I have come a long way since I wrote this post in Feb-22. In less than a year, my weekends are fully occupied by Sam’s swimming trainings/competitions. Concepts like time trials, qualifying criteria for nationals, reaction times, etc. were amongst the many things I googled for while waiting for Sam’s race in the bleachers. In the last year or so, while I grew in my swimming ken, Sam seamlessly moved from grumbling, resisting, fighting swimming lessons to pushing himself to do the best he could! Looking back, I now realize the specific turning points that changed the equation between Sam, Swimming and Me!
A good coach makes all the difference!
Sam’s swimming started because I was a complete tiger mom and pushed him to be in the team. Like most things in life, Sam tries anything new only because I push. But my push alone wouldn’t have helped, and if it hadn’t been for his coach, I’m sure he would have quit after some time. Coach M got assigned to him, and she was the reason for a sea change in his attitude towards swimming. She pushed him when required, motivated him when he was down, and was his loudest supporter in/outside the pool. His coaches made him believe – much more than I could. Now, not only does he like his swimming lessons, but he also proactively seeks additional practice – during vacation and camps!
Becoming independent and responsible
Discipline is a key component for competitive swimmers. His coach demanded a much higher level of independence from him. You needed 2 factors to come together to make that possible 1) Not having a helicopter mom and 2) An intrinsic desire to be organized. Luckily for us, I resisted the first successfully, and Sam had oodles of second. We journeyed from pushing/yelling to get up for practice to Sam, setting an alarm & getting up before us. After 1 incident where he was berated for an incomplete swim kit, I never had to pack his swim kit again (He got no empathy from his coach when he told him that the incomplete kit was my oversight).
You get better with stronger competition
In the last 15 months since we started competitive swimming, our yardstick to measure results evolved. Our initial competition was intrinsic – how tired he got during his rigorous training sessions (8 hours a week). He moved from a 10 on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being I’m dead-tired) to 2-3 after a couple of months. But he improved the most during his competitions. His coaches tried him in various events, and he showed persistence in his heats. We never understood how to measure his performance until Sam made us realize that getting faster time compared to his previous race was considered a sign of improvement. Being with kids stronger than him (older, bigger built, higher experience etc.) automatically gave him a higher bar to aspire to and to clearly articulate a “good performance” goal for himself – hard enough to push him but not-so-hard as to cause burnout!
Role of right equipment when competing professionally
I always believed that an athlete is 99% own effort/technique and 1%, the equipment he uses. With a wide range for swim shorts, googles, etc. (a couple of tens of dollars to a couple of hundreds of dollars) I wanted to be sure of Sam’s interest and continuity before investing in high-end equipment. But when he entered the nationals, the playing field changed, and I wanted him to have appropriate equipment. Also, he had been doing swimming for more than a year and had demonstrated the will to continue. It was only then I realized the advances in technology when it came to trunks, googles etc. and what are some best practices when it comes to selecting swim wear for competitions. I take solace in the fact that when he competed in the nationals, he was at par when it came to equipment with other swimmers and also, specialized equipment (anti fog, better fit goggles with compression based trunks) enhanced his performance.
It has been an arduous journey..
For me, my journey started filled with doubts on whether I was pushing him a lot close to burnout to being filled with pride as he fought for the millisecondth of time. Finally, irrespective of what the future holds for swimming and Sam, I remain satisfied that every breath he takes in the pool will reap rich dividends for all the breaths he takes outside the pool in future!
Sharmili's Minded Mindlessness 