Boles Notes July 2012

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Dorthy Aubrey Robbins
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1 Boles Notes July 2012 The Summer Olympics are only days away! We are pleased and proud of the Canadian Swim Team as they continue their Olympic journey specifically the many Ontario Swimmers who currently train and represent Ontario Clubs and the swimmers who got their start here in Ontario. All the best! Joe Bartoch; Scott Dickens; Andrew Ford; Richard Hortness; Alexa Komarnycky; Brittany MacLean; Heather MacLean; Martha McCabe; Tobias Oriwol; Amanda Reason; Sinead Russell; Colin Russell; Tera Van Beilen; Julia Wilkinson; Zsofia Balazs. Olympic Staff Coaches: Kevin Thorburn and John Rodgers. Anything is possible, no matter who you are, or where you come from, you can do anything, and the only thing stopping you from achieving your dreams is yourself. You have to make your dreams become your reality; you have to do everything in your power to make it happen. Michael Phelps Some really good articles to read SwimNews magazine reports on Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Canada s Alexis Komarnycky their journey and some good advice. And of course the various magazine covers in the newsstands. The Olympic Swimming fever is upon us. A quick review of this summary: Some stats from the 2012 Summer Jr. Provincials A few tips in getting ready for next season A few tips on effective communication A collection of thoughts from Michaela Sceli (former swimmer of mine and now Personal Trainer to the Ottawa Regional Training Centre) CSCTA Conference- September in Toronto - go to to register

2 Congratulations to the Swimmers and Coaches at the Ontario Jr Provincials: Oakville wins the overall Team Title; CCAC the small team while CYPS and PERTH tie for the Best Performing Team. See all the team and individual awards at Thanks to the tireless work of the NKB meet management team and the many volunteers. Here are some interesting statistics on the 2012 Jr Provincials: (derived from Hytek Meet Manager. Women Men Relays Total Overall # of Clubs 85 Swimmers DQ s Meet Records Improved Times Percent Improvement 31% 39% 52% 36% This is a small snap shot of the competition, and we will continue to develop more information such as by age, event etc. In my opinion I feel at an age group level meet, the percentage of Improved times should be higher than 36%. This is number that Senior national teams strive for at major competitions but the improvement curve of developmental swimming should be higher. As we move forward with the new competitive template next season we will be observing such curves with anticipated expectation however the real work for improvement is done in the day to day practice setting not just at one swim meet. Although the championship meets are approaching and is viewed as the end of the season, a great deal of work has taken place and for some currently still in play for the next season. Here are a few tips in getting ready for the next season for greater success: 1) Have a shared vision among the staff and Board this will carry the day for every decision made large or small. Always a good exercise to re-visit the Mission-Vision-Values of the programs, put it on the To do list for next year. An example Empowering young people to be champions in life through excellence in swimming 2) Focus on the swimmers as people before focusing on them as athletes. You must know the learner. This will help in the process of performance and long term development. 3) Emphasizing the long term development of the athlete. Every decision made regarding the # of practices, practice groups, meets to attend, events to swim is in the interest of long term development - Teach rather than train in the early stages. Parent and athlete education, Mentored coaching staff all in to strive for successful senior swimmers. practice with purpose 4) Consistent training philosophy and clarified roles of the coaching staff. Identifying the roles and responsibilities for the successful delivery of the program through coaching.

