Thoughts from the Head Coach

"Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. " ~Mary Anne Radmacher

   Part of the swim experience is learning the value of courage.  Courage is the greatest of all virtues in swimming and in life.  To learn how to be courageous in defeat and victory is a gift that the swim experience can provide. You know it isn't always about having best times.  Sometimes it is about enduring the peaks and valleys of training. It takes courage to be present everyday at practice.  Courage to work hard (really work hard),. It takes courage to progress.  Courage to learn new things. Courage to stand up behind the blocks, and to expose yourself to an audience with an expectation  to perform your best. Let's be real here;  most people won't even put on a suit and get in the water for fear of what others may say or think of their body.  It takes even more courage to stumble, fail, make a mistake, and get up and go on.  It takes  courage to take personal responsibility  for your actions or your inactions leading up to a poor performance. It takes more courage to examine oneself and work harder to improve.  It takes courage to swim 1500-13,000 yards in a day depending on your skill level.  It takes courage to endure.....be patient.....trust.....and survive the micro or macro-cycles of the sport.

   In my 20 years of coaching, I have seen many inspiring and courageous acts by young swimmers. The most courageous are those who endure and progress through good times and bad.  My best memories are not of those who had the best swims, but of those who persevered.Those who stick with the team and the program. USA Swimming is a powerful sport.  It offers the best in life lessons.  I am honored to be a coach and be a mentor to the next generation of courageous young men and women

If they learn how to be COURAGEOUS in the effort, then I have done my job.

Coach Dia