (creating a culture of hard work which you can make champions out of those who may not have as much talent). Yes, I stole some lines from Forbes Carlisle who said, "It is not our aim to create champions, but to create an environment where champions are inevitable."
The culture of the team is a continuing battle. I work on it every season with talks and by actions I do as a coach. I haven't converted all my swimmers yet, but I have turned many of them to believe in the idea that they want to out work rather than just take the hand they have been given in terms of talent. In my position, I begin this process of teaching the culture and it is so much fun to see a kid who didn't work hard in the beginning finally decide to make that decision to put the effort in and develop their work ethic. It's as rewarding, maybe more so, than getting the great times. It's more rewarding as you know that you have developed what is needed for long term success in the sport, and the character that breeds success in general.
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