Bobbi Gichard's mother, Caroline, reckons the Hawke's Bay swimmer was too tough on herself as she reflected on her Commonwealth Games performances in Australia.
"Not being hard on myself is one of my work-ons," Gichard, 18, who competed in four events on the Gold Coast, said.
"It's important I stay grounded and not get overwhelmed. I need to focus on one race at a time and not think about the whole week. Although I had a day off between each of my events I was still thinking about the entire week and not one day at a time," Gichard explained.
A former Greendale club member who will start a four-year, full-rights scholarship with the University of Florida Gators team in August, Gichard will also focus on some tweaks to her technique.
"I need to fix my turn and my breakouts after I've been under the water before my first stroke ... these things take time."
Despite slipping at the start of her backstroke leg in the 4 x 100m relay Gichard recorded a time of 1m 01.3s for the Kiwi team which finished sixth on Tuesday night. Earlier in the Games Gichard finished 12th overall in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1m 01.75s, 13th in the 200m backstroke in 2m 17.88s and was the second reserve for the 50m backstroke after stopping the clock at 28.56s in her semfinal, a new national record for 18-year-olds.
"Competing in an outdoor pool was hard for us backstrokers. But we were all in the same boat and struggling together. We knew we would be competing in an outdoor pool and my last taste of outdoor competition was three years ago in Australia. The last time before that was in the Frimley Pool in Hastings at the Napier Girls' High School swimming sports in 2013."
Gichard is coached by former Great Britain and China Olympic coach David Lyles at the Howick Pakuranga club in Auckland.
"David was happy with what I did. He didn't put any expectations on me. Our swimming team officials were pretty stoked too. The said it was one of the best teams they had had where everyone all worked together ... it was pretty positive.
"That was my first Commonwealth Games and I'm definitely keen for more. Tokyo is still the long-term goal," Gichard said referring to the 2020 Olympics.
She was looking forward to being a spectator at some of the other codes during the remainder of the Games before returning to Auckland to prepare for the July 2-6 New Zealand Open championships. Before travelling to the United States Gichard will compete at the August Pan Pacific Games in Tokyo.
"While we won't be swimming in the same pool which will be used for the Olympics it will be good to get used to their time zones, temperatures and other stuff like that," Gichard said.
She is adamant her United States scholarship will enhance her chances of qualifying for the Olympics.
"The high-quality coaching in Florida, fantastic facilities and tough meets week after week - there will be no easy meets over there - should boost my chances."
Gators head coach Gregg Troy was head coach of the United States men's team at the 2012 London Olympics. Although the 100 and 200m backstroke will be her main events in the United States, 200m and 400m freestyle will be her second options.
"Most of my training will be focused on the backstroke because that's what I'm aiming for at the Olympics."