Blog
A Story Of Pride: Marco Vocale
I want to tell you a story about someone you may not know.
At the recent DIAC competition, our very own Marco Vocale, Commercial Director of Hamilton Aquatics, took to the water in what was his first ever swimming competition. He raced in one event, the Men’s Masters 50m Freestyle and posted a time of 33.72, at 59 years old.
I spoke to Marco when he first arrived at the pool. Forever in his role as commercial director, he admired the advertising boards and the general pool décor. Comparing it to what we did as a team at The Dubai Open Meet in February. When the conversation turned to him racing in a few hours. The nerves showed. He had been poolside many times, but never had he stepped up onto a starting block, let alone at The Hamdan Sports Complex in the main Competition Arena. In his youth, Marco was a skier, not a swimmer and whilst you can draw a loose comparison to the movement patterns of skiing and swimming, we all know they are not at all the same thing.
During the warm-up, Hamilton Aquatics Masters Coach Jacques kept Marco close, giving him positive feedback and teaching him how to dive off a block and use the wedge, making sure Marco felt comfortable and confident. Marco asked lots of questions and due to how nervous he felt, needed his coach’s reassurance that he would be fine come race time. With the race fast approaching, Marco prepped as guided, changing into his race suit, staying warm and hydrated in the Arena and watching some of Hamilton Aquatics race before it was his own time to shine.
I made sure to watch his race. He came out with nine other men and stood behind his lane. He stood on the block and took his start position just like Coach Jacques had instructed and when the race started, he dived into the pool to perform what he had practiced in training sessions. He finished the race strong and in a time 2 seconds quicker than he had hoped he would go.
So why am I telling you this story?
Our younger athletes and their parents are always proud of racing and giving it their all. Good or bad, knowing that you have shown up and given it your all is never lost. As the goals in swimming get bigger, the stakes get higher and the training becomes more frequent, the proud moments seem few and far between. The expectation to swim well, faster than ever before every time, and faster than everyone else, becomes the sole focus. When goals are achieved, rather than being happy, satisfied and appreciative of ‘winning’ the moment, swimmers are more often saying “it could be better” or “I wanted to swim faster” or are simply annoyed because someone else swam faster (even though you swam to your best).
Coaches often tell athletes to take the small wins. Maybe the outcome wasn’t the best, but specific elements of the race went well. Maybe the times in a training session weren’t fast, but you were consistent on each repeat. Maybe the squat load wasn’t the heaviest in the group, but you performed the rep perfectly. Small wins are important. They help maintain positivity. With each little positive step leading to bigger, more positive steps on your journey towards your end goal. Winning in sport isn’t guaranteed, it is not a controllable outcome, especially when you train within a group that are all pushing for similar goals at the same meets. Performing skills better and being better than you have been before should be celebrated as much as a gold medal.
A core value of Hamilton Aquatics is Pride. Typically, it’s phrased as having pride in your appearance, how you treat your teammates and coaches, how you go about your training sessions and how you present yourself within our partner schools and pools. But pride also means being proud of what you have achieved. Maybe it is representing your country at the Olympic Games or maybe it’s competing in an event you’ve never swam before. Achieving a goal that you have set should make you proud.
The next time you swim well in a race or complete a difficult session, take a moment to be proud of yourself for showing up, doing your best and not giving in. And the next time your child, teammate or friend gives their best effort and achieves a goal, be sure to share their pride and tell them you are proud of them, just like we are telling Marco how proud we are of him.