Positive Competition in Swimming

Connor Rumpit, Psychology, '20

I am sharing my second self directed learning project because competition is a huge and divisive component of competitive swimming. I hope that my post will bring some insight into how to promote healthy "Positive Competition".


One of the main aspects of swimming is competition. Day in and day out we train and prepare for the end of the season meet, often competing with our teammates along the way. Different athletes and coaches tend to have different views on the nature of competition. Some claim to thrive on it, while others think it should be pushed to the background in favor of a greater focus on personal growth. A swimmer's relationship with competition may cause a huge impact on performance, both at the end of the season and at smaller meets along the way. Competition itself is not problematic in the world of swimming, in fact, it is integral to the existence of the sport! The framing of competition, however, can have a crucial impact on the health and performance of programs and individuals. I believe that most people perform at their best and are mentally healthiest when they are able to frame competition as an opportunity to grow. I call this type of competition, which encourages growth and cooperation within the team as "Positive Competition".

Athletes vary wildly in their competitiveness in practice. Some thrive on racing their teammates at every possible opportunity, while others would rather just ignore their teammates altogether, and there is a broad spectrum between the two. Both of the extremes have their own potential problems - some athletes may race their teammates to the point of ignoring the objectives of the set. An example of this is an athlete who is so competitive during the preset that they exhaust themselves before the start of the main set, which is where the coach intended them to push themselves against their teammates. This type of athlete may find their own value in their ability to beat their teammates, and may view their teammates in an antagonistic light. On the other side of things, a swimmer who is unwilling to get up and race during practice is missing valuable meet preparation opportunities. This swimmer may be afraid of losing in practice, and this can lead to a fear of competition at meets too. Both of these athletes need to re-frame their views on competition. As a coach, it is important to frequently communicate about competition in practice in order to create a culture that values competition for what it is: an opportunity to learn and grow in preparation for future competitions. ( https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201307/learning-be-good-sport?collection=132795 )

An example of this Positive Competition in a practice setting could occur in an aerobic set such as 6x300 at a high aerobic intensity level. for distance swimmers, this is an opportunity to swim at race pace over extended period of time - a perfect opportunity for racing. On a team that embraces Positive Competition, the teammates encourage each other between 300s while racing during the 300s. While each athlete wants to come out on top, they also realize that their competition is strengthening the team as a whole, and they value this fact. The coach is also supportive, and may call out times in order to provide the athletes with greater awareness, but the times are not the coach's focus. In this case, the coach is looking for effort, toughness, consistent application of fundamentals, and a strong race mentality. During the set, the coach should be able to provide positive feedback for strong effort as well as encourage the athletes to push themselves more (without making the athletes feel they are being forced to do so). An example of this would be "Great effort, [Swimmer A] and [Swimmer B]! you were [Time A] and [Time B] on that one. Do you think you can beat that on this next one?" This statement lets the athletes know that they are on the right track and are competing well. It also invites them to push harder without causing them to feel pressure to do better, which may lead to counterproductive anxiety. At the end of the set, the swimmers would congratulate each other on a job well done - this shows respect for the work they put in together. ( https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-create-a-culture-of-healthy-competition )

When it comes to competition, having healthy competition in practice is important, but setting healthy goals is also key. Mastery-Approach (MAp) type goals are the most healthy goals for swimmers to have, as they prime the athlete to use competition in a healthy way. MAp goals are those that involve striving to learn or improve a certain skill. An example of a MAp goal would be working to develop a strong last 50 of the 200 free by improving technical points such as the last turn and upping stroke rate while decreasing breath rate in the last 10 yards. This goal is specific and skill mastery oriented. Notice that it makes no mention of winning the race or going a specific time. Those two pieces are performance oriented. A Performance-Approach (PAp) type goal involves meeting a certain performance standard, such as winning the race, going a certain time, or getting a cut. PAp goals are not inherently bad, in fact they often provide useful benchmarks. However, they tend to focus on variables that are out of the swimmer's control, such as performance of the other swimmers, and time itself, which nobody has any direct influence, no matter how useful that would be. It's OK to want to break 21 in the 50 free, and it's OK to want to be a state or national champion - in fact, these goals are great! But on competition day, those same performance oriented goals can get in the way by forcing focus away from what the swimmer can control and towards what is completely out of their control. These goals can also change the nature of competition, making it more threatening and upping the pressure. Not only does this make swimming less fun, it also makes it more likely that you will fail to achieve your goals! Therefore, when helping swimmers create goals, it is important to frame PAp goals as nice milestones, or bonuses, in the process - but prioritize MAp goals! MAp goals should act as the foundation and framework for the season: smaller technical goals can be strung together to reach a broader goal of getting closer to mastering a particular race. Many of the smaller, more technical goals will be worked on in practice. At meets it may be helpful to instead focus on the broader goal. How do you focus on a goal as broad as making progress in mastering an entire race? For many people, the answer is letting go - just going out there to compete, without getting in your own way. Thus, pure competition takes the place of formal strategy or goals. Your body already knows how to swim the race, and if you worked on the fundamentals in practice, you shouldn't have to think about them during the race - your body will take care of it all. This doesn't mean you should abandon all common sense and take your mile out in a 21, but the experience that an athlete has gained in practice from Positive Competition means they shouldn't have to worry about the pace of their first 50 because swimming it is natural and intuitive.

While their is certainly a time for competition, an important aspect of recovery is to learn when to stop competing. Often, this can come in the form of detachment. Physical Detachment simply means not participating in the sport outside of normal practice times. The importance of physical detachment in swimming is obvious. Coaches plan out the yardage, intensity, and content of a practice with a very specific purpose and plan. If swimmers are adding their own yardage on outside of practice, especially without communicating with coaches, everything is thrown off. Of course, there is a difference between coming in for a short Sunday loosen and adding in a heavy aerobic set at 10 pm every night. Generally speaking, though, when practice is over, it is important for swimmers to take a much needed rest.

Often less discussed is the importance of Emotional Detachment. This means not taking the pressures and worries of swimming with you after practice. ( https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/2541/how-detachment-fortifies-your-mental-strength-muscle ). By remaining emotionally invested in swimming after the workout has finished, you may cause further stress by worrying about things that are out of your control, and living in the past. Post practice reflection is, by the way, a powerful tool. It is advisable for every swimmer to review the practice immediately afterwards in order to learn and prepare for the next workout. Beyond this short reflection (which should closely follow the end of practice), it is best to shut it down. Obsessing over goals and practice outcomes during time off from swimming will likely lead to burnout or mental exhaustion. ( https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201012/sports-the-power-emotions ) 

A team that buys into Positive Competition will commit to pushing itself for improvement among all of its athletes. Positive Competition helps to create support networks on the team in which the athletes appreciate each other's presence as a tool to help each other grow, learn, and succeed. Competition, when left unchecked and unmonitored, can lead to unhealthy individual habits. However, by creating the right team culture, competition can be used as it is meant to be - as a healthy tool to promote growth by immersing athletes in a race-like situation.