Intimidation factor

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:51:34 GMT

I don't usually get intimidated. I tend to swim better if I have some really tough competition. I did a best time in practice once (in high school) when my coach had me leading off a lane. In the next lane was the fastest girl on the team. The set was 30 50s off the block. She beat me on the first few and my coach came over and said "you're not just going to let her beat you, are you?" Right after that, I did a best time and beat her. I did much better on the whole rest of the set actually.

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:34:44 GMT

Now I have to race against 2 Paralympians (3, in the 50FR) - Jacqui Freney, Tanya Huebner and Kayla Clarke. Not at cut-off for entries yet, so even more may appear. Tanya I expected - she lives here in Melbourne. The others entered so far are travelling from interstate. Last year, I'd have expected them. This year (not a Paralympics year), not. Aarrrggghhh... :afraid: (I let them race amongst themselves - which is basically what they've entered the meet to do - and work on the Masters PB/not last thing, right?) Try to focus on how cool it is to race with Paralympians!

RE: Intimidation factor

Sportygeek — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:09:55 GMT

I've just checked Confirmed Entrants from a meet I'm swimming Jan 11-13. I'm up against Jacqui Freney, who won 8 gold medals in 8 events at the London Paralympics. Immediate thought: :afraid: Now I have to race against 2 Paralympians (3, in the 50FR) - Jacqui Freney, Tanya Huebner and Kayla Clarke. Not at cut-off for entries yet, so even more may appear. Tanya I expected - she lives here in Melbourne. The others entered so far are travelling from interstate. Last year, I'd have expected them. This year (not a Paralympics year), not. Aarrrggghhh... :afraid: (I let them race amongst themselves - which is basically what they've entered the meet to do - and work on the Masters PB/not last thing, right?)

RE: Intimidation factor

Michael Heather — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:23:37 GMT

Question: Does appearance, demeanor, or reputation of fellow competitors effect your performance in your races? Not even a little bit. I have been the recipient of some intimidation and psyche attempts. Most either fail miserably or result in reverse psychology. I laugh and joke behind the blocks if I talk at all.

RE: Intimidation factor

Sportygeek — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 03:52:17 GMT

I've just checked Confirmed Entrants from a meet I'm swimming Jan 11-13. I'm up against Jacqui Freney, who won 8 gold medals in 8 events at the London Paralympics. Immediate thought: :afraid: Will the thoroughly intimidating company affect my swimming, tho? I suspect not - but ask me again in 3 weeks! (I have to say, given current confirmed entrants and reclassification, my aims for the meet involve Masters PBs and not coming last).

RE: Intimidation factor

jaadams1 — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:54:03 GMT

It may not be combative, but there is a lot of battling out there...and if you can get in someone's head, you may gain a competitive advantage.

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:25:40 GMT

Swimming is not the NFL where players are face to face in a "Combative" sport. Most of the time, your face is staring at the bottom of the pool and you don't know what kind of faces and expressions your competitors are making. :bump:

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:59:44 GMT

When I've coached age groupers I've always warned them about looking at other swimmers who are lined up for the race. More often than not, every swimmer you look at appears to be better than you! Of course that aren't, but they look good anyway. Remember, the swimmers who glance at you probably think the same, and feel a little intimidated. Such is swimming. During the short period before a race it helps to look super-confident. We all know that the mind should be firmly directed to think positively about the approaching race. The conscious mind will always try to challenge the swimmer before a race, it will throw doubts, fears, worries and anxieties at them to test their mettle, but it’s their response to these thoughts which decides just how well they’ll go in that particular race. Negative thoughts hit everyone to a greater or lesser extent. Again, we all know they must be erased and replaced with something more positive. Age-groupers and masters alike have the same doubts from time to time.

RE: Intimidation factor

TomK3 — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:14:12 GMT

My biggest opponent is me. "What if I miss the turn?" or more recent "When should I take my last breath on the block?" I was last off the block due to this In my last race I was thinking about so many other things that I forgot to lock my arms tight. They flew open and I came to an almost dead stop at the bottom of my dive. I like to see the competition. It drives me crazy, but to pull and kick my hardest I have to see the person in the next lane.

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:21:50 GMT

In my brief masters career, I haven't really felt intimidated - maybe a little at the GA Tech this last weekend but mainly because the meet was so much larger and the blocks so much fancier than what I've used since my return to the pool. Intimidation/psychological games played more a of a role in dual meets in high school. I'm not a very physically intimidating person but when played right that can work out. My high school division was co-ed - boys and girls swam in the same heat and points were scored across the board (i.e. no separate scores for boys and girls). I remember one meet against a team with a few particularly obnoxious guys - I got behind the blocks for the 500 and one of the guys on my team came over and said, "Remember, it's twenty lengths. I know that's really long, but I think you can do it." The guys on both sides of me started snickering and then the race started. I beat them both by 25 yards or so. Not the best example of sportsmanship but it was awfully funny...

