For swimming, it’s the season of new coaches, new teams, new age groups, new teammates, new expectations and goals. Especially when an athlete is on a new team (perhaps Freshman in college or High School), or it’s the same team but a new coach. In either circumstance there is a temptation to blame.
70 years ago, W. Clement Stone invented a formula that has seen a resurgence since 2000: E + R = O
EVENTS will happen in our lives
Our RESPONSE can turn any event into something positive (or negative) and our response is completely under our control.
OUTCOMES are not inevitable.
I’m working with a couple of teams that have new coaches this season. Starting on the right path is crucial. No blame allowed. Take ownership of your response. Sure it’s new, it’s different, it feels uncomfortable, but an athlete’s response is completely within their control. Choose wisely!
When things don’t go well for an athlete; when an athlete has a plan and the plan doesn’t materialize, there will be a tendency to blame the new coach. But blame is the language of defeat and discouragement. Personal accountability (which is what E+R=O is about) means taking responsibility for your actions, your words, your attitude and with whom you choose to associate.
When an athlete starts blaming, redirect them with a question:
“What are you upset/disappointed/frustrated about?” It’s easier to blow it off, tell them to just get at it, say: “It’ll be alright,” and then move on. A longer-lasting, trust-building response will bring more benefits. The Coach-Athlete relationship is one of the three key components for a champion. A simple question can help built it.
It has nothing to do with the new team, the new coach, the new age group. It has everything to do with the individual athlete’s choices. Helping an athlete admit it and own it rather than seek to blame something or someone outside of their control is the pathway to peak performance.
Congratulations to the Mason Manta Rays, Coach Ken Heis and athletes Jake Foster, Carson Foster, and Adam Chaney on a fantastic Junior Pan Pac Championships in Fiji. More to come from them.
Olympic Trials: I’m starting to coach an Olympic Trials marathon qualifier, to get this person ready for February in Atlanta. I’ll keep you updated.