Six Traits That Swimmers Learn Early in Life
1) Time management
Swimmers must be prioritized and organized in order to achieve academic and athletic success. By the time they reach high school swimmers are spending hours at practice each day and are in the water while other kids haven’t rolled over in bed to turn off their alarms.
2) Positive teamwork
Year around swimming means swimmers and families spend many hours together. In other sports, athletes compete for playing time and the possession of the ball which, in youngsters and even adults, can create an acrimonious environment. In swimming athletes aren’t in a direct competition with each other for playing time and are allowed space and time to develop at their own pace. Ironically, the individual nature of swimming fosters a positive environment where teammates help each other equally in celebrating the highs and are supportive during the lows.
3)
Accepting constructive criticism and coaching
From the time that kids first enter the pool they are being coached. Swimmers learn early on to accept and apply constructive criticism. Successful swimmers accept constructive instructions from coaches to help improve their technique and racing strategy.
4) Communication skills
Swimmers learn to interact and communicate with teammates, competitors, coaches, swim parents, and meet officials. These frequent interactions help swimmers develop poise and self-confidence.
5) Work ethic
Propelling oneself through water’s resistance requires continuous effort. Stop and you sink. Swimmers must continually effort to stay afloat and to swim faster, resulting in a tremendous work ethic built from hours and days and years of swimming.
6) Perseverance
Swimmers are timed every day in practices and at meets. Performance is closely watched and progress is easy to monitor and document. Personal record times can’t always be achieved and all swimmers reach a plateau for a while before continuing their development. Perseverance results from learning to handle disappointment and temporary stagnation in order to attain higher goals and success.
|