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Messages From Coach Kevin Thorburn  
 
"Sport does not develop character... it reveals it." - Vince Lombardi
 
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    Swimmer of the Month
    MAY 2010
    Tristan Cote is becoming one of the best racers and trainers in Canada for his age. I would guess that only a select few could compete with him in his element: The Long Course training session. Tristan has posted training times that young men would be jealous of. Great job in Cancun Tristan and Congratulations on your LC National Cut in the 1500 Free done at the Tri-Provincial Meet.
     
    Group Report
    Kevin Thorburn

    Coach's Corner

    JANUARY 20TH, 2010


    “Your Training Habits Define You”

    Your training habits define you. Talent also defines you, however, you cannot control how talented you are, but you can control your actions, i.e. your habits. Good training habits also insure you bring the best out of yourself and enable you, in the long run, to live up to your potential. Good training habits also lead to “True Confidence” that can only be achieved through self-discipline and training routines that athletes know are appropriate to their goals. The fundamentals of good training habits are as follows: (if you are not doing these things-change your ways or fall behind)

    1.) Attendance- Fit appointments around training, do homework early so not to have to stay up late to miss workout.
    2.) On Time – Equipment-suits/T-Shirts and mentally and emotionally ready
    3.) Positive thoughts and talk
    4.) Respectful of coaches and teammates, no whispering during instruction
    5.) Does sets the way the coach intends them to be done- i.e. - intensities , various efforts-Does not miss a meter
    6.) Don’t be afraid to test your limits
    7.) Turn- push off distance (past flags minimum)
    8.) Legal Turns and starts
    9.) Start swims on time (repeat send off times) – start warm-up on time.
    10.) No lane or bottom touching
    11.) Circle swimming etiquette-being aware or were your other lane mates are.
    12.) Minimal bathroom breaks-No time longer than needed to go to bathroom.
    13.) Moves quickly when coach instructs.
    14.) Stop talking amongst teammates quickly, when coach starts talking.
    15.) Hydrates Appropriately
    16.) Help set up and set down pool.
    17.) Clean up any mess from power bars and gather any bottles.


    DECEMBER 20TH, 2009


    Julie McDonald (Olympic Medalist)

    Goals to Prepare for the Australian Olympic Trials and the Seoul Olympic Games.

    By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

    1.) Lose excess weight
    2.) Win Open Nationals(team)
    3.) Make Olympic Team
    4.) Win gold medal 800 metres at Olympics
    5.) Wind medal in 400 meters freestyle at Olympics

    The things I have to do to achieve goals:

    1.) A) Do more than everyone else
    B) Eat less
    C) Eat right foods
    D) Run and skip
    2.) Train harder than everyone else
    3.) Do my best in training
    4.) Make training fun and enjoyable for myself and everyone else.
    5.) Do my 6-10 km quickly
    6.) Do everything right
    7.) Be positive
    8.) Work “little things”
    9.) Race the guys
    10.) Beat the guys
    11.) Be competitive in training.
    12.) Don’t leave any stone unturned

    The things I’m doing to achieve my goals:

    1.) Doing more extra things than everyone else.
    2.) Cutting down on food intake, and watching weight.
    3.) Running three mornings
    4.) Skipping three mornings
    5.) Trying my best in training
    6.) Encouraging others on efforts in training
    7.) Working turns and trying to improve them
    8.) Racing people in training
    9.) Being competitive in training

    The things limiting my performance:

    1.) Over my ideal racing weight
    2.) Not as strong as then men
    3.) A few negative thoughts creeping in
    4.) Feeling tired during training(could be from extra work and weight)
    5.) Need of encouragement
    6.) Disappointed in swimming slowly in training
    7.) Difficulty in motivating myself.


    October 30th, 2009


    “Keepers of the Flame”

    Every generation of Etobicoke swimmers take on the duty to maintain and build upon the legacy and tradition of excellence of the club. Each new generation must honor the past greats of the club with their effort and carry the torch into the future.

    Excellence is created by consciously doing the right things in Practice, at Meets and in Lifestyle. It is the accumulation of all the little habits that come together into one large force “the will to succeed”. Excellence is the will to strive for what is possible. It is the desire to improve oneself. In the case of Etobicoke Swim Club, the motivation to strive is not coming solely from the individual, but is also a collective duty, as a member of the club, to be the “custodians of the flame”.

