It's that time again in the swimming world. Championship season. For many in our area, the high school season has concluded, with districts, divisionals, and regionals behind them. For others, their eyes are on the stiff competition at Metros and States, taking place over the next few weeks. But this week, the focus for NCAA swimmers everywhere, will be on the final preparations before conference championships, where the mental pressure and physical demands of multi-day meets will test their bodies like they haven't been all season.
The Olympic year brings a special significance to this year's NCAA championships. The athletes that they compete against are not just competitors from rival schools, trying to beat their team for a conference title. This year, the person in the lane beside you may be the one trying to take your spot in an Olympic Trials final, for a chance at making the Olympic team.
Swimming is about mental toughness. For the first ninety percent of the season, training is all about preparing your body physically. The last ten percent, however, is purely mental. How an athlete responds in a championship setting at conferences, could determine how they perform at NCAAs, Olympic Trials, and beyond.
Few know the pressure that comes with swimming at that elite level like our athlete contributors, who compete in the ACC and SEC, two of the toughest conferences in the country. Bradley Phillips is two weeks away from entering ACCs, but Amanda Kendall is in her final week of preparation for the Southeastern Conference championship. Michael Flach, training this season under an Olympic redshirt, is taking this time, when most of the country's elite swimmers are resting for championships, to push his practicing to the next level, heading south to train with friends under the Florida sun.
Read this week's posts from our athletes as they talk about what they are doing to prepare for conference championships.
Amanda Kendall – Louisiana State University
“This week with conferences just around the corner my emotions have been running high, and physically my body has been running low. I have been stressed over not feeling my stroke in the water, and physically broken down from all of the hard work we have put in during the season.”
Michael Flach – University of South Carolina
“Some of my favorite memories of my SEC’s have not been the victories or the first place finishes, but in seeing a swimmer lay it all on the line for their team. Nothing swings the momentum of a meet like a gutsy performance by one brave individual. And if you love the underdog, there is one to root for in nearly every race. If swimming had a “March Madness” this would be it.”
Bradley Phillips – University of Virginia
“Every person has a different state of mind that will help him or her go the fastest. Some people need deafeningly loud, angry music to get them hyped up and feeling gnarly. Others try to stay as relaxed as possible, in a peaceful mental environment that eliminates all distractions that would disturb their focus. Personally, I get very energized and involved in competitions, and have worked on not letting my emotions negatively affect my swims, but instead using them in my favor.”
Check back next week to read more from our athlete contributors as they continue to strive towards NCAA and Olympic glory.
