Read at your own risk
In the world of sports, especially swimming, we often encounter teams labeled with grand titles such as High Performance, National Team, or Elite groups. These names carry a certain weight, setting expectations and ambitions for the athletes and coaches involved.
Having visited numerous teams and perused countless websites, I’ve noticed a trend: many of these so-called “elite” groups fall short of the high standards their names suggest, with few achieving the level of success implied, often boasting one or fewer junior national qualifiers. The intention behind these names is clear and, in many ways, commendable. Coaches and staff aim to foster a culture of excellence and ambition, setting a high bar for their top athletes. However, these titles can become pitfalls, serving more as aspirational labels than accurate descriptors of the group’s current abilities or achievements. The creation of such groups often stems from a desire to replicate and amplify the success of a handful of promising athletes, yet the reality is that establishing a true high-performance environment requires much more than an impressive name.
The issue lies not in the ambition itself but in the approach. True high performance in sports is akin to nurturing a tree to bear fruit; it begins with the roots. To cultivate a culture of excellence and achievement, we must start with a clear vision of the end goal and work backward to lay the foundational values, processes, and skills necessary for success. This doesn’t mean prematurely branding young athlete groups with titles like “Age Group Domination ELITE” — there is no shortcut to elite status, especially in age-group swimming.
Establishing a high-performance ethos is a long-term endeavor, often taking 4 to 8 years to bear tangible results. High performance is not a destination or a specific group within a team; it’s a comprehensive set of principles that begins on an athlete’s first day and continues throughout their development. Just as climbers prepare months or years in advance for the final ascent of Everest, athletes must develop a wide array of skills long before they approach the pinnacle of their sport. The skills required for the summit differ significantly from those needed at the start of the journey, and many athletes reach the cusp of their goals only to find they lack the necessary tools to proceed further — a stark reminder that what brought them to this point won’t necessarily carry them to the next.
High performance starts from the very beginning. From the moment an athlete joins the program, the focus should be on cultivating the diverse skills and resilient mindset needed to thrive in the competitive arena. The path to the top is arduous, and the climate unforgiving, demanding a well-rounded preparation that spans years, not moments. In redefining our approach to creating high-performance teams, we must shift from merely assigning ambitious titles to building the deep, foundational qualities that truly enable athletes to excel and achieve their full potential.