Race feedback to an 11-year-old boy at the regional level.
In this particular case, Ryan called forth a very important lesson in how subtle the process of failing on our own terms can be.
Notice how I never once mention best time. Race feedback is always about extracting some form of lesson from the race. Whether the best time was improved or not, isn’t a lesson of any kind, it’s just data.
Hello Mr. Ryan! {Enthusiastically}
It felt pretty good! (the swimmer is in italic)
You feel pretty good?
Yeah!
{Coach singing: “I feel good, so good, so good…”}
{Swimmer looking at his splits}
Darn it, I still have to go slower on the first one?
I thought I controlled myself!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
What makes you say you’ve got to go slower when you look at this?
19.68 – 21.77 – 21.30 – 22.69 (His splits)
What I say is you need to go faster on the last 25!
I thought I went fast!
Look if you keep it at 21 on the last 25, then it’s only two seconds difference between your fastest and slowest.
So Ryan, how often do you swim at that speed in practice?
My fastest?
At that speed. How often do you go, this is what, count that 50. This is 43.99 (split of second 50)
What’s the split for the first 50? (I’m asking him to add the times of his first two 25’s 19.68 – 21.77)
The first 50? Ummm {Looking at the split book}
My brain isn’t working
{Long pause while he’s calculating}
40 seconds I think?
Well exactly! I don’t want you to think, I want to know exactly what it is.
{Long pause}
41!
41 what?
Ummm…
{He giggles while twisting his T-shirt}
My brain isn’t working right now.
Let’s take a look at what you just said there.
So to do that calculation it doesn’t come easy to you. That means you need to put some effort. But you know how to add, right?
Yeah (of course coach!)
Yes so it’s not because you don’t know how.
Stay with me (Encouraging him to stay attentive even tough our conversation was becoming threatening as I was putting him on the spot)
It’s not because you don’t know how to add. But there’s a certain degree of effort that you need to put to solve this. What did your little devil just say right now?
My brain isn’t what?
Working
{Lights turning on in his face}
That is exactly the same process that happens when you are in a race. You spending the effort to calculate to add these two numbers, means you’ve gotta go outside of your comfort zone to do that addition, but you don’t do it and you say: “I don’t have to do it because my brain isn’t working right this morning”
Do you want to give it your best shot at the calculation?
Do you have a pencil?
Do it in your head buddy, you can do it, it’s not that hard. Take your time, it’s not a race, just do it!
{After a long pause of a minute}
Can I give you a tip?
Yeah! (with much relief)
Add these numbers. (19 + 21)
That’s 40
Okay now add these numbers. (68 + 77)
Umm…8 plus 7…
So I’m gonna give you another tip That is obviously more than one second, right?
It’s two seconds.
Less than two.
Is it?
Well if it was 99 plus 99 it would still be less than two, so it’s more than one second, but less than two. So the 77 here, how much do you need to get to a hundred?
A hundred minus 77?
23
So where are you gonna get that 23 from? From the 68? So 68 minus 23
Ummmmm…
Fortyyyyyy
Forty five. 41.45!
Excellent! Now looking back, was this so hard?
No, not really.
So now what did you learn while doing that calculation in that process we had together?
Are you more clear on how that voice (the little devil on our shoulder) tricks you in giving less than your best?
Yeah
It gives you explanations, justifications, reasons and it makes sense. How many people have you heard in your life saying “my brain isn’t working well”?
A lot!
Because that’s what average people do, Champions give it their best shot. (We are Champions when we continuously chose the hard way, the challenging way, versus the easy way, the get it over with way. Swimmers are always encouraged to chose what a Champion would choose.)
Alright buddy, yes!
See you tomorrow!
0 Comments