Go to a talent show. Prepare to be both impressed and disappointed. Go to a sporting event, expect the same. I hear so much about young athletes and musicians having an abundance or a lack of talent. When looking deeper, it becomes quite clear that the best performers and performances did not come from this anomaly called talent. They came from preparation. All different kinds of preparation. The difference in some early success cases comes from genetics. Maybe a 12 year old in the 50 freestyle is a foot taller than their competitors. They do not have talent, they have a longer body that is probably stronger than their fellow 12 year olds as well. At 12, they win all the time against 12 year olds. They get talked about as being a phenom or being gifted with talent. The benefit? Early success and popularity of the young competitor, coach, and parents. That spotlight is warm, it feels good to be or to have the fastest kid on the team in the house. But this does not generally last very long. Unless, of course, there is a plan to continue that involves a lot of time and energy on good ole fashion hard work and dedication. In swimming, we have full time professional coaching. Not always well executed, but it does exist. A lot of times a young swimmer will have early success prior to puberty when the body does not necessarily need to train to be the best and they will expect the success to continue. If you study swimming history you will rarely find post-pubescent success in swimmers that did not continue to add training days, hours, and intensity as they got older. As they grow accustomed to winning at the age group competitions, gaining a perspective that there is something bigger out there awaiting them will pay big dividends later in their career. To achieve this it will be very important to introduce the young successful swimmer to more and more difficult competition along the way. This is where experienced coaches thrive. They know, through experience that protecting a young talented athlete from widening their competitive horizons will prove to result in them not being able to handle defeat. They also know, through experience, that their young successful athlete will be beaten far more than they will win in their journey to become the best that they can be.
Practice under pressure!!! Seek out pressure competitions!! Welcome pressure!! Fail under pressure!! Get back up under pressure!! Thrive under pressure. Make pressure your normal!!
You will have fun while others are nervous!! How's that sound?!
What many young coaches struggle to learn is that it is not just the swimmer in the pool that will benefit from their guidance, but everyone involved in the childs success should be included in the long range plan. Mom and Dad, want their child to be successful more than anyone else. Providing the right definition of "successful" is a big part of the coaches job along the way. The word will be redefined countless times throughout a career.
Don't be the most talented, be the most prepared!!
Next.......What happens if our child is the one described above? What can we do to help and maybe more importantly: not hurt this process?
