After-Camp Idea #1: PONDER

When was the last time you pondered? It's not a word thrown around much these days, but every morning when I drive to the pool at 5:30, the local radio station has a segment called "Walden's Pondering." It's hosted by an older gentleman who simply ponders - or thinks deeply -- about current events. He puts a commonsense spin on some fairly complex issues. So, anyway, I've been doing more pondering lately.

While pondering our recently completed summer camps, I remember a suggestion I made early in the camp. I advised each camper to go back to their dorm each night, get out a sheet of paper, and write down everything they could remember from that day. Of course, this takes time and concentration...something kids at camp aren't keen to do. They've got too many friends around, and spending time with them is FAR more important than writing down technique stuff from the pool sessions.

This I completely understand.

Now that you're home, and you've more than likely got a spot where you can go to...ponder, try to go back through camp and just think about the things you heard. Picture the face of each coach and remember what that coach said to you or your group more than once. Why were they repeating themselves? What did that thing mean to you?

One week of swim camp won't change your life, but it can set the stage to change your life. We can't get you in better shape in a week, and we can't change your stroke in a week. But we CAN expose you to new ideas, and reinforce the old ideas that were already working for you. Swim camp is just the beginning. It's now up to you to think deeply about the ideas you were exposed to, and to ponder what they mean to you. And it's up to you to apply all the tools and stroke techniques to your everyday swimming.

Try not to think about everything at the same time. Pick ONE thing that you remember, and work on it intently at your next practice. If you pick a new thing each day, you're on your way to turning a great week at camp into great season. And, hey, if that sounds like a theme from our DVDs...you're right! It works!

The FIRST thing you can do to make sure you take complete advantage of any swim camp is to go home and...ponder.