Swimming is often referred to as an individual sport. In competition you are given a lane, a heat, and you compete for your time. Answer one question then, to prove its nature of individuality, at the seven hundred meter mark of the gruesome fifteen hundred, when the lactic acid has built up, and your body feels like failing, what pushes you beyond a point you have never reached before? The drowned out sounds of a team cheering, or seeing a friend charge through crowds flailing their arms through the air, is all I need to keep going and represent my team in a race to the finish. In addition to cheering during races, it is important to have the encouragement of your teammates all the time at practice, at school and, even in more personal matters. A team gives you a sense of belonging or a sense of discouragement that keeps you from your true potential. A community of a team extends much past the athletes, to the parents, as well. A team in which everyone is recognized for what they do/ can do compared to a special “elite” group of swimmers leads to a new level of pride and confidence for the younger athletes. Lastly, the philosophy of the coach is a critical component to the success of an athlete. One may believe in narrowing in on the naturally talented and the other coach strives to train each individual to maximum potential. I have been a part of two very different swim clubs in my development as an athlete, both of which helped me become my personal best, and who I am today in and out of the water. Although both the Ajax Aquatic Club and the Whitby Dolphins helped me develop my talents, abilities and, confidence, it is through the Whitby Dolphins that I recognize the need for strong interpersonal relationships with teammates, t...
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... did this, it was only through Whitby Dolphins that the need for strong interpersonal relationships with teammates, the importance for mentoring other athletes, and the confidence provided by a coach that believes in you. It is through both of these clubs that I am who I am today; as fast as I am now, and as hard-working (determined) as I am. The positive atmosphere of a team environment developed through the interactions between athletes, and the interaction between athletes and the coach is the key to the success of the team. Also, the support from the parents to all of the athletes of the time, solely in recognition of accomplishments is another major confidence boost that kids need in order to succeed. A negative atmosphere is one in which will see failure. Swimming is proven to be a team sport. The athlete may be racing alone, but is never alone in that race.
Imagine swimming in the big Olympic pools. All you can hear is the muffled noises of ecstatic fans cheering. All you can feel is the water urging you to keep swimming. Then you reach your hand out and feel the wall. You emerge out of the crystal blue pool water and have won! Michael Phelps and Dara Torres are two extraordinary swimmers who live their lives in the Olympic pools. Both Torres Is Tops and Michael’s Magic deal with the challenges and successes of Dara and Michael’s Olympic careers, but they do so in different ways. Let’s start our swim through the lives of these two Olympic champions.
Are you an extensive traveller? Do you love music? Then your answer is a MP3 Player, a device that allows you to listen to your favorite music on the go. There is nothing like putting on the head set, laying back and listening to some refreshing music when you are exhausted. This is when a MP3 player comes in handy.
“They were tired of speed floating. They wanted to race and when they did, it pleased them” (64). This is where the journey to swimming success was ignited; the ditch races between the children. Sakamoto was not the one to suggest the races, but the children were. They were the spark to the real competition that began. Before they all knew it the 3YSC was created and it took of with a boom that meant many kids setting island records (75). In less than two years, these so-called “ditch kids of Maui” went from not knowing how to swim to wanting to compete more than anything and achieving higher than anyone could have ever imagined. I found this event most important because these ditch kids who faced a world of adversity, were finding joy in a sport that not only took their heart, but also
Have you ever been surfing the web and seen an article about how some group is attacking a product due to some controversy? Have you then proceeded to read about said product and eventually seeking it out to see if it’s as bad as what the mentioned group(s) said? Well, this is how sales are made. I believe that controversy can help sell products by creating curiosity, giving something for people to criticize, and giving something for people to talk about. Are there products that are not socially acceptable to advertise. Is it true that too much controversy can prevent a product from selling?
In conclusion, the decrease in participation towards swimming runs deep within Wavell State High and society due to the different upbringing of most cultures within the school, and with the low self confidence of most students and their self image, it only adds on to the increase of the decrease in participation rates. However if, as stated, a culture was created within the school and society through the establishment of an excellence program for swimming and the addition of a small portion of fixer uppers there would be, in my belief, an increase in participation rate for swimming in between different cultures and both HPE classes and Swimming Carnival.
Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them.
As a competitive swimmer, I train 19 hours a week as a member of the University of Manitoba Bison’s Men’s Swim Team. However, growing up, I was never a great swimmer. I just didn’t have the classic swimmer body type—tall, long limbs with big hands and feet—but I loved the sport. Looking back, I can imagine how my parents felt. Their short, scrawny kid desperately wanted to be in a sport that he wasn’t meant for.
“Being in such an intense sport, surrounded by people in the same boat as me, has really brought me closer to my team. We get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” They push her to become the best gymnast she can be; she describes her team as a family. They cheer each other on and are the biggest support system to make her better. Being around the same group of people nearly every day through their struggles and successes has really brought the athletes of the Classic closer together.
But under Brooks’s training and with Brooks as a slight common enemy for the group, the boys who once were pitted against each other, become a strong, clean team and gain success. The mismatched group of kids went through their struggles early on in their process as they didn’t know how to work as a team, but after being broken down after their first game, a tie against the Norwegian national team, they started to think like a unit and began to run like a true team on the ice. An article by umbrella.org.nz explains perfectly how teamwork is important in success: “A strong team will provide an environment that fosters and supports individuals to enhance and maintain their resilience.” The best team is able to highlight the strengths of all their members instead of individuals carrying the rest of their team. If one works as a member of a team, both their triumph and lack of are supported. A group member who struggles or falters,
On the other hand, championships provide a scoring element to give teams an opportunity to compete specifically against each other. This provides swimmers opportunities to perform well for themselves and for their team. Regular swim sessions, however, always end with relays. Relays represent another team oriented event. All of this gives a cohesive and family like vibe to these
Adam Smith described self-interest and competition as the two forces that drive the invisible hand of the market. Self-interest in this context can be described as one’s advantage and well-being. The choices made on a day-to-day basis solely depend on which is the best option available. These choices involve time and the allocation of scarce resources all in the pursuit of self-interest; which in turn could potentially harm those who are less fortunate. Taking money from the less fortunate further increases the inequality gap between the upper and lower class. In Joseph Stiglitz essay “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society” he describes rent seeking, a term used by the top 1% of the upper class to further expand their profit. Consider
Swimming throughout my life has allowed me to gain many valuable qualities that have been vital to my success in high school and life. Because swimming is truly an individual sport, you must be accountable for how hard you push yourself. I am responsible for my own actions in the pool. No one has control over how fast I swim or how hard I work. Therefore, I am ultimately responsible for how much I improve in the sport.
A mixture of multiple leadership styles, she was able to lead in her own way. For example, her leadership style was very similar to servant leadership, in regards to how much she valued the members of her team. Coach McKeever was quoted saying, “It is not about winning but being a better version of yourself. What happens at the end is a celebratory by-product of the work we do.” Although she was able to transform the culture of the university and make them a winning school, she still cherished the well-being and improvement of the swimmers. McKeever’s leadership style allowed for everyone to have a voice, similar to participative leadership. She was very receiving of constant feedback and total honest, no matter if it was convenient or
The study looked at coaches’ verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors, as well as the athletes own levels of satisfaction and unity. Turman separated athletes by “starters” and “nonstarters” to see if athlete’s, satisfaction and team cohesion was influenced by playing status. Turman argued that, “coaches communicate with their athletes to foster a learning environment to help ensure positive learning outcomes.” Positive outcomes that came from coach-athlete interaction are facilitated by the development of interpersonal relationships between these two parties. Findings indicated that apparent verbal immediacy behaviors were a substantial predictor for social attraction to the group and social group integration. I selected this article because it not only examined the verbal interactions between coaches and athletes but it also looked at the non-verbal communication in the relationships.
Competitive swimming is a sport full of juxtaposing ideologies and personal struggle with little camaraderie. The divergent sport is always evolving and pitting individuals alone against one another in a foreign environment. Likewise corporate employees day in and day out work alone building their nest egg until the day they can succeed and come out on top or retire. Competitive swimming symbolizes the struggle for many of the Americans ideologies within the framework of corporate America.