Coaching Swimming

 

 

The most important thing I have learned as a coach is to never stop learning.  Every individual whom I have had the privilege to coach has taught me something about how to be better.  Every individual has something unique to bring to the team.  I hope I am always up to the challenge of working with each  athlete that I encounter.

It is important to learn what is the most effective way to teach each individual.  Some are strongly kinesthetic or auditory.  Most are primarily visual.  To address this, coaches should be able to express their ideas in all three formats.

Example- body roll in freestyle- visual- have a good swimmer demonstrate, or show from the deck how it looks

Auditory-explain the concept and why it is effective

Kinesthetic- drills in the water to feel that aspect.  Some swimmers may have to have their bodies actually moved by the coach before they get it.

 

Each individual has a different commitment to the sport.  Coaches need to find out what that commitment is because it will directly affect the outcome of everything that is done in practice.

 

WHO ARE YOU TRAINING FOR?

 

Recently, I had a discussion with my sister about her work.  She talked about how many people don’t hold themselves to a high standard when working because their perception is that they are working for the boss.  People who work for themselves hold themselves to a high standard.  People who work “for the boss” want to just say, “ I have it done, boss.”

 

I thought about this for the next 24 hours and came to this conclusion.  The swimmers in my pool who flop around through the water think they are swimming for me!  Or maybe their parents.   They don’t really know that they are swimming for themselves.

 

I tested this idea at practice.  I have a pair of sisters aged 9 and 10 who are talented and competitive, but I don’t see that at practice much.  I do see it at meets.  Their success at meets had been limited by their lack of self-discipline and commitment at practice.  I know they give their mother grief about coming to practice, but at meets, it is obvious how much they actually like swimming. 

I pulled them out of the pool right after warm-ups and had a talk with them while the rest of the team went on with practice.

 

I asked them, “Who do you swim for?”  And the automatic learned response came out, “Ourselves.” 

I said, “No, really, here at practice, are you swimming for me or for your mom?”  (I knew it was not about them in their minds.)  One of them said, “I swim for you.”    I said, thank you for your honesty and challenged with, “Who do you swim for at meets?”    The answer of course was themselves, but this time it was the truth.  I asked, “Do you swim at practice like you do at a meet?”  Thank goodness, they were open and honest again, “No.” 

I said, “I think you swim the way you do at practice, because you just want to get it done, get it over with.  In your mind, you want to say, I did it, coach. ”  “ Do you believe that how you swim at practice affects your performance at meets?” 

“Yes.”

I could tell they still didn’t really get what I was trying to convey to them. 

“So, let’s say at a meet, you win some ribbons, who gets them?  Do I get them or do you”

“We do.”

“Does anyone come up to me at a meet after you have had a great race and say, “Wow, coach, that was a great 50 free you just did! Good job!”

At this point, they are giggling and looking at me with knowing smiles.  They understand.  The sheer ridiculousness of my getting congratulated about their swims as well as getting the ribbons makes them realize that their mindset was not in sync with how they really feel.  Plus the my scenario was pretty goofy. 

“Now, get back in the pool and swim for yourselves.”

They had the best practice they had had all summer.

 

 

Now, I know this lesson will need to be repeated.  The habit of commitment and self-discipline does not come easily.  But at least, the idea is there.

 I think we need to get rid of the question I hear often in the swimming world, “who do you swim for?”  Many times the answer is whoever the coach is or sometimes it’s the team.  In part this is true.  A more accurate question would be, “Who do you swim with?”  It is a partnership, not a boss-employee relationship.  Granted it is not a partnership among equals, but until the athlete understands his responsibility to the process; progress and results will be limited.. When an athlete understands his own part in his success, progress and results are limitless.