Maintaining
Focus
For A
Week-Long
Meet
How
can a
swimmer
possibly
remain
focused
over
a 5-6
day
meet?
How
can
you
be
positive
about
swimming
a
final
tonight
if
you've
only
qualified
in
the
heat
in
4th
place
this
morning?
The
answer
to
these
questions
is
this:
Switch
on,
then
switch
off.
What
I am
trying
to
say
is
that
swimmers
require
a
special
mental
approach
which
I
call
'switch
on,
switch
off
concentration'.
This
means
you
have
to
switch
your
concentration
on
for a
race,
but
once
the
race
is
over
you
must
switch
it
off
again.
Switch
on,
switch
off.
Then
when
it's
time
to
swim
another
race,
you
do
this
all
over
again.
Let
me
explain
how
to do
this.
Before
a
race,
you
have
to
'focus'
upon
it,
to
get
yourself
into
the
right
mental
state
to
swim
well.
But
here's
the
part
that
most
people
don't
know.
Once
the
race
is
over,
you
must
mentally
switch
yourself
off
and
detach
from
the
race (regardless
of
how
you
went
in
the
heat
swim).
You
see,
if
you
think
about
that
last
swim
all
day
before
your
next
race,
you
are
going
to be
mentally
exhausted
by
the
time
you
get
there!
Believe
it or
not,
your
mind
does
not
like
to
think
about
the
same
thing
all
day
long,
it
wants
some
variety!
So if
you're
worrying
all
day
about
a
heat
swim
that
didn't
go so
well,
you're
not
going
to be
in
your
best
shape
for
the
heat
that
night,
in
fact,
you're
going
to be
feeling
very
tired
for
that
race.
Why?
Because
if
your
mind
controls
your
body,
then
it
makes
sense
that
when
your
mind
gets
tired,
then
your
body
is
going
to
feel
tired
as
well!
So if
you
want
to
have
lots
of
energy,
then
you
need
to
rest
your
mind
(as
well
as
your
body).
A
rested
mind
makes
the
body
feel
rested,
too.
So
the
best
thing
to do
after
you've
'switched
yourself
on'
for a
race,
is to
switch
off
and
forget
about
it
for a
while.
Once
the
race
is
over
and
you've
warmed
down,
have
some
fun.
Chat
to
some
friends
or
your
family,
watch
some
of
your
friend's
races,
read
a
book,
talk
to
your
coach,
have
a
laugh,
go
outside
for a
while........just
think
about
other
things
for a
while
to
recharge
your
batteries
for
your
next
race.
Then
as
your
next
race
approaches,
you
take
some
time
to
begin
'switching
on' -
visualizing
the
race
you
want
to
swim,
talking
positively
to
yourself.....then
you
go
out
there
feeling
mentally
and
physically
refreshed,
recharged,
rejuvenated
and
ready
to
blow
them
out
of
the
water!
Don't
get
me
wrong,
however,
if
you
swim
a
fabulous
heat
in
the
morning,
ENJOY
it
for a
while!
Think
about
how
great
you
were,
how
brilliant
you
feel,
how
great
everyone
thinks
you
are,
how
those
poor
unsuspecting
swimmers
never
had a
chance
against
you.......but
then,
switch
off.
You
can
always
come
back
and
think
about
it
again
later,
and
there's
the
rest
of
your
life
to
look
back
on
that
fabulous
achievement.
But
don't
just
think
about
the
race
all
day,
or
you
will
get
tired.
This
is
the
approach
to
take
when
you
have
long
days
at
the
pool
-
switch
on,
switch
off,
and
it's
the
way
to
stay
'tough'
mentally
and
physically
for
every
single
race
throughout
the
meet.
Try
it.
If
you
take
care
of
your
mind,
it
will
take
care
of
your
body.
"The
Mind
controls
the
body,
and
the
mind
is
unlimited".
The
best
of
success,
Craig
Townsend
"These
'Mind
Training
for
Swimmers'
tips
are
written
by
Craig
Townsend
from
It's
Mind
over
Matter,
who
runs
mental
training
programs
from
Sydney,
Australia.
You
can
subscribe
to
his
free
swim
tips
at
his
website
http://www.swimpsychology.com
or
send
an
email
to
subscribe@swimpsychology.com
Each
tip
is
Copyright
©
Craig
Townsend
and
is
fully
protected
by
Australian
and
International
Copyright
Laws."