By Mr. Richard Molloy – GIS Aquatics Director

Whenever you speak to students and ask them about their goals, it’s usually clear that the answer you’ll get is some muted, toned-down version of the real thing. They think by telling you the knock-off version of their crazy, ambitious dreams, they’re taking the pressure off themselves. But what they’re really doing is selling themselves short – giving themselves permission to settle for “good enough” when they have the potential within them to be great.

Dreaming big requires commitment, hard work, an exacting adherence to high standards, and total fearlessness in making good on Nike’s promise that “impossible is nothing.”

So the next time your kid comes to you with what sounds like an impossible dream, try the following to help guide them towards their goals.

1. TARGET: Set the big, crazy goal. Help them figure out and articulate what exactly it is they want to achieve.
2. PATH: Plan out the route to get there. Help them understand exactly what it takes to get there: the hours, days, weeks, years of work that it takes to become great. Don’t sugarcoat how difficult it will be. Striving for the minimum isn’t enough for the success they crave.
3. PROCESS: Build in milestones. The finish line can seem terribly far away when you’re first starting out. So build in milestones and process goals that can help give your child a sense of their own progress. And remember that personal developments are just as important as training leaps — ‘Encouraging teammates’ or ‘congratulating a competitor after a race’ are as valuable as ‘increasing kicks underwater’ or ‘making more catches in a training session’.

As parents, educators, and coaches, we have a responsibility to enable our kids to aspire and help them to be inspired. Here’s hoping these tips help put your child on the path to greatness this academic year!