    Sept 30th, 2009


    Welcome Back Everyone! This year should be an exciting and interesting one. Working on "The Process" will absolutely be the “mantra” of this new textile suit era. More than ever before, being a great athlete in terms of lifestyle will be an advantage. In fact, it might become more than that, it might become an essential. Being lean and fit with the best possible power to weight ratio, will separate the vanguard from the also rans. Start living the life of the future athlete “NOW”. Get a head start and don’t look back. Good luck to all ESWIM athletes and I look forward to our first swim meets of this era.

    March 26, 2008

    Well everyone, the moment of truth has arrived. Only a few days left to prepare physically and mentally for the 2008 Olympic Trials. 99.9% of the work has been done. The last week is mostly spent calming and psyching for the meet. Most people, who have gone through this process admit that is the waiting that is the hard part. When the time comes to compete, everything comes together. I have found that the athletes who do the best are those willing and wanting to take full responsibility for there performances and also have the "least doubts" in conjunction to there "high self-confidence".
    Last note: this is a meet where all team mates should be paying attention to what’s happening in the water (unless they have an upcoming event to prepare for) team support is vital to our success.
    Good luck to all Etobicoke swimmers.

    January 23, 2008

    Training has been the focus during the past month with the exception of racing at Senior Provincials. The current preparation has been laying the foundation of this cycle for competing at Easterns and Olympic Trials. The altitude training camp at Flagstaff, Arizona was a lot of fun and very productive. The first week we walked to and from the pool (20m minutes each way) in sub zero weather. Everyone stayed positive and no one complained. The day trip to the Grand Canyon was interesting as it was snow covered. All in all, it’s been a good start to an exciting year.

    Top 10 Best Things Young People get out of Swimming


    10. They Develop a strong work ethic
    9. They become goal oriented and learn how to commit to them
    8. By necessity they become great time managers
    7. They derive general fitness and health
    6. They are participating in a sport they can do for life – masters is ever growing
    5. Travel – see the world ahead of their age peers
    4. Develop life long friends
    3. They are eligible for athletic scholarships
    2. They experience increases in self-esteem and confidence
    1. They learn to value excellence

    “The Mundanity of Excellence” Excerpted from Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers by Daniel F. Chambliss

    The champion athlete does not simply do more of the same drills and sets as other swimmers; he or she also does things better. That’s what counts. Very small differences, consistently practiced, will produce results. In swimming it could be doing all turns legally, or swimming one extra set of repeats after practice every day, or wearing gloves on your hands to keep them warm at a meet. American historian John Morton Blum reportedly has said that to be successful a writer need produce only three pages a day---every single day. Often the trick is doing little things (like good turns) correctly, all the time, every time. Championship training consists of doing more and more of these little things---and they are, finally, innumerable---each one consistently, so that each one produces a result.
    The results of such quality training inevitable add up. Swimming is swimming, we can say---in practice, or in meets, it’s all the same. If you swim sloppily 364 days a year, nothing great is going to happen on the day of that one big meet, no matter how excited you get. Nowadays top-level swimmers tend to treat workouts as meets, where every swim counts; they have to win each repeat, always do great starts and turns. Steve Lundquist, for example, decided early in his career to try to win every swim in every practice, and eventually he did that. Many Mission Viejo swimmers took time every day to psych up for workouts, which they treated as intense competitions. It was not uncommon to see swimmers at Mission Viejo swimming within seconds of their lifetime bests in practices, going all out every day. When they eventually got to a meet, there was nothing new to be overcome, and the conclusion was all but foregone: for all the closeness of the times at Nationals, the same people often do win, year after year.
    When Rowdy Gaines studied the starter in the Olympic Games, that was not a new “trick” he invented that day. He always checked the starter, as do many swimmers, because he knows that sometimes it makes a difference. He wasn’t “cheating” to win that day. He was simply attending to details that other people didn’t, and he had the good luck that the officials didn’t recall the start. Mike Heath and Mark Stockwell and the five other swimmers in that race could have anticipated the gun, too, perhaps with good results, but they didn’t. Gaines did.
    These little things matter not so much because of their physical impact, but because psychologically they separate the champion from everyone else. Having done the little things, the champion can say “I have done what no one else has done, and I know it; and they know it, too.” The little things, the details, then can be important for their testimonial value, their symbolic value, in setting one apart as someone special or different---someone to be watched and to be paid attention to. “This guy takes this seriously (and we don’t); he really does deserve to win.” “Why should I hurt myself in this race when Christine wants it that bad?” The little things, far from being an aggravation for top-level athletes are the part they most enjoy: the polished points that mark the craftsmen of sport.
    One result of this we call “confidence.” Some people believe that confidence is “mental” or is “all in your head,” as if you could just, one day, decide to have it. Or they believe that you get “confidence” when you buy a cassette tape that tells you to relax, think positively, visualize your races, and so on. They believe that confidence is a mental trick, like hypnosis, that can take one to incredible feats. But the confidence of the champion is not some trick learned by listening to an inspiring lecture. Confidence is not the cause of championship; it is the result of setting up difficult tasks and then doing them. As one coach put it, “Mental preparation is something you do in the water everyday.”
    Our usual view of champions tells us the opposite. We think they are special people, larger than life: unusually good-looking, successful, happy all the time, patriotic, and self-confident. Failures don’t get much TV coverage. For the sake of drama, reasonably enough, storytellers enhance some part of the story and downplay others. And we think reasonably: My God, this guy is nothing like me, I could never do what he does.
    But there is no magic that separates Olympians from everyday people, despite the fact that the title suggests Greek gods. No one is born to make the Olympic finals; potential doesn’t win a gold medal. Doing it is the only thing that counts. The truth is simple: Most swimmers choose every day not to do the little things. They choose, in effect, not to win. They say, “I could do this workout if I wanted to,” or “I could have rolled with the start,” or “I would have won if I had been healthy.” In some sense, everyone “could” win in the Olympic Games, but “could” doesn’t count. The gold medal is reserved for those who do.
    The doing---this alone makes champions different. The excitement they feel comes from the raw physical and emotional reality they face every morning as they swim six miles, paying attention to all the details. Certainly the Olympic Games represent a rare opportunity to demonstrate publicly one’s heroic capabilities. But champions do not wait four years to find their heroic opportunities; they create those opportunities, every day.
    November 20, 2006