3 5) Mentoring yet also giving coaches autonomy. Once the club and training philosophy are clearly identified, it is important to allow the coaches to bring their flavor added. Energetic, enthusiastic and positive characteristics from individuals are critical to the success of the program. The lead coaches must observe and be engaged in a consistent manner throughout the season as part of the mentoring process. 6) Focusing on the Team. Respect, value and celebrate are some key pillars to a successful program. Individual performance and development will be achieved through team work. Communication: (taken from a seminar by Michael Lewis - Getting your message across Clearly! Sharpen, define and shorten your message: Think summarized, one breath statements. Expand your field of knowledge- Conversation is driven by depth. Have them teach/inform/acquaint you- Validate people by giving them a chance to shine! Never interrupt your listener- Let people finish their sentences/complete their thoughts Develop hunger and passion - get totally involved in a conversation Practice clarity of thought before expression. External communication reflect internal mean what you say, say what you mean - rehearse mentally and verbally in advance on important issues Batting Practice - hit the easy ones before the game begins Minimize negative messages- Reframe your approach to be more positive Paint a clear picture! get your story out first using clear and specific examples to illustrate your point. The Power Within Michaela Sceli shared her notes with me when listening to Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman February 2009 Toronto. Part 1. While at this conference I was able to have the once in a lifetime chance of seeing Michael Phelps in person and hearing his ideas of what leadership is, as well as listening to him speak about the power of goal setting. Once again I was surprised at how simple the incredible and rebound athlete kept his mindset when it comes to training and racing. He has no secret weapon, no mystical diet, no real secrets to being the most incredible swimmer on the planet today, he uses the same routine for every meet, and he keeps his

4 mind focused on what he is doing and stays in the moment. Michael never gets caught up in what he has to do in his races, the competition, or the media, he simply stays in the moment and knows that he makes every minute of his day count, and when it comes down to it he knows that he has done everything in his power and has given his everything. He has a simple 3 step plan for achieving his goals, 1.Dream 2. Plan 3.Reach, it s as simple as executing your plan while keeping your dream in mind, and reminding yourself of your goals every day. Michael keeps a goal sheet detailing his dreams, what it will take in every part of his life to execute those goals, and how he will do so, beside his bed so he can read it every morning and night. He and his coach have a very close relationship, and one thing that I learned is that people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed, and that is exactly what his coach Bob Bowman does, he reminds him every day what his goals are and helps him stay motivated and gives his workouts and decisions a purpose, which is of course to achieve his goals. One of the things that I was interested in learning was how Michael was able to bounce back from things like his goggles falling off or his suit tearing before races and still be able to re-focus and swim as though nothing had happened. He said that ever y night he visualizes his perfect race, but he doesn t only visualize everything going right for him, he visualizes his goggles falling off or filling up, he visualizes forgetting his racing suit, or slipping off the blocks, but one thing never changes, he always achieves his goal in the end. No matter what happens in the race, if he goes out too slow, or someone is ahead of him, he always focuses his visualization on him completing the race and achieving his goals. Now I m sure I m not the only one wondering what the great Michael Phelps goals are, he explained that his goals are never oriented around winning races, getting medals; they are always about a time standard. His goals never focus on the outcome, if he manages to break a world record and achieve a time standard he set out to, whether he wins or loses he knows that he gave it his all and he can only control himself, not how others compete. He is very down to earth in that way, he obviously hates losing, and that fuels him to do better or swim faster in his next race, but his goals always remain process oriented, about giving his all, about how he races, and the time he wants to achieve. Anything is possible, no matter who you are, or where you come from, you can do anything, and the only thing stopping you from achieving your dreams is yourself. You have to make your dreams become your reality; you have to do everything in your power to make it happen. Michael Phelps Michael Phelps also explained that with every action he takes, he isn t only representing himself, but he is always representing his family, friends, sponsors, coach, team, and his country. He is only human, and has made mistakes in his life that he isn t

5 proud of, but he has always taken responsibility for his actions, and remained accountable for everything he does, he has never been afraid to admit his errors and apologize, which to me, makes him a great leader and a great role model. Upcoming Swim Ontario Activities: Summer Nationals Edmonton US Open Indianapolis Ontario Summer Games Toronto World JR and Provincial Open Water Welland See you on the deck, Dean

Boles Notes- April A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually marks the best way to get there H. Stanley Judd.

Boles Notes- April A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually marks the best way to get there H. Stanley Judd. Boles Notes- April 2013 A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually marks the best way to get there H. Stanley Judd. The City of Brantford and the Brantford Aquatic Club