There is more to being a swimmer than just obnoxious tan lines, raccoon eyes and bulky shoulders. Competitive swimmers are an entire different breed of athletes. Swimming is a sport that not only requires an immense amount of physical endurance, but also tests your mental sanity and can push you to the edge. However, if you were to ask any swimmer, they would not take back a second spent in the water. Here are 7 things swimming has left me with.
1. Time management is key
Not only do you somehow have to manage to get a drink of water, adjust your goggles and catch your breath in the measly seven second rest your coach gives you (if you're lucky), time management was a key component outside of the pool as well. With any sport, but in this case swimming, athletes must manage to go to school, get good grades and go to practices multiple times a day, all while managing time to sleep and eat.
2. Proper manners
We have all been there; meet warm up, with hundreds of excited swimmers in such a small space. There was always that kid who felt the need to sprint meet warm up. This wasn't limited to meet warm up. Everywhere you swam, there was always that one person who swam on your feet, flipped at the wall on top of you or never paid attention to the set. The same thing goes for everyday life outside of the pool. Respect is such a big part of what swimming taught me.
3. Multitasking
"All right, we are gonna do 12 100s at 80 percent effort on a 1:30 interval, and you can only breathe every five strokes." Wait... what? During practice, swimmers have so much to be thinking about. This translates into my life now. I have papers to write, quizzes, exams and I need to manage a social life. Swimming has taught me to not get anxious when I have a million and one things to be thinking about. So just get your head on straight, take things one at a time and breathe as often as you would like.
4. You can't take negativity to heart
My whole high school swimming career consisted of the whole team complaining that none of our peers supported us. Thinking back on this, I am flabbergasted as to why we cared so much. We were doing something we loved, we were there to support our teammates, our families were there. Who really cared if Joey from science class went to the basketball game instead? Swimming is a very under-appreciated sport, but a lot of great things are under-appreciated. Just do what you love, regardless of who supports you or not.
5. Anger management
You learn very quickly as a swimmer what kind of temper you have based on how many times someone steals your kick board, touches your feet or when someone pushes off right in front of you. Learning how to deal with this impromptu rage has helped me manage my anger now as an adult.
6. Getting up early can really change your whole day
While yes, after morning practice, school all day, dry lands and afternoon practice, we all wanted to implode from pure exhaustion. However, I clearly remember the satisfaction of getting all I could out of my days. Waking up early allows for more productivity, and it can be kind of cool being up before everyone else.
7. It is OK to fail sometimes
Remember those times you swam your heart out only to look up to the score board and see a disappointing time? But then you took that frustration and put it right back into the pool at practice the next day. Failure is the only way to get better. Failure is a part of life; and if you don't fail, you won't learn; and if you don't learn, you won't change for the better.
Swimming was the best 13 years of my life. I have made lifelong connections inside and outside of the pool. I have learned the most valuable lessons and it has helped me become the woman I am today. I will always be a swimmer at heart. So thank you to the sport that will always be a part of me.
