Egyptians

We are taking a chance here, dancing with political correctness while simultaneously using a colloquialism to make a point. We apologize in advance but feel compelled to write anyway.

Our high school season just ended here in California with the first ever State Championship Meet. Now it is on to long course season…which is a conundrum in and of itself since there isn’t anything long about this summer season of ours here in the west. We have maybe 10 weeks to train, rest and race…nothing long about that. But we digress.

At the end of any cycle there is time for reflection, an opportunity to see what went right and what didn’t. It is at this time you find out who on your team is an Egyptian, the one(s) living in de Nile. Someone famous once said, “It is nearly impossible to get through the day without a rationalization.” We have found this to be true.

And it is especially true when an athlete is reconciling her/his season with the actual outcome. Swimming is brutally honest. You either made the cut or you didn’t. You either made a final or you didn’t. You either made the travel team or you didn’t. This process toughens you up for life.

You either got the job or you didn’t. You either got the promotion or you didn’t. You either got the raise or you didn’t. You either made the sale or you didn’t.

Yet, when we miss, one frequent tendency is to rationalize. We coaches think this is when you find out who is living in denial…who your Egyptians are. One of the very best things about our sport is that each and every and in fact any athlete can “fix” what is “broken”…it isn’t terribly difficult. What is most challenging is making the choice.

First however, you must be willing to accept personal accountability for the choice you make. Our position is that you cannot do that if you are living in that big river in Egypt.