All swim coaches
deal with kids who “drop in and out” of full intention. It never ends. What
makes the sport so interesting is that the personalities continue to change. As
new kids come on board the way to “get to them” must change. This is what makes
coaches standout. Are they able to communicate in a way that is honest while
still being able to keep the listener tuned in?
Ken is
particularly good at this. The names of the swimmer and school have been
changed “to protect the innocent”!
Hi Spencer
First off I do appreciate your wanting to own your
swimming and behavior.... This is why you are no doubt my favorite swimmer!
With that in mind I will keep these thoughts between you, me and Don. I am
going to be frank with you as that is the best way for you to get where I am
coming from.
Please do not try to curb your humor...I love it! It is
part of who you are and it can add so much to what we are doing. You can be
funny and a fine swimmer at the same time.
Now onto swimming; as Don stated at one meeting we had,
he and I take our swimming very seriously, but we don't take ourselves that seriously.
We expect our swimmers to do the same.
We coach our club team that is full of swimmers who have
this mentality. There are lots of smiles and laughter along with a ton of focus
and intense training. This is what inspires me to continue to coach as if I
ever felt we were less than that as a group I would look elsewhere to do
something that inspired me. Those in the NBA senior group who are looking to
cut corners and not add to the team with their efforts are talked to and
sometimes moved to a different group that more fits their idea of how much they
want to put into it. It is not a crime to want to dabble at this sport; it is
just not how I am wired nor is Don wired that way
Coaching Monson is interesting in that my sense is that
many in the group, given a choice would like to dabble...work not too
diligently...have a bit of fun...not worry too much about it. Don and I have no
interest in that type of set up. The culture that was Monson swimming before we
started coaching the team was very much that way. As an example sun tanning was
part of the practice on a nice day. It has taken us nearly 3 seasons to change
the culture and truthfully we are not quite there yet. We still have some who
have been in the group who are doing as little as possible. We are making sure
those moving into the program or will be there for the next couple of years do
not have that mindset, which is where you come in.
You are ending your first season with us. I am looking at
all our freshman and sophomores and assessing what they do at practice and what
they bring to the team. Are they hard workers interested in getting better? Or
are they content to not be the best they can be given the limited time they put
into the activity? Again I don't really care that much about how fast someone is
I only care about the process in which they approach what we do.
Many of the freshman and sophomores have proven to me
their commitment to the team and I will coach them like I do my national level
swimmers as they have earned that benefit (and yes it is a benefit). Truthfully
Spencer, the jury is still out on you. It is hard for me to tell whether you
are all in or not...you have been injured a bit...the aerobics of the group you
have had a difficult time embracing, so your improvement is not what it could/
should be. This is my opinion and believe it or not I am pretty good in
assessing what I see in practice.
Interestingly enough after your crash landing dive that
came the very day I gave the "talk" and got me to tell you don't do
that again, your next dive was done with much more focus. I could see it on
your face. It is also interesting to
note that the others on the team saw that I wasn't pleased with what I
considered less than your best on what we were doing. They saw that there was a
line that shouldn’t be crossed and they are smart enough not to. We did more
dives yesterday and all who were there were on point....we improved as a team
while still having fun, and isn't that what this is all about?
Again none of this is a reflection on you Spencer as a
person. He is a totally cool guy I am happy to know. This is about Spencer the
guy on the swim team and what he is adding to what we do. There are certainly
others I am targeting as well to add more...you are not being singled out.
So now that I have written a novel, can I get you to
really do your best over these last few weeks...to see how much you can learn
and improve? I don't know much in this world but one thing I am really good at
is knowing when people in swimming pools are doing less than they are capable
of....be one of the ones who does their best....excellence is always a good
thing
See you at the pool!
Ken
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