John’s Philosophy:
I love the sport of swimming and all that it has to offer. The fact
that it is one of the most demanding sports only strengthens my
love for it and plays a significant role in my philosophy in
leading the young swimmers of the world.
TEAM – First and foremost, ever since I began my coaching
career, I have believed that swimming is not an individual sport at
all. In order to succeed to one’s potential; they must
believe in the TEAM approach and learn to be supportive of their
teammates. From that point I believe in leading in a way in which
swimmers learn to take ownership of their swimming. Coaches are
there to guide them, support athletes in their quest for growth,
but the athletes must decide what they want from their pursuit.
That is as much in swimming as it is in life. In my opinion there
are two major things that swimmers should get out of this
sport.
1.Life long Memories – The experience that is gathered from
the sport will often times lead to the strongest friendships and
best memories. The memories come from the process, the day-today
experiences that lead to those memories. Swimming is too tough a
sport to not focus on making it fun as well.
2. Life Lessons – This is what the sport comes down to in the
end. When the workouts are all over and the racing suits hung up,
what the swimmer’s have left are the life lessons learned
through this sport. Those lessons will take them far in whatever
their pursuits are in life.
a.Work ethic – There is no way around it, swimming is a
demanding sport. The attempt here is to teach swimmers to enjoy the
process of hard work and the rewarding feeling when they accomplish
something that they didn’t think they could.
b.Confidence – Once these swimmers have learned to push
themselves to new levels, they will also build confidence that they
can accomplish anything. Self-confidence will be a crucial
component in succeeding.
c.Commitment – Swimming demands a level of commitment far
beyond most sports. The great thing about commitment isn’t
just learning to make sacrifices, but rather believing in your
commitments enough to not feel that you are making sacrifices.
d.Goal Orientation – You don’t achieve great things
without knowing what it is you want to achieve. Swimming teaches
each individual the value of setting goals and learning how to then
set the path needed to be taken in order to achieve those
goals.
e.Time management – Only when athletes are challenged by
their schedules will they learn to manage their time well. All too
often people will waste time when they have time to waste. Swimming
forces these athletes to be sure they manage expectations of school
and swimming, and then fit their social lives in as well.
f.Adaptability – Learning how to take instruction and then
change something that has become habit is needed to excel in
swimming. This same approach is good for us all to remember as we
grow and advance in our careers. Improvement and progress within
our focused efforts is what keeps a drive within us. Developing
young adults will be the main focus of my coaching.
Teaching them good sportsmanship will enable them to learn to work
as a team moving forward in their lives. The key then is the
consistency in which these athletes are able to learn each of these
values. The more a swimmer can foster these values within
themselves, the process of learning the sport of swimming becomes
the easy part.
With all of that in mind, then comes the drive to succeed. I am led
by a sense of competition as strong as any other, but I believe
that things can be both fun and competitive.
You can have a fantastic TEAM environment surrounding a very
competitive environment. While it takes focus and commitment from
the leadership, I will strive to take these athletes to the highest
competitive level and have fun in the process.
|