If one of our athletes wanted more, we listened to him, we mobilized in a very short time and gave him the chance, with one condition: to listen carefully to what he has to do to succeed.
I also discussed with his parents about these simple methods that lead to the peak. It was hard to accept, they were nervous, they were talking, they were discussions, but in the end they understood that everything is for the good of their child, our sportsman ...
We know it's hard, but we know it's not impossible!
It was time to apply the new strategy: "we are going to get a better time than before"!
Why put a burden on the back of the athlete, namely the podium ?!, when I can ease their way to the podium.
Today's parents want to control everything, they make strategies, they talk instead of coaches, they advise the coach, tell them how to do and what to do, what drives me to look forward, the desire for now , I do not have time!
I notice that this is one of my roles, that more and more parents are wrong about this obsession with control. I go to competitions and see in the gallery only "coaches", in fact parents who explain to the children: do this, go this way. What is the role of the coach?
At the course for parents of athletes, organized by sports psychologist Andreas Hniatiuc, we were present as "parents", and not as coaches, without saying this, just to see the opinions of parents.
I was left with a bitter taste, when during breaks, the parents (who had just listened to the advice of a specialist about the wrong mentality and the wrong approaches to the coach and the child), came out with the same flawed opinion: The coach is to blame !!! What does this know, the psychologist ... .., I'm right, I do as I want! is my baby!
We resisted the whole course, but we did it all for the good of our athletes, to know how to tackle the first problem: parents!
The role of parents in the sporting child's life is to be a PARENT!
Take care of the child at home and in his free time spent with him.
The parent must be the support point of the sports child in case of a success and why not, a failure, not the tartor and the imposing one!
What about the school, the teacher at the school, and what about the training and competitions, the coach, and only the coach.
For a better result, for a more beautiful road to the top, parents have to consider certain things:
- The parent is not allowed to talk to the child about the technical details related to the training, the tests in which he participates in the competition.
- The parent is not allowed to promise the child that if he / she wins a medal, he / she goes on a vacation that he or she only dreams of or receives an expensive good.
The child must do everything out of passion and not just to get something, it does not lead to anything good, just to empty the pockets.
What do you do if you don't win the medal? On vacation you will go for sure, and the good will be bought anyway. The child knows that everything is right, what purpose is there to come to the training? In short, those who swim do it out of passion, not for fame or money.
- The parent, even if he is the financial supporter of the child, does not have to stay as visible in the gallery, is advised not to be present.
I know it is hard, but your emotions are transmissible, the child feels overwhelmed, instead of looking at the coach, he looks in the grandstand at the parent to receive the latest directions.
- Parents should take into account the nutrition of the child.
Sports nutrition is very important, especially during competitions. The athlete is allowed only certain foods, I talked to the athletes, they were very excited until we got to the table. The ordinary parents came in and asked the child: do you eat a tummy tuck? you want pork ribs? Come on, order what you want!
I tell you honestly, I felt the whiteness of another 20 hairs. Only God knows how patiently He has charged me not to snub. I say: NO !!! YOU WANT THAT SOMETHING, I talked on the road what you are allowed to eat, you agreed. The child got upset, stayed 15 minutes in which he said no continuously, I let him go and I explained to him once again why I came and that everything is for his own good. He understood, ordered what he could, without repeating the episode. (He got what he wanted to eat, after the end of the competition: he wanted onions with onions and sausages with mustard. Simple things ...) If we as coaches took a few good hours to explain the role of feeding a sportsman during the competition, parent for the sake of helping, it ruins everything in just a few seconds.
- The parent must accept the life of a performance athlete. The performance athlete has a restrictive life, he sacrifices his free time for training or competitions. If we go on trips before an important competition, or during the intense preparation for an important competition we risk:
- we spoil the strategic thinking preparation of the coach;
- we risk losing a better time and even a place on the podium, all the preparation went on the water of the foot, must be taken by ZERO.
- we risk to get injured (most often, children cannot participate in trainings or competitions because they have sprains, broken hands or feet, cuddles, etc.)
During the holidays, the athletes have a free week, and during the summer, after the completion of the important competitions, the athletes have free even a month in which they are allowed to go on vacations with school colleagues, parents, grandparents, etc.
- The parent must accept the failure. It happens even after years of performance, I only say after only one year of performance, when the child still considers it a play.
We must all understand that:
- disqualification due to a start, return, arrival, is a lesson;
- a bad time in the sample is a lesson;
- a good time is a lesson;
- a place on the podium is a lesson;
- losing the podium due to a start, a return, or an arrival is a lesson.
All these methods led to a shocking result, excellent times and 4 medals in a pretty important competition.
We grew up in another era, we were taught differently. We do not want to apply anything we have learned, we want to keep up with the new, we want to go smoothly and beautifully to the top, we do not want to rush anything, and we do not want to put weight on the back of our athletes.
And we understood now, after years, how much we lost because we did not have near us people to appreciate our passion for this sport, the fact that we sacrificed 8 hours a day training, just because I loved this sport.
During our time there were other training methods: barbaric methods, offenses, beatings, the coach was 100% supportive, and the methods continued at home, many times we wanted only to get home. We remember the night battles even though we were on the podium at competitions (3rd place was a shame). 3rd place at national when you live in communism, when you have no food and when you are beaten because the battle is broken from Heaven ?!, and because you made us laugh in front of the coach and the others….
We are now looking into the eyes of the coaches, but we have no courage to tell them that they have ruined our career because they were frustrated, selfish or had favorite athletes. We are also finding answers to problems since then, IERTAM, saying that they were raised with the same methods.
At the same time we look at our parents, but neither do we have the courage to tell them that they did the wrong thing, that any place on the podium or not, due to the shortcomings, was the result of our training and sacrifices. I didn't know what school trips meant, I didn't know what school camp meant, I didn't know what playing in front of the block or wasting time on TV.
All we know now is that whatever was in our past, swimming remained our passion, and if we still have the chance to be born, we will end it with this sport!
This is swimming. A sport made of many sacrifices and endless emotions. Swimmers are athletes who train for the love of this sport and not for money. They are made of dreams that sometimes break and sometimes become reality. Dreams made by the strength and determination of those who never give up.
The original article can be found at - http://legacy-aquatix.com/noile-metode-impuse-de-antrenori-au-dus-la-un- result-socant-chiar-si-pentru-ei/
Subject of reflection
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Blog | 02 Jun 2019
