Roger Federer’s advice to Sébastien Schneiter
Ahead of meeting Schneiter, the great Swiss was asked in SailGP’s official behind-the-scenes docuseries, Racing on the Edge, what he would say to his struggling compatriot.
“I would probably tell Seb to embrace the pressure to remind him that that’s where he always wanted to be,” said Federer. “So now he’s the driver of his boat. He can take decisions. You are the decision maker, which is a privilege, you know, not everybody gets to take decisions in life, or in your field. So, try to turn it into a positive.”
At the actual meeting, filmed for the series, Schneiter was able to ask direct questions of Federer. One such query involved how to manage the moments of making tough calls.
“Pressure creates good and bad decision-making,” said the man oft cited as one of the best sport stars of his generation, “and what’s important is how you deal with those pressure moments. I think the more you do it, and the more you’re in it, the better you start taking those decisions.”
And around the anxiety of making said calls, Federer advised:
“It’s good to be excited, it’s good to be nervous because it means you care, you share the passion. The worst would be oh yeah, no problem let’s just take a super important decision and feel no feelings about it, you know. In the moment, before or after a race I think it’s important to feel emotional about those decisions.”
After absorbing every molecule of information given to him, Schneiter said of the meeting: “It was definitely a milestone for me to meet Roger Federer. Anyone in Switzerland dreams of meeting him, and I really want to take the most out of it that I can.”
Two weeks after the chat, and Switzerland were challenging to make their first ever event final, on the waters of San Francisco Bay.
After just missing out, Team Switzerland finally made a breakthrough at the event in Portsmouth, claiming third in the final against sailing behemoths New Zealand and GBR, albeit being unable to race fully due to hydraulic issues onboard.
Nevertheless, the breakthrough, which included a first fleet win in the second race on the UK’s south coast, had come, and with it, re-imagined goals for the rest of the season, which is still proving quite the learning curve.
“We’re not realistically fighting for the Season Grand Final in Abu Dhabi,” acknowledged Schneiter of the final event on 29-30 November, particularly after the cancellation of the second day of racing at the last event in St Tropez, “so Geneva feels more important than the others.”
“We said at the start of the season that if we could choose one event to win, it would be this one.”
But the difference between the start of the season and now, is this:
“When we say we want to be in the final race, it’s not just a dream anymore. We know how to do it – it’s just about executing. After Saint-Tropez, there’s no better moment to deliver.”