July 14, 2014
When our youth athletes strive to achieve their personal best, victory is won in and out of the water. Encouraging our kids to set individual goals and focus on maximum personal effort benefits both the player and the team - in a variety of ways.
Athletes who come to realize that personal development can be even more rewarding than a win are mastery-focused athletes who build the confidence and initiative needed to succeed - in sports and in life.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Responsible Sports sat down with USA Water Polo standout Jillian Kraus to get her thoughts on personal bests and personal records.
In our exclusive TAKE 5 interview, Jillian told us that she has always paid close attention to her personal bests and personal records.
"My parents definitely instilled the importance of trying my best and hard work from the beginning," said Jillian. "I continued that responsibility on my own as I progressed through life at different age levels in sports and other activities."
Jillian said she applied this same approach to her performance in the classroom.
"Academics is a highly valued priority in my family, so it was important for me to always succeed as a student-athlete," said Jillian, who is about to graduate from her MBA program.
Jillian also told us that she played a lot of different sports growing up, so her personal bests "catered to specific training." But certain personal bests and personal goals apply across any and all sports, she said.
"Across all sports, there are universal goals that can be set to reach your personal best," said Jillian. "The goals I set were to display a competitive spirit, hard work and positive attitude in every practice, game or swim meet. I would identify my strengths and weaknesses and diligently worked to improve my performance."
Jillian added that if she could encourage young water polo players to focus on just one particular personal record, it would be to "be the best they can be" - in all areas.
"Regardless of athletic ability, it is more important to be a quality person who demonstrates integrity and commitment in the different activities and organizations in which they participate," said Jillian.
To read the full TAKE 5 interview with Jillian, visit ResponsibleSports.com. And come back next month for another exclusive TAKE 5 interview!
At Liberty Mutual Insurance, we constantly look for ways to celebrate the countless acts of responsibility shown by people every day. We created Responsible Sports, powered by Positive Coaching Alliance, as part of this belief to help ensure that our kids experience the best that sports have to offer in environments that promote and display responsibility. We believe kids can learn valuable life lessons when coaches and parents come together to support winning in and out of the pool.
©2014 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
