What Experience Taught Me About Knowledge
My name is Valentin Milkov, former Bulgarian national swimmer, NCAA Division I swimmer at Indiana University, and founder of ZLiX.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of competing at multiple European and World Championships, winning numerous medals at Balkan Championships, qualifying for two Olympic Games, and spending nearly two decades at the top of Bulgarian swimming.
Yet looking back, one realization stands out.
Talent and hard work are important, but access to knowledge can be a game changer.
When Information Traveled Slowly
Today, swimmers and coaches have access to an extraordinary amount of information. Through YouTube, online coaching clinics, race analysis, and international communities, it is easier than ever to learn from some of the best coaches in the world.
When I was growing up, that was not the case.
Our coaches were dedicated, passionate people who genuinely wanted us to succeed. The challenge was not their commitment. The challenge was that information traveled slowly, and much of what we learned came from a limited number of coaching philosophies.
The Hydration Advice I Trusted
As a national team swimmer, I was explicitly told not to drink water during training. I am someone who sweats heavily, yet I followed that advice for years because I trusted my coaches.
Then I moved to the United States and began swimming in NCAA Division I at Indiana University, a program that has helped shape generations of world-class swimmers and Olympic champions.
The difference was shocking.
My coaches constantly emphasized hydration. If they saw us around the pool without a water bottle, they would immediately ask:
“Where is your water?”
For the first time, I was given a scientific explanation of why hydration matters for performance and recovery.
The advice did not simply change. The reasoning was finally explained.
The Experience I Will Never Forget
During one training session, I became so dehydrated that I fainted in the pool. My teammate, Ivan Angelov, literally pulled me out of the water.
That experience stayed with me for life.
It showed me that incomplete or outdated knowledge is not just a barrier to performance. In some situations, it can become a serious safety risk.
Six Months Rebuilding My Turns
Hydration was only one example. Another was my turns.
In Bulgaria, I had already become a national champion and an international competitor. Yet when I arrived in the United States, my coaches spent nearly six months rebuilding my flip turns because they were among the weakest on the team.
Think about that for a moment.
I had already competed at the highest levels of European swimming, and yet there were fundamental skills that still needed major improvement.
I often wonder how much faster that learning curve could have been with today's access to video analysis, international coaching knowledge, and structured feedback.
Why I Created ZLiX
Years later, these experiences became part of the reason I created ZLiX.
The goal of ZLiX is simple:
To help swimmers and coaches gain structured guidance on which skills matter, what to work on next, and how to progress more effectively.
ZLiX uses AI, but the more important element is the objective framework built around swimming development rather than one individual's personal opinion.
The purpose is not to replace coaches. The purpose is to make useful knowledge and structured guidance more accessible to swimmers and coaches everywhere.
ZLiX is completely free. Try it, explore the swimming skills, and share your feedback.
A Question for Swimmers and Coaches
Swimming continues to evolve because people challenge old assumptions, share their experiences, and remain open to better methods.
What is one piece of advice you were taught early in your swimming career that you later discovered was wrong?
Val Milkov
Former Bulgarian national and NCAA Division I swimmer
Founder, ZLiX
