Using the acrostic-BALANCE, Shane Cadogan, the feature speaker at the third annual Blue Marlins Swim Club’s awards and recognition ceremony, gave the young swimmers some tips that they can use to progress in the sport.

Making his presentation virtually to the swimmers and others in attendance at the Calliaqua Town Hall on January 21, Cadogan, who is a senior at Stanford University in the USA, extolled the virtues of having that BALANCE.

As such, he called on the young swimmers to apply the Basics of the sport and exhibit the right Attitude.

“ Stick to the simple things your coaches say because they count in the long run”; whilst in the area of Attitude, he implored them to have “ a positive mindset every day you come to practice, even when it gets hard, even when school was tough, or your parents gave you a big lecture before getting out the car… Your mind and attitude are powerful and the difference for a lot of swimmers”.

Cadogan also asked of the members of the Blue Marlins Swim Club to “ Learn “ and “ Assist”.

“ You can learn from anybody, not just coaches and teachers, learn from your parents, teammates, classmates… Simple things- like what they do wrong you don’t repeat that”.

As it relates to Assist, Cadogan related, “ Always look to help others, and it will circle back to you… Never be afraid to ask for help because it is not easy… You are some of the top performers in everything you do because others assisted you, so always try to do something good in return; for example, picking up kick boards”.

Continuing his presentation, Cadogan reinforced the need to Never give up.

“Nobody ever said it would be easy, but the benefits are all the dreams you have… If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to give up I wouldn’t need to be doing school or swimming any more, but the happiness you get from achieving your dreams is better than any feeling in the world,” Cadogan added.

He also asked the swimmers to Challenge themselves, but most of all, Enjoy the sport.

“Try to challenge yourself every day in school and practice because life is just one challenging stepping stone after the other, and with every challenge you continue to grow… If being the best in school and swimming was easy then everybody would be the best, but the goal is not to be like everybody, the goal is to always try to be the best but not in a boastful way.”

And, “As swimmers and students, always try to have fun…No matter how hard it is, always try to find a way to enjoy…If you show your parents, teachers, coaches that you want to work hard, I promise you they’ll reward you with some fun…so, at the least you can look forward to that because they love you and they just want to see you succeed and happy”, Cadogan reiterated.

Cadogan is the holder of several national swimming records in St Vincent and the Grenadines.