    November- December SwimNews #1 National Rankings

  • TAG #1 RANKINGS


    • October 23, 2006

    "The Best is yet to be"


    Why do records keep falling every year? Is there not some intrinsic biomechanical limit that mankind will reach?
    The simplest answer to these questions is no. Records will continue to fall. They may be fewer and further between but they will always fall. The main reason for this is not the usually sited: better technique, better nutrition, better training methods, but the psychology of "expectations". Each successive generation believes it can surpass the generation that comes before it, and like magic, generally it happens. "The power of expectations"


    Creating A New Business Model - Has the Time Come For USA Swimming Clubs to Go Vertical? -- October 15, 2006
    By Brent Rutemiller
    PHOENIX, Arizona, October 15. WHEN does a process reach the end of its life cycle? What strategies must be taken to ensure new growth? As with all business models, adapt or go flat. The club structure within USA Swimming is now caught in unprecedented cross currents. Professionalism and post graduate careers now collide with old social structures and multi-level training environments.

    In the 60s, the mighty clubs of Santa Clara with George Haines and Arden Hills with Sherm Chavoor produced Americas finest. In the 70s, the top women traveled to clubs such as Mission Viejo and the Cincinnati Marlins while universities like Indiana recruited top males. In the 80s, men and women churned the club waters in hopes of landing college scholarships, only to return to their clubs for summer training.

    In the 90s, many college programs created their own on-campus club programs so that men and women could remain with their college training partners during the off season. This evolution worried club coaches so USA Swimming responded with the Coaches Incentive Program, which is still in existence today. This program financially rewards club coaches for their contribution in developing an athlete who goes on to excel at an Olympic level, even if the athlete no longer swims with the club or coach. Still, club coaches migrated to the more secure financial waters of college coaching and left coaching gaps in USA Swimming clubs all over the country.

    Now those club waters have become murky with the emergence of a new elite class of competitive swimmers. Professional swimmers such as Katie Hoff and Michael Phelps have elected to not compete within the NCAA college boundaries. Others, such as Brendan Hansen and Aaron Peirsol continue to train after college graduation. This is a class of swimmers that is in need of a stable, elite training environment.

    Those elite training environments are hard to find because most USA Swimming clubs utilize a horizontal business model where they are merely a link in the chain of a swimmers progression. (Lessons by the Red Cross - Summer Recreational Swimming - USA Swimming Club Training High School Swimming College Training) The smooth transition from one level to the next was and still is fraught with potential discord as a swimmer moves from one coach and program to another.

