For many athletes, conditions have to be nearly perfect in order to perform at a high level. More than a physiological dynamic, it seems to me that these athletes seem constrained by a psychological paradigm (read "thought pattern") that limits their performances. Is it a lack of imagination? Is it a lack of confidence? Or is it an acquired mentality that's rooted in years of self-statements (e.g., "I'm tired so I can't swim fast") that ultimately end up crippling the individual. Researchers and educators have long recognized the link between the quality of a person's self-statements and the person's consequential behavior and success level. The research is very clear that our self-talk has great power over our present and future success. One's attitude, it seems plays a large part in determining one's altitude.
Over the past 3 weeks, Denison swimmers have been exposed to some of the most challeging training that we've ever thrown at our athletes during the past 20 years. Ten workouts per week, very challenging strength development sessions, and heavy aerobic work have been the rule during the past 21 days. It's been grueling in many ways. Yet, despite all the hard work, junior John Geissinger posted some of the fastest unshaved splits we've ever seen ... 20.47 (50 FS) and 45.30 (100 FS) ... at this weekend's NCAC Relay Meet in Gambier. To put in John's swims in perspective, these times are within only a half of a stroke in the 50 and a full stroke or two of his very best times (19.9 and 43.5) that were posted at last year's NCAA Championships. Under "normal" circumstances, one wouldn't "expect" to see these kind of times until much later in the season.
What makes these performances most impressive is that it was only 6 short weeks ago that John and I had a long discussion about the power of these paradigms and their influence on our performances. In our talk, it was clear that John was being held captive by a paradigm that suggested to him that the only way to swim fast was to be rested, shaved, and emotionally primed for a big swim. Yesterday's performances suggest that John is on his way to developing a new paradigm that, ultimately, will empower him to a new and faster level of swimming.
But let's be clear about one thing ... a great "can-do, my time is coming" attitude needs to be coupled with a strong work ethic. A good attitude alone can't cover for poor physical preparation. To be sure, a "I'll swim fast" attitude is an empty cup if it isn't filled with the willingness to prepare at a level that's consistent with one's aspirations.
John's decision ... and, yes, I believe it was a conscious decision to pursue a different way to look at his swimming ... to feed his fast wolf is paying big dividends already. I'm excited to see where it takes him.
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