Listen in as Kelly Palace and Maria Parker interview legendary swim coach Mark Bernardino, the current associate head coach at NC State University. Bernardino discusses achieving excellence in his own life and with his swimmers from the over 40 years of coaching champions. He discusses what he thinks makes a champion and tells some fantastic stories to motivate listeners.

Photo credit: SwimmingWorld.com

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More About Mark Bernardino

Mark Bernardino came to prominence in the swimming community as the head swimming coach at the University of Virginia for 30 years. He went on to serve as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina and is now associate head coach at NC State. In total, Bernardino has coached more than 40 years in Division I, with 27 ACC championships under his belt. Since 1996, he has put a swimmer on every Olympic team.

More Items Discussed on the Show

Read more about Fran Crippen, a swimmer for Bernardino that died at the age of 26 in an open water swimming race:  http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/news/story?id=5718372

Bernardino’s “Law of the 8 Es”:  Effort, Emotion, Energy, Enthusiasm, Excitement, Execution and Encouragement = Excellence (do all of those things at the highest level possible and you'll find excellence).

Action Items from the Hosts

Maria - To prepare mentally for excellence, change the last thought of the day to something you are happy about.

Kelly - Part of achieving the 8 Es is to find someone who has a positive voice to bring enthusiasm and excitement.

Quote of the week:  "We're not born mentally or physically tough, those are acquired traits and if you’re willing to work hard to develop those traits, chances are you'll become better than you ever thought you could become." --Swim Coach Mark Bernardino

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