Being the Best You Can Be

小臭贝

This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from Paul Mangili, head coach of the Attleboro Bluefish Swim Club. Mangili, who has been the Bluefish head coach since 1993, was named the 2002 American Swim Coaches Association’s Age Group Coach of the Year for Massachusetts. Mangili offers advice on being the best you can be.

Mangili’s Tip:
As a swimmer and coach with more than 30 years of being in the pool and on deck, one approach I felt I never strayed from was my QUEST to be the BEST I could be. The greatest challenge any athlete or coach faces is to consistently perform at your BEST in any given situation, under any circumstance. When you think about all of the laps that you have swum and will swim in the future, ask yourself this, “Did I do it at my best?” If you said “Yes,” then think about your worst or most difficult day at the pool and ask yourself again. Your answer may change, but there are many influences, elements and circumstances that will impact what you and the team are striving to attain and achieve in the sport of swimming. It doesn’t matter if you are the swimmer, the coach or the parent.

Support, faith, confidence, trust, respect, commitment, change, perseverance, courage, attitude, passion, pride, desire, failure, success, transition, ability, willingness, challenge, focus, vision, goals, dreams.

These elements are just a few of the ingredients that impact the QUEST of being the BEST you can be. Without any one of them, it may be a struggle to attain your goals and to complete the drive for the ultimate swimming achievement. But realize that you cannot do this alone! Your family, your coach and especially your teammates are an extremely important part of this QUEST to be the BEST! Each one has an influence and impact on you every day you are a swimmer or a coach. Embrace them unconditionally, without judgment, and you will find yourself reaching the highest levels imaginable!

So create your own list of ingredients in the QUEST to be the BEST. Swimmers should have one, coaches should have one and the team should have one. Take the time to talk about your list, compare them to one another and put them into practice. Amazingly, you will find that being the BEST comes from knowing what makes it happen and executing it together. Have FUN and good luck!