And The Winner Is…

2016 Olympic Trials begin this Sunday. Over the next 8 days swimmers will be selected to the 2016 US Olympic Team based upon their performance at the Trials. Times swum previously do not count in the selection process. In the individual events only the fastest two times – swum in the Finals – are considered. Prelim times and entry times are just that – history. Here is a look at the favorites based upon the psych sheet in the order these events will be contested at Trials.

MEN 400 IM: TYLER CLARY, CHASE KALISZ

WOMEN 100 FLY: DANA VOLLMER, KELSI WORRELL

MEN 400 FREE: CONNOR JAGER, ZANE GROTHE

WOMEN 400 IM: MAYA DIRADO, ELIZABETH BEISEL

MEN 100 BREAST: CODY MILLER, NIC FINK

WOMEN 100 BACK:  NATALIE COUGHLIN, MISSY FRANKLIN

MEN 200 FREE: RYAN LOCHTE, CONOR DWYER

WOMEN 100 BREAST: KATIE MEILI, LILLY KING

MEN 100 BACK: DAVID PLUMMER, MATT GREVERS

WOMEN 400 FREE: KATIE LEDECKY, LEAH SMITH

WOMEN 200 FREE: KATIE LEDECKY, MISSY FRANKLIN

MEN 200 FLY: MICHAEL PHELPS, JACK CONGER

WOMEN 200 IM: MAYA DIRADO, MELANIE MARGALIS

MEN 100 FREE: NATHAN ADRIAN, MICHAEL PHELPS

WOMEN 200 FLY: CAMMILE ADAMS, KATIE MCLAUGHLIN

MEN 200 BREAST: KEVIN CORDES, JOSH PRENOT

WOMEN 100 FREE: SIMONE MANUEL, MISSY FRANKLIN

MEN 200 BACK: TYLER CLARY, RYAN MURPHY

WOMEN 200 BREAST: MICAH LAWRENCE, LAURA SOGAR

MEN 200 IM: MICHAEL PHELPS, RYAN LOTCHE

MEN 50 FREE: NATHAN ADRIAN, CAELEB DRESSEL

WOMEN 800 FREE: KATIE LEDECKY, BECCA MANN

MEN 100 FLY: MICHAEL PHELPS, TOM SHIELDS

WOMEN 200 BACK: MISSY FRANKLIN, MAYA DIRADO

WOMEN 50 FREE: MADISON KENNEDY, SIMONE MANUEL

MENS 1500 FREE: CONNOR JAEGER, JORDAN WILIMOVSKY

At the end of the meet some of these names will be on the 2016 Team. Others will not, having been replaced by those not yet considered to be a favorite. And that is precisely why the meet is held…entry times are only a statement of previous behavior. While that can be viewed as an indicator, possibly even a predictor of future performance we know that it is not 100% a guarantee of anything. There are always a few who make the team that no one is seriously considering today. Conversely there are a few who are favored who will fall short…by a little or a lot.

Think for a moment about the lead the Warriors had after 4 games. They were up 3 games to 1. Cleveland was down 3 to 1 and had to swim 3 in a row, 2 of them on the road. No team had ever done that before…but now one team has done it.

Omaha will have several similar stories on Monday, July 4^th.

(see the entire entry list on the USA Swimming website…great reading!)

This Is Your Swimming

So a horse walks into the bar, sits down and the bartender comes over and says, “So why the long face?”

Think about the challenge in this way; the distance between expectations and reality is disappointment. Our sport relies so heavily on personal responsibility. That is one of several things that make it so compelling. You don’t rely on anyone to throw you the ball so you can score. No one else’s fumble costs you the victory.

Your swimming is all about you and your willingness to accept this fact…it is you.

When your expectations don’t mesh with your reality the gap is measured in disappointment. Want less disappointment, then either change your expectations or your reality.

A word of caution…discouragement means literally lack of courage. Few competitive swimmers lack courage. What most lack, at some point in their development, is the understanding about the direct connection between input and output. This is the personal responsibility angle.

Our greatest power in life is the power to choose. And with that power comes the responsibility to be 100% accountable to ourselves for our progress or lack thereof.

The long face we see at swim meets comes more often than not from the gap between a swimmer’s expectation and her/his reality; the bigger the gap the longer the face.

So you decide what you want – expectations – and what your reality is – your training, it’s frequency and consistency; your racing, how often and intense; your maturity – how you roll with the ups and downs of this sport…and then you own your swimming.

The choice is yours. How wonderful that is. No winner would want it any other way. I choose. I work. I get the reward…sometimes sooner, other times later, but I get it.

Coaches, parents and teammates are here to assist…in the end it is you who gets the credit…and we like that relationship a whole lot.

Klay Thompson and Flow

All the great ones know about flow…and so do you. Every competitive swimmer has had the magical race. That race is characterized by how easy it feels and how fast it is; how when you finish you are aware of your effort but not devastated by it; and how it seems that you could go even faster.

It is a blessing and a curse. The blessing part is easy to understand. The curse is that many swimmers keep “looking” for that “magic” to show up and get very disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

But you have had the magic in workouts pretty often so long as you totally immerse yourself in the repeat, even just the lap you are on at that specific moment. That total “being present” is so critical…why? Specifically you are being non-judgmental and thus getting out of your own way. You are just doing, just being – in the moment.

Flow comes when the risk is great and the mind is empty, when you are simply focusing on the doing part.

Klay Thompson is an NBA All Star who plays for the Golden State Warriors. In Game 6 of the recent series against Oklahoma (which the Warriors won by winning 3 consecutive elimination games – talk about risk!) Thompson went “off” scoring at will essentially carrying his team into Game 7. This from Thompson about his performance in that 7 game series:

“Believe it or not, I really don’t think about our accomplishments. You’ve just got to go out there, and if you play focused and you play your hardest, that’s all you can do for yourself.”

When he takes a shot he is not thinking about whether or not it will go in and what happens if it does or doesn’t go in. He is simply shooting. And when he misses (they all miss more than they make!) he moves to the next play staying focused and playing his hardest…might be time for you to channel a little – or big – part of his game into yours.