By Emma Foster, Swimming World College Intern
While the first week of September typically signals the end of summer, which for the average person is tinged with a hint of dread, in a swimmer’s world this week offers a fresh start. For many swimmers the month of August represents the only multi-week break a swimmer experiences during the year. While swimmers enjoy their time out of the water, by the time September rolls around, most are itching to get back into the pool.
The beginning of the new season is exciting. College swimmers who went home for the summer reunite with their team, swimmers return to their home pool and give up process of fighting for lane space during lap swim at their local gym, and the air becomes full of possibilities. A new season offers endless potential, and a fresh start. What will you accomplish in the next six months?
While January 1 signifies to most of the population a new year, in many ways the swimming world recognizes the beginning of September as the Swimming New Year. However, simply jumping in the first day of the season isn’t going to make your goals come true. Just as someone might write New Year’s resolutions at the end of each calendar year, swimmers are given a chance to set new goals and recommit to the training before entering into the long months of training.
To ensure that your goals don’t become as fleeting as a New Year’s resolution that doesn’t make it past the second week of January, here are some things to keep in mind during the first few weeks back in the pool…
1. Set Goals
Photo Courtesy: Donna Nelson
One of the most important things to do at the beginning of any swim season is to sit down and think about what you want to accomplish. You don’t go on a road trip and expect to get anywhere without looking at a map. Set goals to map out the route you want to take. Goals can range from the big meet you want to qualify for to a specific stroke change. Effectively mapped-out goals should have a range of time-centered goals complemented by stroke and attitude-specific goals that will help you get there.
After you spend some time plotting out what you want to accomplish in the coming season, share your goals with someone. Your coaches and teammates are all invested in your success, and telling them your goals so that they can help hold you accountable is crucial to ensuring you stay on the path of progress.
Sometimes this is hard. Human nature seems to be such that sharing such personal goals can be difficult, and sometimes swimmers want to keep them close to their hearts.
Resist this urge. Your goals are nothing to be ashamed of. Even if the goal you are reaching for seems far out of your grasp, that is no reason to pretend you don’t want it. It’s okay to have big goals. Big goals raise the bar, and having your teammates and coaches support you along the way is one step in making those big goals a reality and will serve as inspiration to work hard to achieve them.
2. Get in Shape
Photo Courtesy: Huffington Post
Chances are you are entering the season in less than prime shape. That’s what happens when you take a few weeks off, and that’s okay. However, the break is over and now it is time to kick it back into gear. That means getting back into shape, and in the first few weeks back that means doing whatever it takes to make that happen.
While swimming is going to be the primary method to get you into shape, if you are truly motivated, you can go beyond the laps you are doing in the pool. Throwing in some cross training (that won’t result in injury) in the first few weeks of the season is a great way to jumpstart getting into great shape. Some extra cardio in the form of a run or a cycle, an extra 15 minutes of abs, or a couple of circuits in the weight room are all great ideas to help your body get back into prime condition. Chances are your coach will be taking advantage of some of these methods in the form of dryland.
3. Don’t Get Frustrated
In the first few days back in the water after a multi-week break your body is going to feel weird. This is normal. After being out of the water for an extended period of time, you are going to need a few days to get your feel back.
The most important thing to do when your body is trying to figure out how to swim again is to resist getting frustrated. The more frustrated you are, the more tense you will be in the water, and the harder it will be to get your feel back. As counterintuitive as it might feel, taking a deep breath and letting yourself relax is the best way to get back to feeling like the fish you are in the water.
Remember that while it may be uncomfortable to feel awkward in the water, this also offers a chance to get some real stroke work done. Focusing on details as you are getting back into shape will allow you to override muscle memory more easily than after getting back in the groove of doing it incorrectly.
Take the opportunity to think about your stroke and make some significant changes that will carry into the rest of the season.
4. Recommit
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports Images
After some time out of the water, you come back to the sport with a refreshed mind, as well as a refreshed body. Take advantage of this time and recommit to the sport. Remember why you started swimming in the first place. Whether it was the team aspect, the feel of the water, or the chance to chase your goals, look around and recommit to your goals in the sport.
This commitment is important, because when the cold, dark months of year hit, it’s crucial to have already committed to the training. If you sit down in September and make the choice to dedicate yourself, you don’t have to worry about making that choice again some early morning in January. You’ve already made your decision, and you won’t be stuck debating the pros of staying in your warm bed versus heading to practice.
By recommitting at the start of the season, you are making a choice to be dedicated to the process so that in later months you don’t even have to think about the small details that keep you striving for your goals.
5. Enjoy It
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The most important thing to do in the transition back to the pool is to enjoy what you are doing. Preseason might be difficult and your body might hurt everywhere, but remember that this is a good kind of pain. It signals that you are getting better, and that’s a pretty unique opportunity. Hard work can be painful, but it also feels really good, and when you eventually reach your goals, all of that hard work you put in makes the victory feel even sweeter.
So even as you’re slogging through set after set, take a second to smile to yourself and your teammates and remember why you’re all here. Ahead of you is a brand new season full of opportunity.
Happy New Year!
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Happy Swimming New Year!!!To Colleen Walpole Suarez, Jennifer Mauck, Janet VanderMeer, CinKel Smith, Karen Hadley Sites, Wendy Dominy Dalton, Leigh Gillett, Jennifer Girardi Mayer, Beki Meade Etheridge, Alexis McCrory 😉
And Happy Driving to all the Moms! hehe
See you soon!!! 🙂
Yea!! Happy Swimming New Year!
Elif Kuscu 🙂
Happy swimming new year , hope it’s a great year!