RE: Intimidation factor

That Guy — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:55:23 GMT

This is a new one. I don't think I've ever even thought about when to breathe until I'm actually in the water swimming! I think there's a good chance you might be overthinking, steve. :) Slowly exhale when the starter says "Take your mark." Then inhale as you leave the block. Simple. There is a classic golf story like this. Veterans on the pro tour use mind games to haze rookies, but one time a rookie got revenge on a veteran who had hazed him. (I don't remember the names from this story, sorry.) The day after he realized he'd been had, the rookie approached the veteran on the practice range and said something like, "hey I followed your advice yesterday and it worked out great. I have a follow-up question for you - during your swing, do you inhale or exhale?" The veteran got a confused expression on his face, and proceeded to have a terrible round that day. :joker:

RE: Intimidation factor

knelson — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:30:56 GMT

or more recent "When should I take my last breath on the block?" This is a new one. I don't think I've ever even thought about when to breathe until I'm actually in the water swimming! I think there's a good chance you might be overthinking, steve. :)

RE: Intimidation factor

mcnair — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:09:57 GMT

Sorry,to clarify,raising teenagers is one of the most stressful thing the average person goes through.Compared to it,swimming is a piece of cake regardless of who is in the heat. Amen!

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:06:15 GMT

Very simple, but valuable. I need to quit worrying about the things I don't need to worry about. All the thinking should have been done at practice But then you're too busy worrying about when to breathe in, that you're not focused on the gun, and miss the start. Oh heck!

RE: Intimidation factor

__steve__ — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:46:24 GMT

My biggest opponent is me. "What if I miss the turn?" or more recent "When should I take my last breath on the block?" I was last off the block due to this

RE: Intimidation factor

gdanner — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:08:34 GMT

Usually I'm pretty good about staying focused. I vaguely remember being mildly intimidated when I swam a 4im at a US Open next to Kyle Salyards (2000 Olympian). He blew me out of the water. At another US Open, I was seeded a lane or two from Tom Dolan in the 4im for prelims, but he never showed. I was disappointed he didn't come to that one, even though I surely would have been intimidated for that! Other than that, I get nervous for races, but not intimidated by opponents.

RE: Intimidation factor

Elaine Krugman — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:58:19 GMT

The clock intimidates me more than any other swimmer possibly can. When I race, I am racing against the clock and nothing else. And, to me, the most difficult part of the race is immediately after it ends, when I look up at my time or hear it from the timer for my lane. It's either :afraid: or :bliss:. I would rather come in last place and get a personal best time than win with rotten times (as in, this past Saturday at St. Nick's). Exception: If I am swimming a full slate of difficult events, specifically going for high points for the Georgia Championship Series. :ohyeah:

RE: Intimidation factor

aztimm — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:51:19 GMT

At our smaller local meets there may only be 1-2 heats of some events and I could be seeded in the same heat, sometimes just beside, someone who I know is substantially faster than I am. When it comes down to it, I do realize that it is my race against the clock (and/or my prior times), but it is rather intimidating when you get repeatedly lapped in the 1500m free. My adrenaline (and perhaps testosterone) start to take over to try to minimize the damage a bit. My brain has to keep things in balance to make sure I don't go out too fast, so I can at least finish the race. This actually worked to my benefit a few months ago, when I took over 20 seconds off of my time from last year.

RE: Intimidation factor

rxleakem — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:22:40 GMT

It can be daunting to line up behind the blocks and swim against others, whether they be younger or fitter or faster than me. I try not to worry about that stuff, but wish everyone near me a "swim fast" and knuckle :bump:, then get ready for the splash! Having fun and swimming fast (the latter is hard to qualify, or course) is what Masters is all about! :cheerleader:

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:21:15 GMT

Very simple, but valuable. I need to quit worrying about the things I don't need to worry about. All the thinking should have been done at practice You can almost take it a step further and say don't think, and anything you needed to prepare for is already done. But you're definitely exposing to us all where you're vulnerable to intimidation. ;) If we can just get to you while you're worrying, you'll be in trouble, lol.

RE: Intimidation factor

orca1946 — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 07:02:48 GMT

The gun/beep sound should make you suck air in !!

RE: Intimidation factor

__steve__ — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:57:25 GMT

Slowly exhale when the starter says "Take your mark." Then inhale as you leave the block. Simple.Very simple, but valuable. I need to quit worrying about the things I don't need to worry about. All the thinking should have been done at practice

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:43:57 GMT

Part of it probably comes back to the type of swimmer you are too. Do you thrive on competition and winning the race, or is it just 8 people swimming alone against the clock at the same time for convenience? Part of this answer depends on whether or not the other 7 lanes are filled with your peers (as in a national or regional meet). In those cases, sizing up the competition is pretty a normal response. At a back yard masters meet the mood is much more relaxed unless it's the last heat of the 50 free.

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:10:36 GMT

I am more worried about "did I tie my suit?" before each race than who is next to me. Well, unless it is Geek. Then I am more worried about his thunderous one beat kick.

RE: Intimidation factor

Former Member — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:31:07 GMT

I used to be an expert at psyching people out. Admittedly I was being a total jerk and showing poor sportsmanship, but it is very easy to get inside the head of the competition. Everyone is susceptible to these tricks. I'd figure out the name of their girlfriend or dig up some random factoid from their background. Or sometimes I would cook up something more elaborate. Win or lose, they barely wanted to shake my hand afterwards. About half of my own teammates couldn't even stand me... But that said, I grew up and got over myself. If I had to assess my immature behavior, I'd say I was trying to create such a spectacle that I had no choice but to give full effort to back up my behavior. But I wasn't really aware of it at the time. PS. When Gary Hall Jr. played air guitar a few seconds before a 50, it was about the closest I ever came to identifying with a sprinter. Haha