Kaitlyn Crouthamel - (Author)

Motivational Monday: Positive Affirmations for Swimmers Breathe in, breathe out. The moment has arrived. All swimmers know the feeling of having a big race in front of them. You stand behind the blocks, anxiously adjusting your cap and goggles. You count down the heats in front of you until it’s fin...

3 Key Features of a Successful Coach-Athlete Relationship As swimmers, our coaches are our backbone. They teach us the ways of the water and how to move through it as quickly as we can. They are there to give us high-fives when we have a good race, and they are a shoulder to cry on when we have a ba...

Motivational Monday: 20 Quotes to Provide Inspiration and Help You Through Tough Times In the sport of swimming, setbacks are inevitable. We miss qualifying times, fail to hit that personal best we were aiming for, and have bad days at practice. There’s no question that these things will happen to a...

Motivational Monday: Why Do We Do Embrace The Sport of Swimming? There Are Good Reasons Why?  It’s a simple word with a deep meaning. Others may say it to us, and we may say it to ourselves. In the sport of swimming, we are constantly surrounded by the word, “why.”  First, there’s the “why” question...

Motivational Monday: Evaluating Your Recently Completed Season; How to Learn Ah, yes. The offseason. For many athletes, this time of year could mean multiple months without organized training. For swimmers, however, the offseason picture is painted much differently. Upon the conclusion of the short ...

The Georgetown men and Villanova women came out on top of the Big East Conference Championships last weekend in Indianapolis. The Hoyas put up a dominant 859.5 points, nearly 100 more than second place Xavier, for their third consecutive conference title. The Wildcats produced 1482.5 points, just e....

Liberty Women, SMU Men Secure Inaugural Atlantic Sun Conference Crowns The inaugural Atlantic Sun Conference Championships concluded Saturday night, with the Liberty women and Southern Methodist men being crowned champions. The Flames racked up 897.5 points, followed by Queens University of Charlott...

Wellness Wednesday: How Exercise Such as Swimming Connects Mental and Physical Health Exercise is known to build muscle, endurance, and increase overall physical health. What many people forget, however, is the mental benefit that daily exercise can have. Even movement as simple as going for a short...

It’s Ok to Not Be Ok: Breaking the Stigma around Athletes’ Mental Health As swimmers, we are taught from a very young age to work hard and persevere. After a bad race, we’re told to shake it off and move on. During tough sets, we are wired to keep pushing through the pain. Sometimes, it’s easy to k....

Wellness Wednesday: As Tennis Star Novak Djokovic Notes, There Is a Connection Between Mental Toughness and Success Anyone familiar with tennis or tuned in to the ongoing Australian Open in Melbourne knows Novak Djokovic is the definition of a legend. The Serbian tennis star is ranked No. 1 in the w...

Motivational Monday: No Reason to Wait - Put in the Work Now! “I’ll start it in the New Year.” “Sounds like a great New Year’s resolution.” “I’ll worry about it when the New Year comes along.” ‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions! We have arrived at the time of year where many people establish...

Wellness Wednesday: 5 Excellent Recovery Drinks; Which Is Your Favorite (Take Poll) Many swimmers look at pre-practice nutrition as extremely important. You don’t want to eat so much that you feel sluggish or crampy during a workout, but you also need to make sure that you’re consuming enough calori...

Motivational Monday: Don't Overlook the Little Things That Matter It’s that time of year again. Early November has a tendency to be dreaded by swimmers. Training is ramped up, and meets are out in full force. The holidays are approaching, and for swimmers, this means painful sets. You’re sore, tired...

Motivational Monday: How to Set Goals in An Achievable Way (Example Included) It’s the end of a long practice. I’m out of breath, my cheeks are red hot, and my arms feel like spaghetti noodles. I look at the clock to see I only have a few seconds until the next rep. Everything hurts, and it feels li...

Motivational Monday: How Practicing Mindfulness Can Benefit Swimmers In today’s society, more and more athletes are willing to speak out against the stigma surrounding their mental health. From gymnast Simone Biles to swimmer Caeleb Dressel, the topic is becoming more widely spoken about. In a sport...

Motivational Monday: Early in the Season, There's Importance to Trusting the Process Ah, October. There’s a chill in the air. You break out your stash of flannels and cozy sweatshirts. Green leaves turn red and orange. Stores are selling pumpkin spice-flavored everything. For swimmers, the meaning o...

Motivational Monday: Putting Pen to Paper - The Benefits of Keeping a Journal Have you ever written in a journal? Many of us kept diaries as kids, writing down our deepest and darkest secrets. While the concept may seem youthful, journaling can be extremely beneficial for one’s mental health. By wri...

Motivational Monday: 5 Books That Provide Inspiration In the Search For Success Movies, songs, affirmations. There is a plethora of options when it comes to sources of motivation for swimmers. Yet another addition to this list is books! Words are a fantastic option when it comes to ways to be inspi....

Visualization Is a Great Option to Prepare For Races - and Promote Success It’s sometimes difficult to mentally prepare for big races. In fact, those final few moments spent standing behind the blocks can be rather overwhelming. People are yelling, whistles are blowing, and you’re frantically tighte...

The Benefits of Adding Running to Your Training Program Swimmers, you won’t want to hear this. What if I told you that running could actually benefit your swimming? Yes, you read that correctly. Running, the dreaded activity that most swimmers avoid at all costs, can help you swim faster. Now, I’...