No Limitations

If you’ve been following my blog entries then you know I’m a swimming coach for an incredible club team. If you haven’t, well, you’ve missed out on too much to catch up. So just start at step one. You also know if you’ve been able to weed through my obsession with Norse mythology that I love swimming. Even more than I love Odin.

Little did you know Odin's God is swimming

But this question is still asked—why do I love swimming so much? There are so many incredible memories for me that sometimes it’s difficult to relate the exact reasons as to why I love swimming the way I do. Memories are precious for their own reasons, but those memories are what made my heart grow fonder for this sport. Though I won’t delve into any exact moment, know that every reason is personal.

Swimming is difficult. (Read my other post before continuing here.) Although it is difficult, swimming still allows people to get what they want out of it. It’s entirely possible for any person to come into the sport and work his or her way to where they want to be. It will be incredibly difficult; that isn’t debatable. But, the results will be worth it. As long as there’s a drive strong enough to go the distance, there is no limit to what a person can do.

Lessons. Never stop learning. Swimming is one of the many facets in life where anyone can gain valuable knowledge. The reason above this one is one of these important lessons--the impact of having a great work ethic. Along with that comes dedication, discipline, responsibility, and integrity. While someone can very well understand what these mean outside of swimming, personal experiences are not something that can be traded for with definitions or examples. Swimming provides an opportunity for everyone to experience the importance of these qualities and many more admirable traits. However, swimming also gives them a place to think for themselves so they can fully understand these traits through their own experiences. Personal thinking and self-awareness is crucial to staying on target to goals during swimming, just as they are for success outside of the sport. The things swimmers learn are not simply used in water but throughout all of their lives.

Dreams. What’s the difference between a dream and a goal? Goals are reached. Dreams are

So let your dreams flourish with no chance of withering

experienced. This distinction is minuscule, but immensely important. If you go through an incredible journey only to lose footing right before the finish, you fail to reach your goal. However, if you dream the same dream every night while getting further and further along in it, how do you know when the end of the dream is? Simply, you don’t know. Dreams teach you to have no limits; that’s why you never stop dreaming. Something I learned while swimming.

Impacts. Society connects the word relationship to two people romantically involved with each other. This is a mistake. I like to think of a relationship as the first definition given: the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected. My relationship with my swimmers is unlike any other connection with other people in my life. It is built on a sense of

openness and mutual respect. They know that I’m there to help them become better swimmers, but they tend to forget I’m also a coach to help them become better people. Because our relationship is built on trust and respect, I am able to have a personal impact on every single swimmer. Watching someone advance in the sport while gaining positive attributes that will help them in life is an indescribably good feeling.

I love swimming, and these are only some of the reasons that I love what I do. I could go on for many more blog posts about how great of a sport swimming is (and perhaps I will). However, for now, I’ll end with one final reason. Coaching. Swimming has been my life for over 11 years, but now coaching swimming is my life. While I completely love the sport, I no longer coach just for swimming. I coach for my swimmers.