Wisdom of the Elite: Daniel Mills

International success - from the junior level to the Masters.

Daniel Mills is a multiple Masters World Champion, a European Record holder, a Junior National Champion and Junior European swimmer. Dan has done it all, all over the world! From Prague to Belgrade to Perth, Doha, Singapore and Thessalonika, and back to the home of swimming in Sale, Dan has broken records, won medals and done the incredible.

We collected some questions from our junior swimmers, who are eager to learn what it takes to become the best and how to navigate the world of swimming!

We'd like to say a huge thank you to Dan for his words of wisdom and advice.

What age did national and then international success arrive?

I won my first national medals when I was 13 and then became national age group champion at 14. After this I was placed on the world class potential program. My first international competition was the European Youth Olympics when I was 16. I stopped

swimming at this level when I was 19.

What are your events? How religiously do you stick to these events and do you like trying other events out now and then?

My main stroke is front crawl, and my best events are middle distance and distance races -

200, 400, 800, and 1500. My favourite events are the 400 and 800. I mainly stick to swimming freestyle as I like to train hard on these. I do sometimes do a little fly and IM. This year I swam every event as part of a challenge with Simmo (James Simpson) and I will say I found this enjoyable - it's nice sometimes to have a change and do other events with less pressure.

Through your age group and then Masters careers, have you done any other sports outside of swimming? How do you think these impacted your swimming at the time?

When I was younger, I used to enjoy badminton, karate and I was also a Scout. By the time I

was 13/14 I gave most of this up to focus on swimming. I still did other sports at school as

part of PE or playing with my friends though.There is good evidence that doing a variety of sports and activities at a young age can help with skill acquisition and retention in sport. At some point you may need to dedicate yourself to one sport, but I don't think you should do

this too early. As a Masters swimmer, I also enjoy hiking. I occasionally go to the gym and during Covid when we couldn't swim, I turned to running.

Was there any time you wanted to quit swimming?

I wouldn't say I ever wanted to fully step away from the sport. There have been times I wanted to do less swimming or have a break, but never fully stop. There have been more

challenging times and times I wasn't enjoying as much. I think this is normal and sometimes you have to grind these times out and push on whereas sometimes you might need to take a step back, refresh yourself mentally and physically. This can allow you to re-find the "why" you are swimming.

I think having a reason to swim is important. This could be personal targets, aiming for

high-level achievements, or it could just be to keep healthy and see your friends at swimming. During the more difficult times these types of motivations have helped keep

me swimming.

What motivates you to keep going? After your Junior European success does it feel different now as a Masters swimmer?

In terms of my motivation, I have always set high targets and goals - achieving some of these and then readjusting them; finding new things to aim for keeps me motivated. The sense of always wanting to be better, aiming to be the best, or for a new record is motivational as well. It's not always easy though! The social side of swimming helps, especially when I feel like I can't be bothered but I still go to training to see friends and we can push each other along. There is a feeling of responsibility not just to myself but also to others in the team, to be part of joint success.Physically I think it was easier as a younger athlete - I was more capable and recovered quicker. I used to train a lot more and I think this is needed when you are younger. The atmosphere tends to be different as a Masters swimmer - although some people still focus on high-level performance you also get more relaxed swimmers. This can be the same at swim meets which can be more relaxed and more social.

How do you stay focused on your swimming goals within training? How important is goal setting for you?

Goal setting is very important. As I mentioned before, having a goal is motivating and helps keep me accountable in training. I think I have usually been quite informal with my goal setting - i.e. I know what my goals are and have them in my head or I may speak about them but I didn't write them down very often. I have started to write my goals down more recently. I think it is important to have different types of goals - a lot of my big goals are performance goals, such as achieving a certain time or getting a record. However, having process goals is very important as well. These can be used like stepping stones to other goals - i.e. HOW am i going to hit my goal time. This might lead to me making goals like 'I need to improve my kick or starts, my pacing or backend speed'.Within a training session I might give myself small goals such as 'I am going to try and lengthen my stroke during this session' or 'I want to go 1 second faster on these 100s than I did a few weeks ago'. I think process goals are easier to focus on in an individual session and when it gets hard, I just remind myself of the bigger picture and goals.

How do you work with your coaches to achieve your goals?

I think it is important to have a good relationship with your coaches. Every athlete-coach relationship will look different but being able to understand each other, your common goals and direction of travel is important. Having two-way dialogue is important. As a younger, more inexperienced swimmer the coach may take more of a lead with this but it is still important for the athlete to communicate their feelings and thoughts back to the coach. As you become more experienced you may have more ideas of your own and discussing these with the coach and coming to an agreement or understanding is important. You need to have trust and confidence in your coach and as a swimmer you also need to be accountable. I believe respect is important and is a two-way street. You never know everything - listen

to each other and try to learn. You might not agree on everything all of the time but try and keep the relationship positive.

As I said about goal setting - it can be very important and a coach can be a great help with

this. Working together you can decide what the goal is and break down how to achieve it.

What tips would you give a younger athlete looking to make the next step?

Most importantly, enjoy what you are doing. I do believe in the mantra - a happy athlete will be a more successful athlete.Think about your technique - this is the foundation of your swimming. Build around this. Hard work is essential; talent will only take you so far. You must be willing to try hard in training and push yourself - it can be uncomfortable. You also need to be consistent. It's no good turning up for one session and then messing around in the next one. You need resilience and perseverance; things won't always go the way you want but don't let this set you back. Learn from failure and success. Change what you need to. Believe in yourself, confidence is key.

What is your pre-race routine?

I don't have any particular rituals or superstitions. I like to think about how I want the race to go, what my tactics are and how I want to execute the race.

At the meet I would try to keep hydrated, well fuelled and make sure I've done a good warm up. Before the race I will do some light mobility (arm swings etc.), make sure my goggles and hat are in place and practice my stroke. Before a race, I might eat something with simple carbs - Jaffa cakes are a go-to snack. I used to have sweets such as jelly babies or maybe dried fruit, like dates.

Is there one singular moment that ranks as the favourite of your career?

As a youth swimmer it was winning my first national gold. As a Masters swimmer - winning my first World Championship gold medal.

Where do you go from here?

I have some targets in mind for the coming years, especially as I age up next year (in Masters, age groups are in 5 year intervals). I would like to achieve some more records, but I think most importantly is to continue to enjoy swimming. If I enjoy what I am doing, hopefully I will continue to do it and keep myself healthy.