SELLING PROCESS TO

SELLING PROCESS TO SWIMMERS

(Part 2)

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

In 1993, psychologist Anders Ericsson wrote that greatness wasn’t born, but grown. Fifteen years later, author Malcolm Gladwell suggested that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a skill or field. Known by the term, “process,” swim coaches use that learning curve to improve the performance of their swimmers.

Last month, Swimming World detailed how age group and high school coaches use process to improve the performance of their charges. This month, three veteran college coaches share their thoughts on this crucial aspect of swim training. ONE ON ONE

Since taking over as the head men’s and women’s coach at Denison University in the fall of 1987, Gregg Parini has garnered six NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving team titles, 16 runner-up finishes, and has been named CSCAA’s NCAA-III Coach of the Year 11 times. How he’s earned those accolades is a testament to his commitment to his athletes.

“When we talk about investing in the process, we’re really talking about investing in relationships: a relationship with the sport...the training...the coach...with teammates. If those relationships are going to be healthy and productive, it starts with a strong foundation of trust,” says Parini. “If your athletes don’t trust the people implementing and involved in the process—coaches, trainers, teammates—investment is marginalized.

“Think about it. Who will invest his or her total self into an untrustworthy relationship or process? Too often a lack of trust in the process is the root of underperformance. Developing trust demands the coach invest time and energy beyond simply applying the X’s and O’s of training and competition by spending time getting to know the athlete. What’s the athlete’s history with the sport...with coaches...with teammates? And how do these histories impact the athlete’s interaction with the sport...the team culture...the coach...and the teammate now?

“Peak performance,” he says, “demands that we establish a team culture deserving of our athletes’ trust—all of which begins with establishing healthy relationships with our athletes. Two examples... #1. “I dismissed a sophomore swimmer from the team for violating team rules. It was a particularly difficult situation where the swimmer’s history impacted his swimming, academics and health. After a year away and having received professional help, he approached me about being reinstated. I told him that he would be allowed to return and could remain with the team under the following conditions:

“He meet and apologize to the coaching staff; he meet and

“When we talk about investing in the process, we’re really talking about investing in relationships: a relationship with the sport...the training...the coach...with teammates.... Peak performance demands that we establish a team culture deserving of our athletes’ trust—all of which begins with establishing healthy relationships with our athletes.” —Gregg Parini, Denison (pictured with KT Kustritz at 2018 NCAAs after she became the first D-III swimmer to break a minute in the 100 yard breaststroke with her winning time of 59.77)

apologize with the returning team; he agree to weekly check-ins with me to discuss both positives and negatives; he abide by all team rules/ policies.

“He followed through and went on to become one of our most successful student-athletes in team history. Since graduation, he continues to thrive. #2. “I also had a very talented freshman female swimmer who struggled to gain traction in practices and meets. Her body language and verbal cues suggested she wasn’t feeling comfortable. Everything seemed tight. I knew she had more in her, but despite my efforts in practice and meets, we simply couldn’t get her swimming at a level she was capable.

“At the suggestion of one of my mentors, I met her for coffee at one of the local coffee houses. My intention was to address the swimming issues. Instead of talking about swimming, we spent the next couple of hours talking about everything but.

“Rather, we discussed her adjustments to college, her being homesick, some issues in a class and a family death over the previous summer. We never got to swimming, and we wrapped up our talk agreeing to touch base regularly. Later that afternoon, the woman had the best practice of the fall. Her whole demeanor had shifted. She looked comfortable and felt like she belonged.

“We continued to talk and meet regularly over the years. She never looked back, and she developed into one of D-III’s best swimmers ever. As she shared with me years later, the key for her resurgence was my taking an interest in her life outside the pool. The experience was a seminal one in my coaching development.”

THE GANG’S ALL HERE

“Each generation of coaches faces challenges capturing the attention of their athletes. Selling process is a vital part of our jobs,” says Tyler Fenwick, associate head coach at the University of Virginia.

“As coaches, it’s essential that we know our audience so that we may fully harness their capabilities. At Virginia, we have a young and experienced coaching staff. We recognize that in today’s fast-paced culture, athletes want fun! We take this charge seriously and have a blast playing the roles of coach and entertainer. We call what we do ‘The Greatest Show on Earth.’ We do several things to bring out the best in each week.

“Swimming is a grind. Why not have fun? In a digital world that moves fast, stimulation comes quickly from all directions. At Virginia, we work hard to create an environment that swimmers can’t wait to join. We’re on deck early to talk, laugh and check in. Once practice starts, the craziness begins.

“As a combined program, we have seven coaches at every workout. Each one is assigned to a small group and is actively engaged, providing constant feedback, moving up and down the pool deck, staying vocal and positive.

