Do Olympic swimmers feel fear and doubt like the rest of us?
Jack Roach has spent over 35 years coaching swimmers of all levels including a robust lineup of world class athletes and Olympians. In today’s episode, he talks to me about life lessons, his growth as a coach and insights gained from observing and working with high performance swimmers. Listen in to find out just what it is that sets high level performers apart from the rest.
"If something you're telling yourself going into a high-pressure challenge is not true it will be exposed and it will negatively impact your performance. It is never about the doing, it's always about the being... when we prepare to adjust that's where we get found and that's what those folks can do." - Jack Roach [30:52]
Key Takeaways:
· Lessons to be learned from the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant
· How Jack Roach was able to grow as a coach through working with high performance swimmers.
· The thought processes that set Olympic level swimmers apart.
· The key to confidence as a swimmer.
· Why honesty and vulnerability are necessary for success in both swimming and coaching.
Episode Timeline:
- [00:00] Intro- Jack Roach
- [00:50] Coaching is like building a fence
- [02:18] The motivation for this podcast
- [03:03] Kobe Bryant's passing
- [06:05] The biggest lesson to be learned from loss
- [06:33] What is it that helps you connect with the people who admire you?
- [09:21] Early career mistakes
- [10:31] What would you say to your younger self?
- [14:48] What separates high-level performance athletes from the rest
- [21:07] How high-level performance athletes prepare
- [24:45] Maintaining consistent performance under pressure
- [27:09] What Micheal Phelps and Natalie Coughlin have in common
- [29:01] Do fear a doubt exist in world-class athletes?
- [32:23] Outro
Key Quotes:
· "I don't think you can live as crisp of a life, that we're living right now without experiencing pain because things become routined and ordinary." -Jack Roach [04:31]
· "Everyone respects honesty and vulnerability. We hear that phrase all the time that the only way to courage is through vulnerability.. you hear it but if you live it, you know it's true. -Jack Roach [09:57]
· "I do not believe that someone else can give someone confidence. I think only a person can give themselves confidence and it only comes from doing things very special.” - Jack Roach [24:26]
Connect:
Find | Brett Hawke
On Instagram @hawkebr
Find | Jack Roach
On Instagram: @coachjackroach
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Special Thanks:
Inside with Brett Hawke is presented by Fitter & Faster. Host a swim camp. More than 1,000 swim clinic sessions in 46 States plus Canada & the Bahamas in 2019.
Inside with Brett Hawke is produced and promoted Swimnerd. Connect your phone to your pace clock with the Swimnerd Pace Clock. Digital, affordable, and Bluetooth programmable from your smartphone.