Today, two girls from another team walked by at our Championship meet. The relays, placed at the beginning of the meet, were over.
“Did you try?” one said to the other, her mouth covered partially by the towel in her hand and her smile curled up on one side of her mouth.
The teammate nodded ‘no’ with her eyes. Quiet smirks, and they shuffled off. They will claim sickness or some other issue to their coach. To their parent, they will act aloof or sick.
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Yesterday, one guy hanging around our pool commented about his friends in the water, “I’m glad I don’t swim”.
I said, “why?” I was concerned, because he was brash enough to talk at his friends from the outside looking in, at my practice. "C'mon Johnny" he called to his friend, our T2 athlete, from the sidelines. Typical kid who certainly could be great at something but he's not interested in swimming that's for sure.
Silence.
I said, “I’ve been all over the world, and swimming is the reason. These guys can do it too.”
I don’t think he saw my viewpoint!
I remember coaching a girl in 2004 who had a shot to make the Olympic Team….but when you train at a facility where people in jean shorts are smoking unfiltered cigs and packing nasty dips, the Olympics are the furthest thing from anyone’s reality. We had to be in the Olympics every day to make it real, so we went there in our minds.
This athlete was training hard in the middle of the pool as scraggly 15 year old boys threw a tired Nerf football over her. The smell of cooking meat wafted our way each time the wind brushed past our lanes.
The swimmer raced while I yelled and pushed her. People looked on in shock. The set went well, I think we got a 53.3 75 Meter Breaststroke to finish the set. Not bad for a 14 year old girl.
Afterwards, with the athlete in the gutter gasping for breath, the young football dude spoke up: “what are you guys training for the Olympics or something??”
Yep. We are. Within a year, that girl became the best female IMer on the planet. Two more years, and she became the best female IM swimmer in the history of the planet.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It’s the proud among us who continue to fight. We fight against mediocrity. We don’t say things are hard, we say things are a “challenge”. We enjoy the process and expect that behind every loss is a future win.
We are proud of making what others call sacrifices. To us, sacrifices are for people who are leaving something better on the table. To those of us who are proud, sacrifices don't exist. It's either right or not right. It's either a step forward or a step backwards. Sacrificing is too emotional for true champions. A true champion's heart is so steady it can't be pulled in two different directions.
We are not duped by those who have small minds and small goals -- those going along towards their empty reservoir of mediocrity. If led by these people or ideas, we would have stopped long before reaching this point of inflection that we are within right now.
And what point is that, exactly? Where are we going?
We are at the point where we need to make a decision. Are we ready to act like big people while we are young? Are we ready to be champions? Can we see ourselves becoming a 20 year old, and at 17 act like we are almost 20 instead of recently 13?
Many act like that 9 year old, the baby of the family, who is still 9 even on his 12th birthday. Everyone is susceptible to getting stuck in the mud of time. Notice this, if it's happening. You are weak if allowed to be weak -- unless you are a champion!
Champions act like champions before victory. True champions don’t have to have a scoreboard, or a coach, or a parent, or a teammate tell them that they are the real deal.
Champions are the real deal when they are 10 years old, and they know it. They are too young young to have been talked into mediocrity by their friends, parents, or coaches.
Young champions spend their teenage years listening only to people who believe in them. If someone doesn’t believe in them, they cast those people aside. They follow only those leaders who are strong and unwavering. They know in their heart they are great and they fight against those forces attempting to squelch their greatness.
Champions are not afraid to be different. And they will not be denied. Their quest isn’t over until they say it’s over.
Because a champion, in the end, only cares about getting a fat heavy medal dropped around their neck.
“Did you try?” one said to the other, her mouth covered partially by the towel in her hand and her smile curled up on one side of her mouth.
The teammate nodded ‘no’ with her eyes. Quiet smirks, and they shuffled off. They will claim sickness or some other issue to their coach. To their parent, they will act aloof or sick.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Yesterday, one guy hanging around our pool commented about his friends in the water, “I’m glad I don’t swim”.
I said, “why?” I was concerned, because he was brash enough to talk at his friends from the outside looking in, at my practice. "C'mon Johnny" he called to his friend, our T2 athlete, from the sidelines. Typical kid who certainly could be great at something but he's not interested in swimming that's for sure.
Silence.
I said, “I’ve been all over the world, and swimming is the reason. These guys can do it too.”
I don’t think he saw my viewpoint!
I remember coaching a girl in 2004 who had a shot to make the Olympic Team….but when you train at a facility where people in jean shorts are smoking unfiltered cigs and packing nasty dips, the Olympics are the furthest thing from anyone’s reality. We had to be in the Olympics every day to make it real, so we went there in our minds.
This athlete was training hard in the middle of the pool as scraggly 15 year old boys threw a tired Nerf football over her. The smell of cooking meat wafted our way each time the wind brushed past our lanes.
The swimmer raced while I yelled and pushed her. People looked on in shock. The set went well, I think we got a 53.3 75 Meter Breaststroke to finish the set. Not bad for a 14 year old girl.
Afterwards, with the athlete in the gutter gasping for breath, the young football dude spoke up: “what are you guys training for the Olympics or something??”
Yep. We are. Within a year, that girl became the best female IMer on the planet. Two more years, and she became the best female IM swimmer in the history of the planet.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It’s the proud among us who continue to fight. We fight against mediocrity. We don’t say things are hard, we say things are a “challenge”. We enjoy the process and expect that behind every loss is a future win.
We are proud of making what others call sacrifices. To us, sacrifices are for people who are leaving something better on the table. To those of us who are proud, sacrifices don't exist. It's either right or not right. It's either a step forward or a step backwards. Sacrificing is too emotional for true champions. A true champion's heart is so steady it can't be pulled in two different directions.
We are not duped by those who have small minds and small goals -- those going along towards their empty reservoir of mediocrity. If led by these people or ideas, we would have stopped long before reaching this point of inflection that we are within right now.
And what point is that, exactly? Where are we going?
We are at the point where we need to make a decision. Are we ready to act like big people while we are young? Are we ready to be champions? Can we see ourselves becoming a 20 year old, and at 17 act like we are almost 20 instead of recently 13?
Many act like that 9 year old, the baby of the family, who is still 9 even on his 12th birthday. Everyone is susceptible to getting stuck in the mud of time. Notice this, if it's happening. You are weak if allowed to be weak -- unless you are a champion!
Champions act like champions before victory. True champions don’t have to have a scoreboard, or a coach, or a parent, or a teammate tell them that they are the real deal.
Champions are the real deal when they are 10 years old, and they know it. They are too young young to have been talked into mediocrity by their friends, parents, or coaches.
Young champions spend their teenage years listening only to people who believe in them. If someone doesn’t believe in them, they cast those people aside. They follow only those leaders who are strong and unwavering. They know in their heart they are great and they fight against those forces attempting to squelch their greatness.
Champions are not afraid to be different. And they will not be denied. Their quest isn’t over until they say it’s over.
Because a champion, in the end, only cares about getting a fat heavy medal dropped around their neck.
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