From Times to Mindset: A Healthier Approach to Swimming and Sports

We’ve all heard it before, parents lamenting the relentless grind of swimming: the 5 AM practices, the constant pressure to hit new Personal Bests, the tight schedules, the stress of racing. It’s easy to see why so many might feel like they're losing sight of life’s balance, caught in an endless loop of competition, expectations, and exhaustion. But what if we could shift our focus from “Did I swim faster?” to “Did I give my best effort?” and “Did I execute the process?”

This season I have the privilege of working with my teams Shark 2 group (13-14 age group), and after a fantastic meet weekend, I’m more convinced than ever that this shift in mindset can have a profound impact not only on performance but on the well-being of our athletes. Let me share a bit about how we approached this and why it’s something worth considering for all swimmers and parents who feel overwhelmed by the race for times.

The Process Over the Outcome

This season, we introduced a new race standards evaluation system with a clear goal: to help swimmers focus on the process rather than the outcome. Instead of obsessing over whether a swimmer’s times were faster than last season, we wanted them to ask themselves: “Did I execute the skills and habits we’ve been practicing?” This shift is crucial because, as we know, performance is a byproduct of consistent effort and skill mastery, not a product of sheer ambition or pressure.

For us, this mindset was an immediate game-changer. While we didn’t hit our team goal of 90% race standard success, the progress we saw was remarkable. In the weeks leading up to the meet swimmers took ownership of their training, focusing on technique, hitting the standards in practice, increased mental focus, and effort. The energy on deck shifted as well, toward a healthier, more confident outlook that made a tangible difference in how they approached their swims and how they performed. Many of our best times (which was not a focus or even talked about) came from swimmers who hit the majority if not all of their race standards, proof that focusing on the process can lead to improved outcomes.

The Importance of Growth Mindset

This shift from outcome to process ties directly into our teams character focus for the month: Growth Mindset. Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford, introduced the concept of the growth mindset, the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and input from others. In sports, this means encouraging young athletes to see challenges as opportunities to learn, rather than as roadblocks to success.

When swimmers focus on learning and improving the process, whether it’s refining their strokes or fine-tuning their mental approach they build not just better technique but stronger minds. And those stronger minds, they lead to healthier attitudes toward competition, reduced stress, and increased resilience.

Passion for the Craft

It’s easy to get caught up in chasing times, but the true joy of any sport is found in developing a passion for the craft in the hours of practice, the challenge of mastery, and the growth that comes with persistence. This is where the magic happens, not in chasing a specific outcome, but in the small, consistent steps that lead to improvement.

In their book The Self-Driven Child, Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson emphasize that young people thrive when they have autonomy and the ability to focus on the process rather than just external rewards. It’s the small, daily actions that, when repeated with intention, lead to both performance and personal growth. Whether it’s setting a goal to work on a particular aspect of stroke technique or committing to a mental strategy to stay calm in the final 50 meters, these small practices are what set successful athletes apart. And ultimately, they help athletes develop a sense of agency over their training and their lives.

Connecting Practice to Performance

Here’s the truth: there is no magic formula for success. Performance in any sport doesn’t happen overnight, and it certainly doesn’t happen through sheer wishful thinking. The connection between practice and performance is real and can be measured in the small, intentional moments that happen in training.

As coaches, we can’t promise perfect results every time. What we can promise is that the routine, the day-to-day practice, will make a difference. Consistency, focus, and intentional effort build the foundation for performance. Swimmers who trust in this process tend to not only perform better but also enjoy the journey more.

Mental Health Benefits of a Process-Oriented Approach

This mindset shift isn't just about better times or stronger performances. It's about better mental health and let’s face it, that’s something many young people desperately need. In today’s world, stress, anxiety, and pressure are constant companions for young athletes, especially in competitive environments. But when swimmers focus on improving their skills and learning from every race, they take the pressure off themselves to be perfect. They can begin to see setbacks as part of the learning process, not as personal failures. This also circles us back to how we develop passion for our craft.

By shifting the focus to the process, we can also reduce the impact of performance anxiety, which is often driven by the fear of failure and judgment. When swimmers are less focused on times and more on what they can control, their effort, their attitude, their execution they tend to feel less anxious, more confident, and, most importantly, more present in their sport. Which will ultimately lead to high performance and a higher likelihood of them meeting their potential.

The Monetization of Time and the Joy of Doing

We live in a world that teaches us to measure everything in terms of worth. Time has become currency, something to be spent, saved, or invested. That mindset seeps into everything: “Is this worth my time?” “What’s the payoff?” “Will this be worth it in the end?”

While this kind of thinking might make sense in business or productivity, it quietly changes how we approach the things we once did for the sheer joy of them. When time becomes transactional, even play becomes a negotiation.

In youth sports, this way of thinking has become almost second nature. We see it in athletes who wonder if a hard practice is “worth it,” or parents who ask if the long weekends and early mornings will “pay off.” But this mindset, this monetization of time, comes at a cost. It strips away the intrinsic joy of the process and replaces it with a constant search for external validation: a best time, a medal, a scholarship.

It’s no coincidence that this shift mirrors the rise in mental health struggles and early burnout in youth athletics. When everything is judged by its return, the process itself starts to feel hollow. The joy fades, and so does the desire to keep going. Many athletes walk away long before they ever get to see the fruits of their labor not because they’ve failed, but because they’ve stopped finding meaning in the work itself.

What if we paused that mental calculator and remembered what it felt like to do something simply because we love it? To swim for the rhythm of the water, to run for the feeling of motion, to practice because it feels good to get better?

The antidote to the monetization of time is presence, focusing on the process, not the transaction. When athletes learn to find joy in the doing rather than in the result, they reconnect with the original spark that brought them to the sport in the first place.

So, when you catch yourself asking, “Is this worth my time?” stop. Take a breath. The real question might be: “Am I here because I love this?” If the answer is yes, then it’s already worth it.

A Final Thought

To parents feeling burned out by the grind: You’re not alone, and you’re not wrong to question the intensity of it all. But the key to finding balance is remembering that sports, like life, are about the process, not just the product. When we help our swimmers develop a love for the craft, focus on the skills that lead to growth, and shift away from the obsession with times, we equip them for far more than just athletic success. We prepare them for life.

As coaches, parents, and athletes, we have the opportunity to foster a healthier, more sustainable relationship with sport, a relationship that emphasizes the importance of effort, learning, and growth. This not only improves athletic performance but strengthens mental health, builds confidence, and creates lifelong passion for the journey, not just the destination. The reason for doing the thing, is so that we can do the thing. The pursuit of self-betterment is its own reward.

Shhhh…. Here’s the secret, if you take the advice above, shift your focus away from outcome, you will probably perform up to or beyond your goal, and be happier in the process…(imagine that, happier and better… sounds good.)

So, let’s take a deep breath. It’s okay to step back from the pressure. Focus on today’s effort, tomorrow’s growth, and the journey ahead.