The View From the Summit is Lovely, But It is the Valley Where Things Grow
- 6 days ago
- 9 min read
Written by Jim Lutz, Confidence Coach
Jim Lutz earned his reputation over 37 years of coaching novice to elite swimmers. He has also been in finance and insurance for over 20 years. He has earned the Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master designation from ABNLP and is a certified Life Coach.
Jim Lutz shares his personal journey in the world of competitive swimming and coaching, offering insights into how setbacks and challenges can be pivotal for growth. Drawing from decades of experience, Lutz explains how structure, discipline, and perseverance can lead to meaningful progress and long-term success. Discover how life's valleys are often where the true growth occurs, even as we aim for the summit.
Planting the seeds
My aquatic odyssey began in 1966 as a five-year-old summer league swimmer. Over the next 47 years, I saw every level of our beloved sport, including every angle.
During my first 13 years as a competitor, I was blessed with participating in one of the most organized and competitive summer leagues in the United States. The Northern Kentucky Swim League (N.K.S.L.) gave birth to summer league-only, year-round, state champions, NCAA All-Americans, National Champions, American Record Holders, and Olympic Champions. Former USA Swimming Team Director Frank Busch cut his coaching teeth in this league, along with Former Swimming World Magazine CEO and ISHOF Director Brent Rutemiller. I, too, began my career following the lead of these two swimming assets.
As my “swimming days” ended on the competitive side, I was introduced to the deck side with a clipboard, stopwatch, visor, built-in whistle, and Zinc Oxide stuffed into a coaching bag. For seven weeks, beginning in mid-June and continuing through the beginning of August, a weekly Thursday-night dual meet took place, with a champion crowned on the first Thursday in August. Rivalries were intense, pep rallies were typical, and team cheers would have been the ringtone on many phones if we had cell phones.
After four summer seasons, I realized I had been bitten by the coaching bug and needed to follow a team parent's advice. “Jim, you have coached Beechwood Swim Club for four years, won four championships, and swam in this league for 13 years. You will continue to have success if you stay. However, if you want to find out if you truly know how to coach, go somewhere that no one knows you and build a reputation on skills and ability, not your name.” Good advice. However, he wanted me to leave a comfort zone that was an absolute blast, non-stop fun, and get into the business of coaching.
For 21 years, I would make multiple moves, from age-group coach to college assistant and, ultimately, college head coach. Each of these locations, some big and some small, was in areas where I had few contacts, connections, or friends. But I had a dream of moving up the coaching ranks, with the ultimate goal of being selected by USA Swimming to coach on the National Team. A price would be paid by athletes, me, and ultimately my family.
Walking on a pool deck with the icons of swimming was a rush I could only have dreamed of, yet it was becoming a reality. Swimmers who began qualifying for the morning heats were also increasing my adrenaline. The higher the levels the athletes achieved, the more the rush was needed. Yes, this had become an addiction. My immaturity and lack of experience didn’t allow me to see the big picture. No matter how high the achievement went, there was always a void left unfilled. I would learn later that the journey is the prize, not the result.
Illusion or ego
For a period of time, I was under the self-imposed illusion that if my swimmers were fast, I would be a good coach, a good friend, a good husband, and a good father. If they swam poorly, I told myself I sucked as a coach, no one liked me or wanted to be around me and I was a terrible husband and father. What an idiot. What actually happened was that my friends were still my friends, usually the first to offer to lend an ear and discuss what was going on with the team or with me. My swimmers were frustrated, and I needed to focus on their needs and not my bruised ego. My wife supported me even more in difficult situations, and my kids couldn’t care less what title I had other than “Dad.” It was during these times that I realized people were placed in our lives when they were needed most, regardless of how long they stayed.
The club level was serious yet still fun. The college level was exciting, yet a business. When I recruited any swimmer, I told them right up front, “At the college level, if you don’t love it, you WILL hate it because it is a business.” We may not fill stadiums for college meets, but the expectations and stress of success are no less in the mind of a swim coach than in those who strap on helmets or lace up high-tops. I never prayed that a swimmer would come to the school where I was coaching. I prayed they would have the insight and wisdom to make the right decision for them. It always worked out the way it was supposed to be.
We all want success, and the playing field is seldom level. We all deal with adversity, we wear different uniforms, have different faces, and different names. The business side, administration, and 24/7 recruiting took a toll, and the fun side that I sought in my earlier days was all too often a fleeting memory.
At the conclusion of my 25th year and 15th at the collegiate level, I became very sick. I was not functioning well and was a shell of the person and coach I once was. I needed a change, but I was fighting the mindset I'd been trained never to quit. That decision was made for me, and a life change was happening. I had limited, if any, control over this decision. I was no longer a coach.
After a nine-month recovery, I was able to function in three- to four-hour blocks without getting exhausted. My humor and excessive use of puns were returning to my personality. A new chapter in my life was beginning.
Taking the leap of faith
A career move into a field where I had no background or experience proved enlightening and challenging. It afforded me a chance to prove my skills and ability in a new venture. I was helping people with their lives again, but on a different playing field. As one year became two and ultimately five, I subconsciously began to smell the chlorine again with a desire to get back on deck. This was not something I mentioned to Diane, and it was probably a passing phase.
