On the eve of their regional championships in Kamloops, the swimmers, coaches and parents of the Merritt Otters Swim Club were the beneficiaries of some world-class instruction and words of wisdom from Dr. John Hogg on July 29.

Dr. Hogg, who currently lives in Salmon Arm, has worked for over 30 years as a professional coach and applied sport psychologist. He has coached with the Scottish, British and Canadian national swim teams, and attended the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He later became the head coach at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Dr. Hogg has earned both a master’s degree  and doctorate in the field of sport psychology, and has authored seven books and countless coaching manuals on the topics of psychology in sport and performance enhancement. Over the years, he has worked with coaches and athletes in not only swimming, but soccer, basketball, field hockey and the performing arts.

Dr. Hogg spent the first part of his day in Merritt on the deck at the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre working with the Otters’ junior coaches, helping to improve their swimming expertise and instructional methods. Haley Zabek and Rahul Chhabra were two of the young instructors who attended the session and benefitted from Dr. Hogg’s information and advice.

“He had us each take a young swimmer and really focus on their strokes, make suggestions for improvements, and then stay with them to make sure they attempted those changes,” Zabek said. “That was very helpful.”

“He was very specific, and broke things down so that we could understand,” Chhabra added.

Later, Zabek and Chabbra joined their fellow senior swimmers for an intense session in the water, with Dr. Hogg coaching them. The emphasis for part of the workout was the butterfly stroke, arguably the most difficult of the four in competitive swimming.

“He broke down the kick phase of the stroke, and talked a lot about how the legs actually pull,” Zabek said, while Chhabra stated that he learned how to stay closer to the surface of the water during his arm stroke and push forward, rather than dive down so deep.

Dr. Hogg’s largest audience of the day was for his evening presentation at the NVIT lecture theatre. Over 35 young swimmers, coaches and parents were in attendance and received valuable information on optimal training, preparation and performance and enhancement.

According to Dr. Hogg, there are four key components to all performance — physical, technical, tactical and mental. All four need to be understood and addressed if one’s best effort is to be achieved.

According to Dr. Hogg, the ideal performance state (IPS) is the consequence of consistency and control when it comes to commitment and effort, and responsibility and accountability in terms of quality training.

Athletes must be aware of their thoughts, feelings and actions, have self-belief in their potential, and learn how to deal with the inevitable pressures, pitfalls and anxieties that come with competitive sports.

Despite the wide range in age and experience of his listeners, Dr. Hogg had little difficulty getting his message across, according to Zabek.

“He said the same thing two to three times in different ways,” she stated, “which I think was very helpful, because we had from very young swimmers to adults in the audience.”

Zabek found Dr. Hogg’s comments on focus and preparation very informative, noting that many of her fellow competitors are super serious and almost have to get into some kind of ‘zone’ in the lead-up to their race.

“I’m not like that at all,” she admitted with a laugh. “I begin to focus on my race about 30 seconds to a minute before the start. I just get up on the blocks and go for it.”

Zabek conceded that there certainly is pressure in competition, but for her the pressure all comes from within, not from the expectations of others.

“I want to do well, but I swim because I love the feeling it gives me. I don’t do it because I have to win.”

That said, Zabek knows that every swimmer is different, and that Dr. Hogg’s advice had a lot of benefits.

“I think what he said will help me a lot as a coach.”