10 Characteristics of the Lazy Swimmer…The Lazy Swimmer Ode to Coaches

Before we get a bunch of angry coaches, remember this is only a segment of swimmers. Also, it doesn’t remove the coach, parent, or other’s involved in the swimmer’s life as a reason the “lazy swimmer” is this way. Enjoy 🙂

The lazy swimmer: They rarely come to the pool to train and, when they do, they hardly make any effort. At first, you hold back, but you think you would be foolish not to harness their talent to improve overall team scores. So you ask the lazy swimmer to help you out for an important championship.

They are only too happy to oblige. They smash it in the race, set an amazing time and win first place easily and seemingly without even breaking a sweat. Their teammates cannot believe their eyes. They laugh – if only not to cry – in awe at what they consider an incredible “feat”.

The more hard-working in the team are not usually so impressed and sometimes feel uncomfortable, but most people congratulate them and praise them until someone says those magic words that they love to hear so much:

“What a shame; if you trained harder, you could set unbelievable times”

These are swimmers of incredible quality who like to show off by performing well with little effort and who are defined by some of the following 10 characteristics.

10 Characteristics of the Lazy Swimmer who if they only Trained Harder…

1. The lazy swimmer is generally kind and extrovert. They are excellent competitors and don’t know the meaning of the word ‘pressure’.
2. The lazy swimmer has the perfect skills to perform superbly, but lack the necessary willpower to train hard and fully harness their wonderful skills.
3. The lazy swimmer knows their value, but don’t want to make the journey, and much less make an effort they are convinced is unnecessary.
4. The lazy swimmer loves the way they are and their role in the group and, at the slightest opportunity, they stand up to demonstrate their personal belief: more for less. “You see, you don’t have to train so much to set good times”
5. In spite of everything being in their favor and having the chance to triumph, the lazy swimmer incomprehensibly wastes it.
6. The lazy swimmer mistakenly trusts in their enormous skills and will find it hard to achieve success, because they are incapable of fully harnessing it.
7. It might be a good idea to pause and decide whether it is really worth the trouble to use their skills and willingness to collaborate with the team in the way they want to – without pressure and with absolute freedom – and also be aware of the possible disadvantages they bring to the group and even to the coach’s leadership.
8. The lazy swimmer can create a certain discomfort in hard-working colleagues who push their limits every day and see how their own efforts and sacrifices at training sessions are pushed to the sidelines in favor of a swimmer who doesn’t usually come to train, with an athletic skill far greater than theirs and whom they think they will never equal or surpass. This situation can even call into question the coach’s methods and impartiality.
9. The lazy swimmer’s participation in competitions can become somewhat of a “bread for today, hunger for tomorrow”, especially if their presence at future events is not possible and the negative impact that might have on team classifications over the previous championship they did take part in.
10. It questions the virtues and values that characterize swimmers – discipline, commitment and a personal desire to overcome obstacles – and also sends a mistaken and damaging message to their colleagues who, in some cases, would like to copy them even though the reality is that they do not have the same characteristics and skills.

Make no mistake, the swimmers who train the hardest are those who eventually reap the greatest reward and they are the ones you should focus on. Sometimes, some athletes set great times without having trained correctly. These are fleeting successes, with no consistency or future whatsoever.

“Your best friend is hard work every day.”

Written by Agustín Artiles (“Champi”). Agustín has more than 35 years of experience as the Head Coach of some of the most important Spanish swimming teams He has been the Coach of the Spanish Swimming Team from 2008 to 2012, and has trained the 50 breaststroke Spanish national record, Hector Monteagudo Espinosa, from 2002 to 2013 Agustín has also trained several international swimmers from the Spanish National Team and from the European and world top ten, as well as Paralympics athletes with medals and world records in all the different categories. He has also been accomplished with the award as the Best competition swimming coach in Spain 2006, as recognition for professional merits.