Self-Efficacy In College Athletes

As I mentioned before swimmers aren’t based on their ability to master the techniques but also in the values they posses. The values they posses are respect, honesty, fairness and courage. I had to learn and use those values everyday I went to swimming practice. There’s one thing that I needed to have to become part of the discourse community, which was being passionate about swimming and not giving up. At the beginning it was really hard for me not to give up when I was exhausted, but after becoming more passionate for swimming I never gave up. There were moments when I thought of giving up, but I knew that if I really wanted to call my self a swimmer I shouldn’t give up and I didn’t. For example, once I was in a Swimming Festival in my High School where I competed the four different strokes. I always finished second in the 50-meter freestyle race, but that day I decided I would end up first place. The race started and I jumped into the water and started pacing my self so that I would finish strong. In the first 25-meters we were all tied up and I was starting to feel tired. But I knew I couldn’t give up, so I took a deep breath and pushed harder. I pushed harder and was able to win the first place. After this race, I realized that even though I felt like giving up, something inside me was telling me to push harder and that thought led me to success. I was able to

My name is Alauna Torres and I am a student in the eleventh grade at Inderkum. I work hard to maintain grades in the IB Diploma program and struggle, just as any other student does. Last year, I joined Inderkum’s first swim team in six years. After practicing everyday for two hours, I made a bond with many people on my team. As a team, we couldn 't wait to get out of school, huddle together in the atrium, share food, stories, jokes, and insecurities. We tried to get everyone involved, hoping they wouldn’t feel alone or unimportant. As peers around, our job can’t always be fulfilled if our teachers, staff, and coaches don’t do the same to their students.

Imagine taking one step into a chlorine-filled arena. The humid air rushes onto your skin. An immense smile spreads across your face. This is because you know everything is about to change. In less than 24 hours you will be holding a glistening gold medal in your hand, standing up on the podium while the Star Spangled Banner blares for the whole world to hear and tears will stream down your face. Taking one look back at your coach, Teri McKeever, you realize if it wasn’t for her you would not be here. Graciously, you run up, swing your arms around her body, and embrace her in a powerful hug that says it all. Swimming is a very intense sport and consumes every second of a swimmer’s free time. However, putting in hundreds

Self-efficacy can be described as the level self-confidence that a person has when they try to do something. It is important in making a behavioral change because people need to envision themselves succeeding.

“Get up now,” My mom yelled down the hallway. “Hurry or you’ll be late!” My brother and I dreaded waking up early to swim, but we had chosen to commit. Even though I’ve competed every year since first grade, I still struggled. That summer swimming taught me to have stamina, the ability to not quit even though it was hard.

When it’s lacrosse season, I know I have to make sacrifices and manage my time wisely. It is important to me that I remain dedicated to lacrosse when I make the choice to play because I not only made the commitment to myself, but more importantly to my teammates and to my coach. Swimming is another activity that exemplifies my dedication. I have been swimming on Three Village Swim Club since I was 10 years old. There is no doubt that Three Village requires the highest level of dedication. With deciding to continue to swim each year, I commit myself to practice 2 to 3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over the many years I have been a team member, there were definitely times I wanted to just quit and give up, but I knew this was something I loved to do and I would have to overcome the hard times in order to continue doing what I loved. Swimming allowed me

Bandura focused on perceived self-efficacy, which he defines as a belief in one’s own capability to organize and execute the course of action required to attain a goal. (Bandura, 1977).

During the spring of 2015, I missed all of the time cuts to make Speedo Sectionals, forcing me to compete in a much slower meet at the end of the season. There are few things I have experienced that are more crushing than trying my hardest and falling short of my goal. Despite the heavy disappointment, I used the opportunity to harden my resolve and use my strengths to my greatest advantage. Along with my coach’s help, I used my ability to think strategically and hone my technique through focus on the smallest details from how I would approach a swim mentally to how I would warm up. My coach had many important and useful suggestions and lessons from his past experience that required me to be an active learner that could apply his information.

Competing in high school athletics was the highlight of my time at Sterling High School, If I could I’d go back and do it all over agin. It allowed me to learn basic life skills, such as time management, self-accountability, leadership, and teamwork. But the most important thing it brought me was a strong support system built up of teammates, coaches, competitors, and officials. My sophomore English teacher once joked that “the girl’s swim team is like a cult” which is pretty close to the truth. From early August to late November twenty girls, a diver or two, and a pair of coaches were inseparable. Together we suffered together through every practice and worked to improve not only ourselves but each other. It was these long hours that shaped

The biggest obstacle I faced was separating my role as an athlete from my identity. As the saying goes, I put all my eggs into one basket. Everything I knew, everything I loved, everything that made me happy revolved around a sport. Suddenly, the inevitable occurred. It ended. Now my weekends weren’t occupied by long bus rides. I wasn’t spending my free time in the athletic training room. The group chat with my teammates wasn’t being blown up with inside jokes and funny pictures.

Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.

It has always been a dream of mine to do what they do, to teach and coach children about swimming. These coaches influenced me to keep pursuing my dreams and because of this, I want to inspire and encourage others to do the same. The strong impact of my very first coach who I connected with early on in the season has led the six-year-old me to discover a new passion that I know will stay with me for a long time. It was the unique techniques he used while coaching that drew me into the swimming world. My first swim coach was an outstanding coach and an excellent teacher. He, without a doubt, set high standards for other coaches following him. He always motivated me to aim higher. He has inspired me in every way and has been a great influence in my life. Henry Drummond once said, “The people who influence you are the people who believe in you.” My coach did just that and I have been aiming to embark as strong of an impact on someone as he did on

I started swimming when I was about eight years-old, and once I had gotten onto the Amity High School swim team, I’d noticed that displaying leadership, team spirit, and a can-do attitude could change the energy and performance from the other girls on the team. Since we had swim meets twice a week about every week, it was encouraged by our coach and captains that we show up determined and focused everyday, even in practice.

By this time I had started to go through puberty and became taller which enabled me to swim faster. The morning group was full of dedicated swimmers who were crazy enough to get up every morning to go jump into a pool and practice. Of course I was no different, but during April of that season I had started to lose my motivation. I began to skip practices and gave my parents excuses, which then they told me to take it easy. After two months of periodic practices, I realized that swimming was an activity that I wanted to do and that I loved, and I decided that I would not allow myself to quit, no matter how hard it became. When the new season started, I started to push myself, trying to keep up to the faster swimmers. I became close with my team mates as people who go through pain together get closer. We started to have more fun together from going out, to having funny conversations in the locker rooms. I also began to do travel meets where we would spend a few days together, eating, sleeping, and swimming. I spent more time out of the pool with my friends and even became romantically involved with one. Now, swimming has become one of the most important things to me, it has been the activity that has the most influence on my life. From my work ethic, sleeping habits, to my choice of friends, all of them are tied to

Many of us had been though a couple of rough times and some pretty amazing ones as well. Difficult times for most people can take away their energy, taken away emotions, and break a person’s spirit. The good times on the other hand can lift someone’s spirit up, boost their self-esteem, and show signs of our capability. This is called self-efficacy, it connects with four of the 6 dimensions of health mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellness. These effects tell people to feel good about themselves, help them control their social anxiety, and maintain a positive lookout on life.