Riptide Team Philosophy

Swimming is a wonderful sport for you to develop the necessary life skills to be successful in all aspects of your life. Swimming helps develop championship behavior, accountability, work ethic, self-discipline, goal setting, commitment, loyalty, mental toughness, self-confidence, healthy lifestyles and more.

The Riptide Total Swimmer understands the importance of balancing the different roles in his/her life with the proper training and fueling of the mind and body to reach his/her fullest potential inside and outside of the pool. The "Propeller to Success" represents the components of the Riptide Total Swimmer.

The "Propeller to Success" is made up of four interconnecting circles; First Things First (FTF), Mental, Physical, and Nutrition/Rest. Your goal is to be in the center where all four circles interconnect. This is where you will swim your fastest because you are balancing the different roles you have in your life while focusing on all aspects of swimming; mental training, physical training, and proper nutrition/rest.

Your propeller moves your ship through the water to your destination. You choose whether you reach your destination by your commitment to the journey and by charting a course.

This circle is the hub of your propeller, keeping all of your blades (other circles) together operating smoothly, in unison and your ship on course. You have many different roles in your life and wear many different hats. You are a son/daughter, student, brother/sister, swimmer, lifeguard, friend, etc., etc. Some of you are fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, employees, etc. How you balance these

different roles is a daily struggle. There is tremendous pressure today to be perfect, follow your peers, and for instantaneous gratification. There is a great illusion that there is an easy way to achieve quality of life, personal effectiveness, and rich relationships. It takes hard work, many different experiences, and many successes and failures to grow and truly reach your destination as a person. This is what shapes your character, self-esteem, and philosophy of life. Remember there is no failures, just learning experiences. By creating the proper balance, establishing priorities in your life (family, school, etc.), and nurturing your relationships you will help keep the hub of your propeller well oiled, your blades working together and running smoothly, and you will have a much higher resilience to the physical and mental stress of a year round swim program.

You need to believe your propeller is strong enough to get your ship around the world through any type of weather. You can be well trained, eat and rest properly, and have good balance in your life, but if you do not train your mind, you are setting yourself up for failure. Train regularly on visualization, muscle relaxation, concentration, and breath control. Choose to practice perfect, attack your fears and not to worry about things you can not control. Remember garbage in garbage out! Train your mind to pull positive thoughts from your emotional bank account, not negative thoughts. Learn to worry about yourself, not the student who you feel got special treatment or the swimmer you felt skipped laps. This is wasted energy. Believe in yourself, love yourself and you can accomplish anything.

You have to fuel your ship properly to keep your propeller moving fast and efficiently. The proper nutrition and rest helps you to train harder, swim faster, recover quicker, think better, increase your energy, and most importantly establish a healthy lifestyle so you live longer. You are what you eat. You should be eating 12-15% protein, 25-30% fat, and 55-70% carbohydrates. Stay away from fast food and lots of sugar, keep your diet low in fat and drink lots of fluids. Eat properly throughout the year, not just before competition. Get to bed early each evening.

It is hard work to improve the speed of your propeller. Everyone wishes they had two 400 horsepower propellers to speed them through the water. Do not get caught up in focusing on your lack of height or strength. Focus on improving your propeller speed by choosing to practice perfect and focusing on all aspects of training and racing; energy systems, dryland training, strength training, stretching, race strategy, pacing, stroke technique, motor skill development, experimentation, tapering. Remember sometimes you have to open it up and push your propeller beyond what you feel is capable.

The Outliers in the "Propeller to Success" diagram are your parents, coaches, teachers, peers, family members, etc. Outliers are the compasses of your ships giving you constant direction throughout your journey. They can really help keep your ship on course and propeller moving fast; giving you advice, knowledge, guidance, love and support. They also can cause your propeller and ship to slow down, turn off course, or even reverse directions. Unfortunately, there are coaches who coach for the wrong reason, parents who put too much pressure on their children, and friends who put pressure on you to do the wrong thing. You are the captain and navigator of your ship. Keep yourself on course. Do not be afraid to communicate your feelings to your coach, parents or teachers. Do not be afraid to tell your peers you are not interested. Be a leader. Follow your dreams.

You have to chart your destination or your ship and propeller will be floating aimlessly at sea. Do not leave your future to chance, SET GOALS! Set long term and short term goals and the necessary steps to reach those goals. Look at all aspects of the "Propeller to Success" when setting your goals and steps. A lot of people do not set goals because they feel accountable and are scared to fail. If you never dare to fail and step out of your comfort zone, you will never truly succeed! Set and own your goals. If you do not reach them, evaluate, learn from the experience and set new goals.

Although you all have different propellers moving your individual ships to different destinations, the team destination is the same. The Riptide difference starts with coaching from the inside out and all of us being part of the Riptide family inside and outside of the pool. Respect for each other starts with your lane mates and extends throughout the team. We all support each other through practice, meets, and in striving to reach our individual destinations.

I will live each day with courage and a belief in myself and others. I will live by the values of integrity, freedom of choice, and a love of all people. I will strive to keep commitments not only to others but to myself as well. I will remember that to truly live, I must climb the mountain today, for tomorrow may be too late. I know that my mountain may seem no more than a hill to others and I will accept that. I will be renewed by my own personal victories and triumphs no matter how small. I will continue to make my own choices and to live with them as I have always done. I will not make excuses or blame others. I will, for as long as possible, keep my mind and body healthy and strong so that I am able to make the choice to climb the mountain. I will help others as best I can and will thank those who help me along the way.