My daughter wants to be a great swimmer and her willingness to bust her butt to achieve it already wows me....so I should've just thrown her into a pool and let her will to be great figure it out? Or was I right to get her into a good program with a top coach that has with a history of success? Was it a waste of time to have her do a start and turn clinic with the Penn State staff this summer? I don't think so because she improved off the blocks and she talked about the different ways they approached the starts vs her coaches. COACHES helped her improve, not just trying harder.
Coaches don't suddenly become useless or even less important at the highest levels, they become more important because missing even the SLIGHTEST opportunity to improve a player, scheme, game plan, etc... is almost always the difference between winning and losing.
"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing"
- Oscar Wilde
I demolish my bridges behind me - then there is no choice but forward.
- Fridtjof Nansen