    A new business model is starting to emerge. Vertically integrated club structures are now starting to appear throughout the country. Established clubs are integrating lucrative learn-to-swim programs into their structure. Some of those same clubs are integrating summer leagues into their overall developmental program as a fun introduction to competitive swimming. However, there still is a void at the top.

    Mark Schubert, USA Swimmings National Team Head Coach and General Manager recently stated that swimming in college should be the number one goal of all serious club swimmers, but for those that choose not to go that route or for those that want to swim after college, there is a need to have an environment where these athletes can train together at a club level. The National Team concept in Colorado Springs was a success, however the budgetary cost associated with getting these athletes to and from Colorado Springs, plus competition travel became cost prohibitive. We need other alternatives.

    So far, very few clubs have been able to integrate those alternatives for the young elite professional AND the post graduate swimmer into their structure for two reasons. One, monies have not been available to transfer from the former National Team Training program to the clubs, largely because most of those funds were provided through the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and not USA Swimming. Two, clubs have been unable to provide the professional high school and college-aged swimmer with educational opportunities nor the post graduate swimmer with work experience opportunities necessary to attract or retain these athletes.

    These obstacles may soon be overcome. Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (MAC) in Charlotte, North Carolina is being mentioned as a possible new model for USA Swimming. MAC is a 650 member club with a $1.9 million budget. It has thirteen full time coaches and 4 part timers that serve four locations. It is surrounded by business and educational institutions that can provide opportunities. Money could be available from the USOC who has established some precedents by partnering with clubs in other sports that establish elite Centers for Excellence.

    Jeff Gaeckle, President of MAC, said the concept of creating a similar center at MAC has been embraced by his community and club leaders. He pointed out that MAC has a strong history in progressive thinking and has proven to be a well organized and well managed club. The city of Charlotte has a core group of movers and shakers that embrace quality of life issues and are not afraid to take on big ideas. After all, this is a city that has a long history with NASCAR and recently acquired an NFL and an NBA franchise.

    Gaeckle went on to say that Charlotte has a strong business community that is interested in offering work experience opportunities for post grads. Educational institutions such as the University of North Carolina, community colleges and private schools are all here to offer a quality education.

    The city and club leaders are very proud of our swimming history and are looking to create more opportunities. We are exploring not only ways to retain our elite swimmers, but how we can help mentor young coaches who may come here to learn, Gaeckle concluded.

    It only stands to reason that other clubs such as North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Mission Viejo, and Pine Crest will be watching these developments carefully.

    David Marsh, Head Swimming Coach for Auburn University, clearly supports the Center for Excellence concept at the club level.If done correctly, funding mechanisms are available. Educational and work environment opportunities can exist through partnerships with local universities and businesses allowing these swimmers to further their career goals while training. A number of top college coaches would probably find this coaching environment on a club level very enticing. he said.

    SwimmingWorldMagazine.com will follow-up with a series of articles addressing the evolution of club swimming in the United States.

    March 24, 2006

    Congratulations to our Provincial Tri-Meet Team Members

    In the middle of May at Wilfred Laurier Pool 5 Etobicoke Swim Club Members will be competing for Ontario at the Provincial Tri-Meet Competition against Quebec and Maritime Canada. Our 5 competitors are: Franco Petrone (13), Heather Maclean (14), Hassaan Abdel-Khalik (14), Bogdan Knezevic (15) and Colin Coombs (15). Good Luck at the meet, we are all proud of you!

    January 18, 2006


    Ontario Senior Provincials proved to be an excellent competition for our swimmers coming off their Christmas training camps. ”It’s important to compete whole heartedly even when they know they’re not tapered.” A swimmers performance should always be a function of where they are in the training cycle, not whether they gave 100% effort or not. Competing hard when a swimmer is tired is one of the best ways to develop mental toughness.
    Congratulations all ESWIM swimmers who contributed to the win at the Senior Ontario Championships.
    Congratulations to Natalie Hagan for her two bronze medal performance at the Victoria (AUS) State Age Group Championships.

