Deep Sea Fishing and Athlete Monitoring

My father takes fishing seriously, he has always had a close-to -insane amount of lures, depth finders, even fish scents, and other fishing gizmos. He catches a lot of fish and is rarely unsuccessful, even in the toughest of conditions. He's been in a boat since before he could walk so there is also alot of intuition there, but when he carves through a river or lake he has never been on his face changes to a serene focus and the tools and tactics come out. Fishing isn't about putting more bait on the hook. It's about watching, listening, and constantly adapting to your surroundings.

A lot of people are surprised by how many blinking gadgets and monitoring tools we use and the amount of questions we ask on a daily basis. This is especially true in the beginning. The client then starts to get used to it and even enters the gym telling us the items we need to know to be successful. What the weather is like, how the current is flowing, and the water temperature AKA items like sleep patterns, what they ate, and life stress. We learn more about them. They learn more about us. We figure out the sweet spots, the best lures, the best times to train, and when we need respool the lines and wait for a better day.

Imagine each athlete is a brand new section of water. You have never fished it. You have no guide and you are the guide. You have no idea where to fish, what lures to use, and you can not see the bottom. Fishing is how you make your living and how you feed your family so it would be wise to buy a map and use a depth finder to look for ledges and terrain where there are likely more fish. You would want to try different speeds for trolling and various lures to see what works best in particular situations. With fishing you get instant feedback - did you catch fish and how big. With some clients you can get very lucky and anyone can catch fish, but with others the sea can be unyielding and only certain methods will work on certain days. We have found that the latter is much more likely, especially if you have a long-term view.

This is why we are so keen on monitoring athletes and put so much time, effort, and finances into it. Each athlete is their own section of deep dea, sometimes peaceful and forgiving, sometimes fierce and uncompromising. We have to learn to make a living together. We only have one shot. We have to be respectful. We have to know when to go for it and take what the sea gives us. We have to have the understanding that we must not exhaust our resources past a point of no return. Some days we must put the boat in before the sun rises and stay out late and on others the swells will keep us on the shore waiting for the storm to fade, yet above all we must always be paying attention, watching, and listening. This is our job.