“Music is huge for us. We play it loud—blasting rap, hip hop, EDM, rock and take requests. Music keeps the environment electric, fun and inspiring even during the toughest sets. Our best practices are always when the team gets loud, vocal and supports one another. We encourage this daily. When hard work happens in a setting like this, smiles, laughter and dancing are commonplace, and the team rises to whatever the day demands,” he says.

“(Head coach) Todd DeSorbo finds ways to mix things up. Whether it’s using mesh socks, power towers, weighted kickboards or even putting a paddle on your head, no practice is ever the same. He asks that his coaching staff adopt the same creativity.

“Swimmer equipment bags have the usual tools and toys, but we switch things up in other ways. We love to play games—whether it is heading up to the gym to play Knockout or blowing bubbles down a pool deck through a hula hoop at the other end. The team is constantly competing before, during and after practice.

“Athletes love these quick breaks from the norm. Sometimes they occur when least expected. Last year, while getting ready for dryland, someone accidentally fell into the pool. Suddenly, teammates started jumping in with all their clothes on. Our staff rolled with it, ditched dryland and swam the practice in our dryland clothes. Being adaptable and keeping things light makes our team want to come back for more.

“We also keep things interesting through season planning and design. We make sure each athlete spends time with every coach at some point during the week. Our staff assesses athlete needs and then creates a plan that allows for each individual to get exactly what they need. We coordinate before the season to determine each coach’s intention for a given day, week and workout. We share our unique plans and assign athletes to different coaches and workouts based off of potential competition from teammates, targeted energy zones and the overall nature of the practice,” says Fenwick.

“This process leaves us with 50 different swimmers with 50 different season plans. Where some swimmers may have similar plans, no two are the same. This takes massive amounts of communication and coordination between the staff, but it’s worth the effort. Our

“If you work hard and lack the ability to see it as a positive, then the sport of swimming will weigh heavily on you, ultimately taking your love of the sport away. If you can flip the switch to see how working hard is a privilege that you GET to do with your best friends and teammates supporting you, the sky can really be the limit to what you can accomplish.” —Katie Robinson, Northwestern

athletes love working with a variety of coaches, training with a large percentage of their teammates and taking new approaches. We are constantly evolving to make sure swimming stays fun, exciting and new!”

TEACHING WITH AUTHENTICITY

“Swimming is a grind. Why not have fun? At Virginia, we work hard to create an environment that swimmers can’t wait to join. We’re on deck early to talk, laugh and check in. Once practice starts, the craziness begins.” —Tyler Fenwick, Virginia

practices. If someone is having a hard time that week with their primary stroke, maybe switching up the focus of the practice—or even switching which group they train in— serves as the challenge for the day instead of trying to hit pace in the main set. “Swimming as a sport can be too much of a grind when someone is chronically given a challenge they are not prepared for (physically or mentally). Instead, I like to create the majority of our practices where each swimmer can enjoy some amount of success with various challenges.

“I love creating situations in practice that allow for a lot of hype on deck. Not only is it fun for the whole team, but it’s also a great way to simulate performing under pressure to help them build their skill sets to attack these situations, better preparing them for meets. We work to create an atmosphere of competitive curiosity where it’s fun to see what you can do with each challenge. When practice becomes the fun thing, they look forward to each day, they buy in, and their overall experience is improved tenfold,” says Robinson.

“Another way that I’ve built buy-in through the tough parts of the season is to wear hard work as a badge of honor. This has more to do with the mindset around working hard than anything else.

“If you work hard and lack the ability to see it as a positive, then the sport of swimming will weigh heavily on you, ultimately taking your love of the sport away. If you can flip the switch to see how working hard is a privilege that you GET to do with your best friends and teammates supporting you, the sky can really be the limit to what you can accomplish.

“I stress doing hard things together as a way to strengthen the bond on our team. This brotherhood or sisterhood can be so strong that it is palpable. It is one we’ve really grown at Northwestern,” she says. “With my swimmers, I make a point to teach with authenticity. I come from a family of teachers so I view coaching much like I view teaching—to help by providing information. My education in kinesiology allows me to provide the ‘why’ behind training systems and practices. The authenticity for me stems from my natural strengths of building connection.

“I love the phrase, ‘They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ This moves me to coach from an authentic space grounded in attention and care for our studentathletes. When they see and feel this, the buy-in can be a natural outcome,” says Robinson.

And isn’t that what every coach wants. 

Katie Robinson became director of Northwestern University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs in June after two years as associate head coach.

“I’ve learned that swimmers actually enjoy and relish a good challenge,” she says. “It’s in our DNA. As a coach, the process for us is to find what challenge is good for them in our weekly lineup of Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school championships. A member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he is also a recipient of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.