Blog for the swimmer

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

  Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Although this poem has been read many times, it remains a great poem that many use to teach a great lesson. How does this apply to you the athlete, you the swimmer.

Many people are active in the sport, and only go through the routine of a swimmer, this being the path that many have traveled and there are many great things about this path, but there is another path that is what I try to get swimmers to first see, and then choose to go down on their own behalf.


This other path includes many aspects to it, and I will include them below:
Have Pride in yourself: I learned this a little late, but I learned it never the less. It is the pride that can be taken from putting forth great effort. Despite the result, there is great pride in the knowledge that you put everything in to what you put your mind to. In the case of swimmer, that is putting forth a great effort at every practice and every meet. Again it is not the result that ends up giving you the pride, it becomes the effort that you put forth. This applies to all pursuits in life.


Respect your competition: If you respect the fact that your competition works hard and puts a great deal of time into succeeding, then it gives you drive to do the same. If you don't respect your competition you can lack some of this motivation. This is why good sportsmanship is a great value to have, as when you treat the opponent kindly and humbly, then you begin to develop respect for what they do, and what can help push you even farther.


Respect your Parents: If you are in swimming, then your parents care quite a bit about you because it is quite a time consuming and expensive activity. You may think they are crazy and over-bearing, or they are the parents that seem like they are dis-interested because they allowing your coach to provide the leadership. Either way they are the people in your life who love you unconditionally (no matter what), and believe me, if they didn't, you wouldn't be given the opportunity to swim on a USA Swim Team.


Respect your teammates: Your teammates are the ones who can help be a tape measure for you. A teammate who is slower than you is beginning to beat you at practice, it is only time before they catch your times at meets. If you you use your teammate as motivation you begin to work harder at practice to stay in front. The slower swimmer attends practice to strive to swim at the level of a teammate, so they work hard to catch them, thus helping them work harder. You are teammates, help each other become the best that you can all be. Cheer for them at meets, as they get faster that means you have a faster training partner which can ultimately help you down the line.


Represent your team: Understand that every performance and every action is a reflection of the team. If a swimmer doesn't try on an event, they represent the team badly, and these bad efforts become a cancer to a team. Don't be the cancer. Act appropriately, even the use of a bad word, or negative self-talk can become contagious. Don't be the bad seed to a good team, and begin to tear it down from the inside. Try to be the great representative that promotes character, pride, respect, and work ethic that your team is trying to create as a culture.


Sure you can go down the path of many and just participate in the sport, or you can go down the path less traveled of being a great person and representative of what there is in swimming. I talk about challenges all the time. Here is the challenge swimmers, go down the path less traveled. It isn't the easiest path, but it is the path to the most successful swim career.