Are You Ready to Commit?

I taught a kid to dive today. What an exciting skill to teach. It’s my favorite. When a child dives headfirst into the pool for the first time, a smile instantly washes over their face. They know they’ve accomplished something. They feel the rush of water pass over their body, and they go deep into the pool. No more fear of belly flops and the slapping pain.

Here’s the thing. The kid I taught today is thirteen years old. He’s been on our swim team for 3 months and still could not dive. I had asked him multiple times to work with me, and he refused. I finally gave up asking. “If he wants to clumsily jump in the water from the diving blocks, I guess he will just have to do so,” I rationalized.

Today, however, was different. We have the pressure of a swim meet tomorrow. He has spent the entire season being last place in races and jumping in awkwardly with feet first.

As of today, he no longer wants to be that swimmer. He wants to have the possibility of not coming in last to the finish. He wants to be competent in the water. So today, he had courage.

“Ms Smith, I never learned to dive,” he approached me at the beginning of practice.

Earlier in the day, his mother had emailed all the coaches. She was disappointed that her son had yet to learn how to dive, and she wanted us to teach him immediately. The email agitated me at first. I felt like she was blaming me for her son’s unwillingness to try something new.

Of course, I am worried about misunderstandings. I worried his parents were angry we had perhaps ignored him because of his lack of talent. I had asked him multiple times, and he refused. I need a willingness from the student to coach them.

Now that he came up and asked me, it was clear his parents were putting pressure on him to muster up the courage to take the plunge.

“You know, I’ve asked you several times if I could help you learn, and you have refused,” I started. “Are you ready to try now?”

He nodded his head.

“Let’s do this, then!” I clapped my hands and pointed him toward the edge of the pool. I transformed my negative energy toward action. This kid was not going to leave practice until I had him diving.

I set him up in the same position I teach 4 and 5 year-olds to use. He had his feet staggered into a lunge position. Toes of his front foot curled over the edge of the pool. His arms hugged his ears, ending in an arrow above his head. In swimming, we call this a streamlined position. He appeared to almost be in a warrior one yoga pose.

In order to dive, the next step is for the swimmer to lift their back leg and allow the torso to lean forward toward the ground. Lifting the leg higher and higher forces the head further and further down toward the pool. Inevitably, the physics of the pose send the swimmer falling headfirst into the water.

Losing balance is the toughest part. When students lose their balance on the way into the pool, their instinct is to lift their head and stop. What they do not realize is that losing balance is exactly what you WANT to do. By losing your balance, you force yourself to move forward. Without doing so, you either stay on the edge of the pool, or you do a giant belly flop crash instead of the headfirst dive you want.

As you fall forward, you feel unsteady for an instant. Unsteady in your position and your movement. Fear can take hold if you allow it to do so. The key is to keep moving. The key is to commit to the movement. And it all happens in an instant.

You either buy into the action, or you don’t. That is what guarantees your success. Once you buy in, there is no going back. There is no retreat from having your pinky toes hanging on the edge of the pool and the rest of your body in mid-air. You are going forward, whether you are ready or not. If you just keep your head down and commit, you are golden.

He was ready. I could tell. He didn’t mind that the rest of the team was doing something else, and he was in this lane by himself, learning with me. He wanted to get this right, so he wouldn’t be the last one to finish a race.

“Above all else, keep your chin down. Keep your head looking down. It’s when you look up that you are going to flop in the water instead of diving in,” I explained.

He looked down at the bottom of the pool.

“Ok, I’m going to help you with this first one. You just have to do what I say. Lift your back leg and start to fall in. I’m going to guide your torso to help you get the feel for the dive.”

He started leaning and lifted his back leg. I held his torso to keep him steady this first time. On his own, he started moving his head toward the water exactly as he was supposed to do.

“Great! Keep going and keep your head down. Head down, head down, head down!” I cried as he fell forward headfirst into the blue.

He did it on the first try! I screamed and pumped my fist in the air with joy.

He came up from under the water with a huge smile on his face. He felt it. He knew he had done it.

“You did it!” I screamed, “You did it!”

Teaching a kid to dive is so much fun. I always overreact. I just love it.

“High five, man! Let’s do this again!” I shouted.

Without hesitation, he pulled himself out of the pool and turned to try again. He placed himself in the correct body position on his own. He wanted this, and actually, diving wasn’t as hard as he had imagined.

“Ok, let’s do it again. This time, I’m not going to hold you. I’ll just guide you with words, and you have to do it yourself.”

He nodded.

“Ok, lift your back leg and fall forward. Chin down, head down. Go, go, go. Head down, head down, head down!” And yes! Another success!

The smile was even brighter when he arose from the deep this time. His first try hadn’t been a fluke. He knew what he was doing. He could DIVE. I hadn’t seen a kid this happy in months.

If he hadn’t had the pressure of the upcoming swim meet, I’m not sure he would have tried. The meet provided him with a deadline. He had a time limit. And he wanted success.

So what about you? What have you been hesitating to try? What are you hungry to achieve? Are you ready to take action? Maybe it’s time for you to commit.

Get up your nerve. Keep your head down, lean forward, and allow yourself to fall right in.