    December 15, 2005


    The North York Youth Cup and Paul Bergen meets were the short course pinnacle meets for our fall cycle. ESWIM dominated the Youth Cup with many fine performances coming from swimmers in all age groups.
    Youth Cup Individual Event Winners Were:
    Bryan Mell, Endi Babi, Matt Pariselli, Cody Gault, Hassaan Abdel-Khalik, Colin Coombs, Bogdan Knezevic, Alexa Komaryncky, Amanda McTeague, Sasha Menu-Courey, Feo Tchougainov, Amy Xu, Franco Petrone. Congratulations Swimmers!
    The Paul Bergen meet was a Provincial activity. Our members on the team were:
    Feo Tchougainov
    2nd 400IM
    4th 200BR
    6th 200IM
    7th 100BR
    Colin Coombs
    6th 400IM
    7th 1500FR
    Amy Xu
    9th 400FR
    9th 800FR
    16th 100FR
    Natalie Hagan
    14th 800FR
    Oleg Murzenko
    18th 200FLY
    Well Done Etobicoke!
    November 16, 2005


    Brantford international proved once again to be an excellent tune up meet for the upcoming primary targets of this the fall and first cycle of the year. The next meets we compete at are all taper and shave meets. The goal at these meets is "peak performance". These meets for the HPG are: Commonwealth Games Trials in Victoria B.C. (LC) 24-27), Youth Cup at the Olympium (SC)(Dec 1-4) and the Bergen Invitational, (Portland Oregon) SC (Provincial Team only (Oleg Murzenko, Colin Coombs, Feo Tchougainov, Natalie Hagan and Amy Xu). These upcoming meets will be very exciting to prepare for and compete at. This is the phase of the cycle that is called taper, which is looked forward to and enjoyable phase of the training cycle because the ownice is on speed not volume in the water training. The swimmers are trying to accumulate as much rest as possible going into and during these competitions.
    Go ESWIM Go!!!!
    October 28, 2005


    The 05-06 season is well on its way. We have had our first meet, and have been training for over a month. Most swimmers indicated a healthy amount of progress towards peak fitness levels for this time of the year. Many best times were posted by even the older swimmers at the sprint meet.A good comparison of this years improved fitness level is the comparison of this years 200 IMs to last years. Good Job Everyone at the sprint meet.
    One of the concepts that I am conveying to the High Performance Group so far this year is:
    When an athlete has dreams and goals, and prioritizes their life around those goals, the little sacrifices needed to achieve excellence come easier. The shape those sacrifices take is usually; staying away from junk food, getting more sleep, and less late night socializing.
    Little sacrifices now for greater pay off later

    June 21, 2005


    While I was going through the National Age Group records, rank ordering by club, I realized that I personnaly, at 3 different clubs, (ROD, MANTA and ESWIM) had coached 29 of the current National Age Group records. 14 at ESWIM, 13 at Regina, and 2 at MANTA. Some other Etobicoke alumni coaches with records still standing are: Paul Bergen with 11 and Chris Givens with 5.

    Congratulations to all participants in the LC Central Regions. We won as a Team and the competition produced many fine individual performers, including 2 new provincial qualifiers: Kaitlin Moxon and Michael Golian.
    Well done Team!!!
    Good luck to everyone at LC Junior Provincials and Club Nationals.

    May 18, 2005


    World Championship and Canada Games Trials were held at the Claude Robillard Centre in Montreal May 10-14. The meet was exciting for all involved. Jenna Gresdal was ESWIMS highest performer with 2 wins in the sprint Frees (50 & 100) and 2 Bronzes in the sprint Backs (her 29.4 was under the Fina standard).
    Four members of the HP Group were selected to the Canada Games Team, the most of any club in Ontario and Coach Thorburn was selected to the staff.

    ESWIMS Top 16
    Performers

    Jenna Gresdal
    50 Fr - 1st 25.82
    100 Fr - 1st 56.38
    50 Bk 3rd 29.45
    100 Bk 3rd 1:03.23

    Alexa Komarnycky
    400 IM 2nd 4:51.16
    400 Fr 6th 4:20.72
    200 Bk 10th 2:20.02
    200 Fly 10th 2:20.22
    200 IM 13th 2:21.43

    Tobias Oriwol
    200 IM 4th 2:05
    400 IM 9th 4:34

    Monika Stitski
    1500 Fr 5th 17:14.24
    400 IM 7th 5:00.47
    400 Fr 9th 4:23.50
    800 Fr 10th 9:06.52
    200 Fly 13th 2:21.01

    Endi Babi
    200 Fly 6th 2:05.29

    Matt Pariselli
    1500 Fr 10th 16:26.55
    800 Fr 10th 8:33.91
    400 IM 11th 4:39.14

