Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please
Former Member
I trained and worked as a sport psychologist before I took up masters swimming (and about the same time stopped private practice due to my boring corporate job), and for the first time really I'm looking to put both together with some articles for the web.
There's no lack of material on swimming performance but there's not much out there, for physical or mental aspects of swimming, that really acknowledges the specific challenges that masters swimmers face.
I'd really like to hear your own views on what you have to manage as a masters swimmer. This doesn't have to relate to racing specifically.
For example, I have to plan around my family, never manage to do as much training as I'd like, so I have to manage my own expectations, yet bring what I have in my locker on race day and make the most of it. I also have my 'former' life as a swimmer and the negative experiences that led to me quitting at 18 that shape my motivations now.
Thanks,
Rob
P.S. I've yet to start my own site, but I do have a swimming psychology page on facebook and I'm on twitter. I'd really appreciate a boost with likes/shares as I build a readership.
Here is my swimming history: I swam summer league starting when I was about age 5, then at age 13 swim all year round, but only twice a week with a Y team during the school year (my thought that more would take too much time away from other activities that they wanted me to do :P). Then in high school I swam with my high school team (which was great, we were a really good and fun team), and, in the last couple of years, an age group team. I always felt behind the curve and was mediocre at best. I swam my freshman year in college, but the coach was overtraining us and it was a miserable experience, especially on top of keeping up with classes, so I quit. There was a new coach my junior year, but by the I felt like I'd be out of the pool too long. (Ha!). Then I did masters for a few years in my late 20s until I moved to CA. I couldn't find a team that worked for me time-wise until I moved to my current location about 5 years ago. Now I am training consistently and loving it, although I wish I could get into the pool more often than I do -- I am training 3X/week for 1 hr each session. I have a sabbatical from my job coming up and I am hoping to use it to get more swimming in.
Looking back on my swimming as a child, I was always frustrated that I was not a better swimmer even though I was working hard, was tall and strong, etc. From my perspective today, I can see that two things were holding me back: 1) a lot of negative self-talk and 2) asthma (my coaches liked to make fun of my breathing, but no one ever thought to send me to the doctor :bitching:). I'd like to say that knowing these things has made me a better swimmer, but those are the same two main things I struggle with today (aside from not being able to train as much as I like). I still feel like I am not swimming as well as I should be, and I get embarrassed about my times, but I can't seem to move forward in any significant way.
Here is my swimming history: I swam summer league starting when I was about age 5, then at age 13 swim all year round, but only twice a week with a Y team during the school year (my thought that more would take too much time away from other activities that they wanted me to do :P). Then in high school I swam with my high school team (which was great, we were a really good and fun team), and, in the last couple of years, an age group team. I always felt behind the curve and was mediocre at best. I swam my freshman year in college, but the coach was overtraining us and it was a miserable experience, especially on top of keeping up with classes, so I quit. There was a new coach my junior year, but by the I felt like I'd be out of the pool too long. (Ha!). Then I did masters for a few years in my late 20s until I moved to CA. I couldn't find a team that worked for me time-wise until I moved to my current location about 5 years ago. Now I am training consistently and loving it, although I wish I could get into the pool more often than I do -- I am training 3X/week for 1 hr each session. I have a sabbatical from my job coming up and I am hoping to use it to get more swimming in.
Looking back on my swimming as a child, I was always frustrated that I was not a better swimmer even though I was working hard, was tall and strong, etc. From my perspective today, I can see that two things were holding me back: 1) a lot of negative self-talk and 2) asthma (my coaches liked to make fun of my breathing, but no one ever thought to send me to the doctor :bitching:). I'd like to say that knowing these things has made me a better swimmer, but those are the same two main things I struggle with today (aside from not being able to train as much as I like). I still feel like I am not swimming as well as I should be, and I get embarrassed about my times, but I can't seem to move forward in any significant way.
