In 1989 or 1990, my swimming Coach John Mason guided me toward reading Champions by Dan Chambliss. Champions details the pursuit of Coach Mark Schubert and his Mission Viejo Nadadores, as they trained for Gold Medals at the 1984 Olympics.
Dr. Chambliss, who is currently a Professor at Hamilton College, lived with my Coach John (and a few other assistants) during a few of the months leading into the summer of 1984, and he wrote his book Champions during and after this experience.
The epilogue of the book is called "The Mundanity of Excellence", and is here (thanks hoop thoughts)
"Mundanity of Excellence"
Just a few of the inspiring quotes:
Regarding "doing the little things in practice":
…"little things matter not so much because of their physical impact, but because physiologically they separate the champion from everyone else."
Regarding "confidence":
"Confidence is not the cause of championship; it is the result of setting up difficult tasks and then doing them."
Regarding "daily effort and daily results":
"It was not uncommon to see swimmers at Mission Viejo swimming within seconds of their lifetime best in practice, going all out, everyday. When they eventually got to the meet, there was nothing new to be overcome, and the conclusion was all but foregone; for all the closeness of times at Nationals, the same people often do win, year after year."
These are all inspiring quotes, but fall on deaf ears to most growing athletes and parents of athletes. Most athletes and most parents simply do not think high athletic achievement is for them. I've spoken with parents who are new to the sport, who have said to me: "I don't want my child to be Michael Phelps, but we'd like to try this out"….
My internal response: "Why wouldn't you want your child to win Gold Medals at the Olympics?" To me, that's a great accomplishment! I coach every kid like they can do at least one of three things:
1) Become an Olympic Champion and/or a World Record Holder.
2) Discover the cure for Cancer or any other terminal health issue.
3) Change the world in any other positive way which allows for high states of well-being throughout society.
As a coach, it's kind of a shot in the arm when you realize that your goals and the goals of many of your athletes are not aligned!
Can you imagine a parent who says to the teacher, going into the child's 1st grade year: "I want my child to gain knowledge and perhaps use it in their life, but I don't want them to discover the cure for Ebola"?! It's simply talk that comes from a root of self deprecation that many of us have hidden under our skin.
The problem, like the solution, is inside of ourselves. Let's think a little bit bigger. And lets understand that while becoming an Olympic Champion may not be in the cards for everyone, acting like an Olympic Champion CAN BE in the cards for all athletes. As Dan Chambliss writes, (and this may be paraphrase due to memory) "To become a Champion, you have to do what Champions do."
What is it that Champions do? What are some of the habits that an aspiring Champion can take on to become great? Tune in later this week for more discussion.
Dr. Chambliss, who is currently a Professor at Hamilton College, lived with my Coach John (and a few other assistants) during a few of the months leading into the summer of 1984, and he wrote his book Champions during and after this experience.
The epilogue of the book is called "The Mundanity of Excellence", and is here (thanks hoop thoughts)
"Mundanity of Excellence"
Just a few of the inspiring quotes:
Regarding "doing the little things in practice":
…"little things matter not so much because of their physical impact, but because physiologically they separate the champion from everyone else."
Regarding "confidence":
"Confidence is not the cause of championship; it is the result of setting up difficult tasks and then doing them."
Regarding "daily effort and daily results":
"It was not uncommon to see swimmers at Mission Viejo swimming within seconds of their lifetime best in practice, going all out, everyday. When they eventually got to the meet, there was nothing new to be overcome, and the conclusion was all but foregone; for all the closeness of times at Nationals, the same people often do win, year after year."
These are all inspiring quotes, but fall on deaf ears to most growing athletes and parents of athletes. Most athletes and most parents simply do not think high athletic achievement is for them. I've spoken with parents who are new to the sport, who have said to me: "I don't want my child to be Michael Phelps, but we'd like to try this out"….
My internal response: "Why wouldn't you want your child to win Gold Medals at the Olympics?" To me, that's a great accomplishment! I coach every kid like they can do at least one of three things:
1) Become an Olympic Champion and/or a World Record Holder.
2) Discover the cure for Cancer or any other terminal health issue.
3) Change the world in any other positive way which allows for high states of well-being throughout society.
As a coach, it's kind of a shot in the arm when you realize that your goals and the goals of many of your athletes are not aligned!
Can you imagine a parent who says to the teacher, going into the child's 1st grade year: "I want my child to gain knowledge and perhaps use it in their life, but I don't want them to discover the cure for Ebola"?! It's simply talk that comes from a root of self deprecation that many of us have hidden under our skin.
The problem, like the solution, is inside of ourselves. Let's think a little bit bigger. And lets understand that while becoming an Olympic Champion may not be in the cards for everyone, acting like an Olympic Champion CAN BE in the cards for all athletes. As Dan Chambliss writes, (and this may be paraphrase due to memory) "To become a Champion, you have to do what Champions do."
What is it that Champions do? What are some of the habits that an aspiring Champion can take on to become great? Tune in later this week for more discussion.
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