Baltimore legends Michael Phelps, Ray Lewis address Ravens at training camp

Baltimore sports legends Ray Lewis and Michael Phelps visited Ravens training camp practice on Tuesday in Owings Mills, Maryland, to offer words of wisdom to the players.

Lewis, an NFL Hall of Famer who won two Super Bowl championships with the Ravens, and Phelps, one of the most decorated Olympic swimmers, addressed the team.

Prepare to be great

Lewis and Phelps spoke to the team about preparation, which led them to become the best in their crafts.

"For me, when I stood up on the block, at the World Championships, the Olympic Games, any major international competition, I knew that I was the most prepared human on that pool deck," Phelps said on a video shared by the Ravens. "I know that nobody was doing what I was doing day in and day out. Those small things that I did are the reason I won a race by a hundredth of a second. It's what you do behind closed doors that no one sees that gives you the opportunity to stand on this field every single week of the season and be great."

Phelps, a former competitive swimmer, has 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold medals. He is known as one of the greatest Olympians ever.

At one point, he was the world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley.

Phelps was born in Baltimore and grew up in Towson. He graduated from Towson High School before his Olympic fame.

Lewis, a former linebacker who played for the Ravens from 1996 until 2012, won a pair of Super Bowl championships in Baltimore. He was a Super Bowl MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, 13-time Pro Bowl performer, and seven-time First-Team All-Pro Performer.

"The challenge is, what will you do with time? Life goes on, and life keeps passing, and one day, you are going to go back and say, 'What did I do with time? Did I waste it, did I abuse it, did I lose it?" Lewis said. "It's how you use what you have. It's the moment you feel you have to give everything you've got to the preparation, so that the moment comes, I soar in that moment."

Learning from the greats

Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said the Baltimore legends' addresses to the team were inspiring and motivating.

"I'm not going to say I'm a big swimming fan, but I know Michael Phelps," Orr said. "I think it was neat having him and Ray come talk to us, because the message was the same. That's one thing you notice when you listen to the greats. When you study the greats, you wonder, 'How do they do such great things in the highest tense moments?' And it all leads back to the work that nobody sees, and that's what Michael Phelps talked about. Ray talked about preparation. Michael Phelps talked about preparation as well."

Ravens swim with Phelps

The Baltimore Ravens also got their chance to swim with Phelps.

A couple of weeks after players shot a video asking the 23-time Olympic champion for swimming lessons, Phelps showed up at practice Tuesday. Then the team posted a video of players swimming and diving — or at least leaping off diving boards — at nearby Loyola University.

In one video posted by a reporter for the team's website, Phelps let everyone else have a significant head start before diving in and racing them. At least some of them did beat him in the end.