Have any of you made huge improvments in your swimming within the past couple of years, or since beginning swimming? If so, what were the improvments you made? What were you doing in training in order to make these improvments?
Have any of you made large improvments recently?
I'm getting older now, so not making as many improvements as when I first started swimming competitively, but will share a story with you about improving.
I started swimming competitively at age 10. I was athletic in other areas but was not really a good swimmer. As a matter of fact, I had flunked the minnow swim lesson class at the Y at age 7 and had to take it again the next year. I was a skinny little kid and didn't have much strength.
When I turned 11, there were so many girls on my team in my age-group that were faster. There were hardly any girls in the 13-14 age-group, so they decided to swim me up in that age-group for dual meets. I was 58 inches and weighed 75 pounds. Not only did they swim me up, they swam me in my worst stroke - breaststroke. At the divisionals, where I was moved up again and only put in 50 breaststoke in the 13-14 age-group, I overheard some girls laughing about the slow time in the heat sheet. That time was mine. When I showed up to swim, the girls laughed at me and said, "I can't believe you are in the 13-14 age-group."
When I heard all of this, I vowed one day I would beat these girls that had laughed at me. For the next few years, I did not miss a practice unless I was really sick. I went to swim camps and I set goals for myself.
The determination seemed to work. Also, it didn't hurt that by the time I was 15, I was between 5'8" and 5'9" and weighed 125 to 130. I started lifting weights at 14, so I think that helped quite a bit with my power and put on muscle weight. Anyway, I believe determination and lifting weights did make a big difference for me. I did beat the girls who laughed at me (at least the ones that had stayed in swimming long enough for me to get to the 15-18 age-group) and went on to swim Division III in college.
So, I believe determination more than anything else goes a long way towards achieving your potential.
I'm getting older now, so not making as many improvements as when I first started swimming competitively, but will share a story with you about improving.
I started swimming competitively at age 10. I was athletic in other areas but was not really a good swimmer. As a matter of fact, I had flunked the minnow swim lesson class at the Y at age 7 and had to take it again the next year. I was a skinny little kid and didn't have much strength.
When I turned 11, there were so many girls on my team in my age-group that were faster. There were hardly any girls in the 13-14 age-group, so they decided to swim me up in that age-group for dual meets. I was 58 inches and weighed 75 pounds. Not only did they swim me up, they swam me in my worst stroke - breaststroke. At the divisionals, where I was moved up again and only put in 50 breaststoke in the 13-14 age-group, I overheard some girls laughing about the slow time in the heat sheet. That time was mine. When I showed up to swim, the girls laughed at me and said, "I can't believe you are in the 13-14 age-group."
When I heard all of this, I vowed one day I would beat these girls that had laughed at me. For the next few years, I did not miss a practice unless I was really sick. I went to swim camps and I set goals for myself.
The determination seemed to work. Also, it didn't hurt that by the time I was 15, I was between 5'8" and 5'9" and weighed 125 to 130. I started lifting weights at 14, so I think that helped quite a bit with my power and put on muscle weight. Anyway, I believe determination and lifting weights did make a big difference for me. I did beat the girls who laughed at me (at least the ones that had stayed in swimming long enough for me to get to the 15-18 age-group) and went on to swim Division III in college.
So, I believe determination more than anything else goes a long way towards achieving your potential.