One month shy of five years from the pool, a local coach approached me to ask if I would be interested in coaching again with a relatively new program that had recently undergone changes and was seeking a new direction. I told her I would need a few days to think about it, but, more importantly, pray to really see if the timing was right to jump back in feet first.
After four days, I decided it was time to return to something vital in my life with a caveat: no senior coaching. I have nothing against senior-level swimmers, and the fact is, I love that level too much for it not to become all-consuming again. I, or better yet, my family, could not go down that road again. We decided on 11-14-year-olds, three days a week. I was back coaching the age group I started my career and teaching, training, and developing quality people who happened to swim, not just a swimmer with limited substance. It was now a hobby and not an all-encompassing lifestyle.
This age group is often overlooked, as most coaches get the bug for the higher levels and jump past the “junior” group to grab onto the senior swimmers. I was fortunate to mold this group and teach them how to truly become students of the sport, maximizing every training opportunity. I coach my swimmers with the same expectation for discipline and commitment as I had at the highest level. They don’t shy away but rather welcome this consistency. Win or lose, fast or slow, my first question to them after a race is, “How did that feel?” or “What did you think?” “Good,” “fast,” “bad,” or “slow” are not acceptable answers. They need to become their own coach and diagnose their swim.
What I quickly realized is that the makeup of most clubs is a microcosm of my own coaching path. The newest coaches worked with the novice swimmers in what often has become glorified swimming lessons. Then, as they progress through the age groups, the coaches become more experienced and develop a desire to reach the highest level of the sport. There is nothing wrong with those dreams and desires, and every coach needs to figure out what their desires, goals, and objectives may be at the center of their focus.
Getting a swimmer to a national-level meet is a big deal in a coach’s career, and the first time is like nothing you will ever feel. Imagine a rookie playing in his first PGA event and walking down to the first tee with Tiger Woods. They have worked their whole professional career for a goal, and they have climbed to the summit.
Are your actions your calling card?
There is a saying that you need to be nice to people on the way up because they are the same people you will see on the way down. I took a sudden, unintended leap in my coaching career, but I realized I was not heading downward, I was picking up speed. I was coaching a top group of swimmers again, just at a different level. What a blessing.
The coaches at this level are so vital to the present and future of USA Swimming. They continue to be needed, but they should also be challenged, for once something is stressed beyond its original shape, it never returns to that shape. A diamond is formed from pressure on a piece of coal and, over the course of time, becomes a beautiful gem that is envied and desired.
My demeanor has changed by choice. I progressed to the point where I never yelled, except to be heard over the noise of the swimmers in the pool. When I was upset, I stared at them until they were quiet. If I were to yell at a swimmer, it is no longer about them, it is about me and my ego. I don’t need to belittle them to get their attention. I respect them and vice versa. They knew and understood what was expected. Sometimes, it may be as simple as laughing at a silly joke. Discipline should not be viewed as a negative, nor should structure or a system. Our structure within our programs may be the only structure and discipline some of them receive during the day, and they will gravitate towards it for security rather than to avoid it.
I had an incredible group of young swimmers on the former Viper Aquatics (now Westfield Aquatics) who epitomized character, desire, and gratitude, and said, “Thanks, Coach Jim,” before they even left the pool after a two-hour practice. I had been blessed with the opportunity to raise wonderful people, and this was not a responsibility I took lightly.
Those swimmers who will ultimately join the USA National Team are developed from a young age, as it seldom happens overnight. The fantastic age-group coaches who walk the pool deck, spending a week’s worth of hours over a 2½-day weekend, are not just a pretty face. (Yes, that was humor) These are people who may never pursue coaching for a full-time, lifelong career, but don’t sell them short either. Their focus and commitment are to be valued and appreciated as they are planting the seeds for the future of swimming. These seeds will grow and be nurtured over the years, ultimately reaching their respective peaks in their chosen fields or professions. Thankfully, swimming is never short of water, enabling them to grow.
Progress is not without setbacks: How setbacks help us grow
Life would be so easy if our efforts and intentions determined results. But then it would not be life, it would be a fantasy. Setbacks are part of the growth process. We all want to progress, but too often people give up before their efforts bear fruit, leaving us with an empty feeling and frustration. Why continue? Why keep trying to advance? This is the time when opportunity meets effort. If the focus is always on us, the successes are harder to see. If we focus on making a difference, the results are exponential and gratifying. A firm and confident disposition will provide a solid foundation, affording us the mindset to make changes for ourselves that will directly impact others for many years.
See you on the podium. If you are ready to break the barriers that bind you and achieve levels beyond your reach, book a coaching call today. Together, we can create a continued journey of success, and you can wipe your feet of doubt to book a call. Want to know more? Click here. View and order published books by Jim Lutz.
Read more from Jim Lutz
Jim Lutz, Confidence Coach
Jim Lutz is a published writer with over 12 books and is currently working on a children's series focusing on ADHD characteristics. It is a fun reading experience. His life coaching has covered clients from world-ranked athletes to professionals and students. His program is designed for individuals to overcome self-doubt by breaking down limiting beliefs to achieve confidence. Jim empowers leaders who have experienced burnout, frustration, or a sense of "hitting the wall" to gain balance and achieve their highest global impact.
