On a more positive note, legendary Olympian Michael Phelps, a native of city Baltimore and a super fan of the Ravens was reported to have made a splash at the Ravens training camp when it was reported that players said that one in three Ravens cannot swim and that Michael Phelps came to the rescue and literally gave the players a lesson in swimming. The very fact that Phelps visited only weeks after the plea directly brought water safety as well as athletic inspiration to the Under Armour Performance Center and regional Loyola aquatic complex.
From where it all began
After arriving, Phelps, accompanied by his childhood swim coach, Miss Cathy, swam in the newly installed recovery pool, participated in team warm up sessions and conducted an animated swim clinic, combining inspirational messages with instruction. He challenged participants to make small steps, baby steps like blowing bubbles in the water to accept vulnerability as a key element in overcoming fear.
A token for participation
Phelps splashed through harmless races at the Loyola pool, providing teammates and completing a 25 yard underwater sprint in 9.98 seconds still blistering by NFL standards where even Kyle Hamilton had completed an underwater 25 yards in 14.29 seconds. It was not merely token participation that Phelps participated in. Ravens team president Sashi Brown made the announcement that the club itself would make a donation to the Michael Phelps Foundation of USD 100,000 as a thank you, to help support its efforts to not only enhance water safety, but mental wellbeing as well.
In addition to technique, the session personified collective action, a combination of Olympic level expertise and commitment to holistic development of the athletes by an NFL team. And it was a happy reminder that sometimes greatness in athletics comes via taking the plunge of ducking into the unknown.
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