Where does leadership play a role in an individual sport? I’m not sure, but I do know that it’s a myth that swimming is an individual sport. You can make the point that it’s only you, racing against the clock or you are the only one in the pool who controls the race, but I feel that’s short sighted. That’s results focused.
Think of swimming as an equation. On one side of the equation is all the work and preparation done day after day. All the practices, all the mental preparation, the nutrition, the recovery, and more practice all adds up to give you the other side of the equation. On the other side is the result. Countless hours of commitment go into a race that usually lasts a minute or two at the most.
A + B + C + D +…… = Result
99% of the time you spend related to swimming isn’t in a race and it isn’t often pleasant. This is where the team comes in. The people you share that time, space, pain, and commitment with contribute to what you get out of it. A positive team that works together and is supportive yields a positive contribution. Less is contributed for a group of individuals that just focus on themselves and if you have negative group, the contribution is negative.
In short, the team around you can enhance or detract from the left side of the equation and ultimately the right side or the result. Whether it is high school, club, or college, the team matters. If the team matters, then leadership matters.
So where does leadership play a role in swimming? It comes in the form a facilitating a positive environment for the team. Understand that and in part two, I’ll talk a little bit about what that looks like.