Author Offers Alternative to Steroid Abusing Sport Culture
Contrasting the must-win approach of modern athletics, "Learning to Swim: Reflections on Living" acknowledges human as well as competitive values, and tells stories that teach and inspire.
Victoria, BC (PRWEB) May 24, 2005 -- While U.S. Congress grapples with
steroid abuse at the highest levels of sport, former swim coach Neil McKinlay
offers an alternative approach to athletics in "Learning to Swim: Reflections on
Living".
“Sport culture erroneously equates competitive achievement with
personal worth,” the author notes. “Immersed in this environment, people go to
considerable lengths to win respect. These lengths include private trainers and
elite skill camps at the benign end of the spectrum, steroid abuse and sport
rage at the other.”
After more than thirty years as a swimmer and coach,
however, McKinlay has developed a different view. He sees athletics as a human -
as opposed to a wholly competitive - activity. “I think of striving for
betterment and dealing with disappointment as life challenges,” he observes. “As
a result, my coaching assumes a much broader perspective than
usual.”
Arising from this perspective, "Learning to Swim" tells stories
that focus upon what people learn in the competitive arena. It shows how
athletes, coaches and parents grow when they are encouraged to explore as much
as they are to achieve. “The book offers lessons about winning and losing,
community and kindness. It shows how much we can discover about ourselves
through athletics,” McKinlay comments.
As all levels of sport struggle
with the domination of a results-based approach, McKinlay feels this kind of
demonstration is needed now more than ever. “I’ve see so many athletes hurt
themselves trying to fit into this must-win culture. They invest too much in the
goals they score or quit feeling disempowered. We must offer another way of
approaching the playing field. Kids’ well-being is at stake.”
"Learning
to Swim: Reflections on Living" suggests there is hope. The book’s ordering
details are: Softcover / 200 pages / $21.95 CAD / ISBN: 0-9735874-0-7. It is
available at www.neilmckinlay.com.
About Neil McKinlay
Neil
McKinlay is an author, speaker and coach living in Victoria, B.C. A former
nationally-ranked swimmer, Mr. McKinlay has spent almost twenty years developing
sport teams that encourage human as well as competitive values. Since writing
"Learning to Swim", he has devoted more time to sharing this vision with
others.
Contact:
Neil McKinlay
1-250-595-4348
http://www.neilmckinlay.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb243943.htm