    Bryan Mell
    50 Br 9th 30.36
    100 Br 13th 1:06.60
    200 Br 15th 2:27.82

    Amanda McTeague
    400 IM 15th 5:07.90


    3 Key Ingredients

    The Following are what I believe to be the most influential factors which determine long-term success in the sport of swimming.
    1. Talent Its innate. You can't buy it or sell it. It comes in two forms, Physical and Mental.
    2. The Athlete's commitment to excellence
      Its not enough to do the right thing some of the time, you have to do the right thing, all of the time Vince Lombardi
      Excellence doesn't happen when its convenient, Excellence happens when its not convenient; Kevin Thorburn
    3. ;The families commitment to excellence. The Family has to support the athlete in action, not only in word. The family must understand and support the lifestyle of their elite athlete. The family should enhance not hinder the athlete's ability to attend all scheduled practices. The easiest indicator of the level of commitment of an athlete is their attendance.




    The following is a compilation of character traits I have observed in the great athletes that I have coached and known over the past 35 years. Some of these traits came naturally to them, but most needed to be cultivated. You cant control how tall you are or how big your hands are but you can control your thoughts and behavior.

    CHARACTER TRAITS OF CHAMPIONS


    1. Single-minded pursuit of their goals.
    2. Self-disciplined - Know how to stay away from negative influences.
    3. Highly motivated - No doubts in their minds regarding the direction of their lives.
    4. Will receive disciplining in a positive way - Can admit to their mistakes.
    5. Dogged Determination - They don't let setbacks and obstacles stand in their way.
    6. Perfect or near perfect attendance:
      *Make it to workout on time.
      *Schedule appointments around training.
      *The best athletes rarely get sick.
    7. Positive and realistic mind set.
    8. Sense of destiny.
    9. Hate to loose - Need to win.
    10. Respect opponents and paradoxically have disdain for them.
    11. Confident - Not over confidant.
    12. Accept 100% responsibility for their performance - No back door for cop-outs.
    13. Methodical and realistic goal setters.
    14. Honest - With self, team mates, parents, and coaches.
    15. Mentally tough, rugged and resilient - You can only become mentally tough by doing hard, challenging things in training - Performance consistency is the hallmark of mental toughness.
    16. They do the preparation to their utmost ability so that they believe they deserve to win.
    17. Always looking for ways to break new ground, improve, stay ahead of the competition.
    18. Love a good Challenge.
    19. Aren't afraid to test their limits.
    20. Coachable.
    21. In a race they will do what it takes regardless of how they feel.
    22. Great powers of concentration - Can achieve "flow" more often then others (Ideal Performance State)
    23. Willing to endure incredibly high levels of pain.
    24. Willful.
    25. Pride - won't allow someone to beat them, who they think should not beat them, no matter what.
    26. It is easily observed in their lifestyle, and training, their "Total Commitment to Excellence"


    Character Traits of

    Successful International Swimmers


    1. At their best when it matters the most.
    2. Knows when to rest and get away from it all.
    3. Long term thinker and also knows how to seize the day.
    4. Develops and maintains positive relationship with coach.
    5. Doesn't get emotionally strung out over the other competitors.
    6. Pays attention to detail - Knows schedules of training, racing, team meetings etc.
    7. Great visualizers and positive thinkers.
    8. Doesn't get flustered over little hassles.
    9. Can listen to other coaches and knows how to integrate or discard information.
    10. Believers in their program and the training they've done - can't be psyched out.
    11. Master of the media.
    12. Aren't afraid to test their limits (and possibly fail in the process).
    13. Must be able to control body weight during training camps and meets - Must deal with unusual foods.
    14. Gets their sleep - protects their rest.
    15. Avoids energy depleting activities.
    16. Doesn't get sun burned or heat exhaustion - stays hydrated.
    17. Makes sure family/friends know your time zone differences.
    18. Doesn't worry about social pecking orders.
    19. Keeps emotional state clear/calm.
    20. Makes sure alls well on the social front before leaving on trip. i.e. Family, friends, girl/boy friend.
    21. Doesn't get distracted by all the hoopla - especially needed at major games.
    22. He/She with the least doubts will do the best.
    23. Is not intimidated by someone else's reputation.
    24. Does the intimidating if anything.
     
    Last update: January 20th, 2010