Mac is a 9-year-old boy. He speaks at the speed of light and finds it impossible to sit still and quietly. So far, he hasn’t been able to speak out loud and verbatim, the sentences he hears in his mind Read more…
Upon returning to coaching in 2014, I found out quickly how very few of my swimmers even bothered with the clock. Whether they left, accurately or not, 5 or 10 seconds behind the person ahead of them, they had no Read more…
One of the most heart-wrenching experience to have as a parent (and as a coach) at a swim meet is to see one’s child/athlete dog a race. The swimmer shows up behind the block and dives in, but his/her heart Read more…
This is the short speech I had with young swimmers and their parents after all pre-regional swim meets, to hopefully influence positively the content of the drive home. In 2016, I was coaching at a pre-regional swim meet where our Read more…
There is always a myriad of behaviors one can witness at swim meets which are caused by the lack of self-confidence. All of which result in performances that are far below the potential of the athletes. To address this and Read more…
I remember the day I understood for the first time the importance of teaching my young athletes to stand out, to be ok with being in the spotlight. Up until that day, it had never occurred to me that it Read more…
One evening, a mother arrives with her 11-year-old boy to get assessed. Due to an error in scheduling, I end up doing the assessment which consists of swimming a few lengths to determine the best group for the swimmer. After Read more…
In my most recent years of coaching, I would email a weekly report to all the families of each of the groups I coached. These reports were a way for me to engage the parents in the process their children Read more…
Kevin was a young boy of 9 years old, full of enthusiasm and energy. He had recently started swimming because his parents had been advised by their doctor that sports would help Kevin spend his extra energy and might even Read more…
I like to take this time of the year to teach our swimmers the value of standing up to earn what they want in life and that swimming isn’t like Christmas presents, you don’t get the gold medal for trying Read more…
Many young athletes often under perform when racing in a heat with one of their mates or a specific rival. Somehow, that athlete in their heat throws them off and they end up under performing. Such races are a great Read more…
As parents, it is often hard to know what to say to our athletes when they come see us after their races. Talking about whether it was a best time or not is common and easy to do because it Read more…
This is my response to a young 11-year-old swimmer who had emailed me to ask how she could qualify for the regional level (4 minutes in the 200IM) Dear Swimmer, It is great to see that you are interested in Read more…
I’m coaching a group of children between the age 8 and 11 who have recently or are really near achieving their regional standard (under 4:00 in the 200 IM). In the period when this story occurs, the focus in practice Read more…
This is a sample of the weekly email I sent to the parents of my swimmers to keep them in the loop of what we (the coaches) were doing with their children. It was not only meant to keep them Read more…
For many children competing isn’t something they look forward to or want to do. Frequently, either at an inner club mini-meets or even at regional meets, new or recent competitors end up refusing to compete. It might be that the Read more…
Race feedback to an 11-year-old boy at the regional level.
Notice how I never once mention best time. Race feedback is always about extracting the lessons of the race.
An essay written to help parents navigate a world where there is huge pressure on them to prepare their children for the future and to help them make the most out of their investments in their children.
A core story of the Universe of Champions in Life which is designed to help athletes understand the nature of self-confidence and how it is built.
A core story of the Universe of Champions in Life which is designed to help athletes make sense of their different internal states, and understand the link between their minds and body.
A core story of the Universe of Champions in Life which is designed to introduce athletes to the universal mental process taking place, when we arrive at the edge of our comfort zone.