20 Top Tips to Help You Become a Better Swim Coach

Last Updated on October 13, 2022 by admin

In this article, we will provide you with advice, examples, hacks and tips with our 20 top tips to help you become a better swim coach

• These have been adapted and developed during our combined 40+ years of coaching competitive swimmers.

#1 Developing a coaching style

There are many types of swimming coaches, coming from a range of diverse backgrounds and cultures, with different physical and physiological attributes, and varying levels of coaching and swimming experience.

• To become a better swim coach, you should start to get an idea of the types of coaching attributes you admire
  • Which could you develop and adapt into your own coaching style
• At the beginning of your coaching journey, you should look to focus on your strengths, while working on your weaknesses.
• You should take time to analyse the great sporting coaches (not necessarily just swimming coaches) you admire or may have worked with.
• What are/were the qualities that make/made them great coaches?
• There may be things you like about a particular coaching style, which you can modify or adapt to suit your own style.
• You may also observe things you don’t like or feel uncomfortable coaching.
  • These may be the most valuable observations of all.

Coaching attributes examples

Listed below are some examples of key coaching attributes:

• Caring: A compassionate coach, who puts the welfare of their swimmers first.
• Charisma: An open, friendly and sociable coach.
• Commitment: A coach who is committed and focused to achieve their squad’s swimming goals.
• Dedication and determination: A coach who consistently and persistently delivers great training sessions.
• Honesty: A coach with great integrity.
• Motivator: A coach who can motivate their swimmers to ever higher levels of performance.

#2 Develop a coaching philosophy

A key part of developing a coaching style is to establish a set of beliefs and principles which you firmly believe in.

• These can help you to become a better swim coach.
• Being honest and true to your coaching philosophy can help you develop as a coach.
• You should review your philosophy from time to time to remind you of your firmly held principles.
• However, coaching philosophies may change as you become more experienced.

My coaching philosophy

My core coaching beliefs are,

1. Consistently and persistently coach perfect technique.
2. Recognise that there are no shortcuts to success
3. Effective multi-level communication
4. Stay hungry and keep learning

These are explained in more detail below.

 #3 Consistently and persistently coach perfect technique

Be a technique champion.

• Swimmers need to master excellent stroke techniques before they can train and compete effectively.
• Insist on your swimmers giving their best effort, while focusing on their best stroke technique

#4 Recognise that there are no shortcuts to success

Swimming success requires long-term commitment to drill, train and compete at the optimum level.

• There is no substitute for hard work.
• The consistent and persistent effort by swimmers and coaches is a prerequisite for achieving anything worthwhile in our sport.
• Although swimming is about commitment and hard work, it can be very tough and gruelling.
  • Therefore, you should always try your best to make your training sessions interesting and rewarding.

#5 Effective multi-level communication

You need to be able to communicate effectively with your swimmers, to successfully deliver your training programme.

• Swimmers commonly have a mix of learning styles, but some may have a more dominant style of learning.
• Therefore, coaches should use both of the most common learning styles, visual (written & demonstration) and verbal (spoken) when coaching.

Give clear, concise and precise coaching instructions

• Keep your verbal communication clear and to the point, otherwise, there is a chance that your swimmers will lose their focus
• When demonstrating on the poolside/deck ensure that your demonstrations are precise
• Use a whiteboard to clearly write up your sets.
• Where possible use more competent or experienced swimmers to demonstrate in the water.

#6 Stay hungry and keep learning

The world of competitive swimming continually evolves and changes.

• Whether it’s the competitive rules, training/stroke techniques and methods or the equipment.
• Therefore, to become a better swim coach, you should ensure that you stay hungry and keep learning to stay up to date and continue to develop as a coach.
• No coach no matter how experienced know all there is to know about competitive swimming!
• There are many learning sources available, enabling you to acquire knowledge and keep up to date, these include,
  • The Internet
  • Blogs
  • Vlogs
  • Podcasts
  • Books
  • Magazines
  • DVDs
  • Training camps
  • Training courses
  • Coaches’ meetings
  • Experiences you may have had as a swimmer
  • Experiences you may have had as a coach
  • Your observations of other coaches
  • Conversations with other coaches
  • Observations at training sessions and competitions.

#7 Arrive on time

Be the first of your squad on poolside

• Write the warm-up on the whiteboard and prepare for the session
• Welcome your swimmers as they arrive (build the relationship)
• Supervise their pre-pool warm-up

#8 Only use your stopwatch when you need to

A stopwatch can be a very useful device at the correct time.

• However, during sets with a technical focus, you should put your stopwatch to one side and spend your time observing, providing feedback and generally engaging with your swimmers.

#9 Have fun with a purpose

Although swimming is about commitment and hard work, try your best to make it interesting and have fun with a purpose, especially for younger age group swimmers.

• For example, rather than just coaching ordinary maximum-intensity kicking sets, why not conduct swimming kick relays?
• Your swimmers will love it, and this will ensure they perform their leg kick at their maximum effort and speed during the relay.

#10 Treat all your swimmers equally

A common complaint from parents regarding coaches is that they tend to favour the better and faster swimmers.

• Although this may be a natural reaction, you need to remember that just as a coach expects every swimmer’s best effort in training and competition, so every swimmer has the right to expect the same from their coach.

#11 Be positive, constructive and set a good example

Become a better swim coach by being positive, smiling and trying to catch each of your swimmers doing something well and give them the thumbs up.

• Give constructive feedback to each of your swimmers during each training session.

#12 Stay professional

Even if you are a voluntary coach, you should look professional on the poolside/deck.

• There are several things that you should avoid which can give a bad impression to both swimmers and any watching parents. These include,
• Dress appropriately.
  • Wear the correct kit for coaching on the poolside/deck. No jeans.
• Never sit down during training.
  • You can’t view your swimmers correctly from a seated position.
  • Ensure that you walk around the poolside, studying your swimmers from different angles, not just from the side, but also head-on.
  • You can sometimes be surprised that how a change of viewing angle can reveal something new about your swimmer’s strokes.
• Don’t fold/cross your arms, it makes you look cross and gives off negative vibes.
• Don’t eat on the poolside/deck, it looks so unprofessional.

#13 Stay focused and don’t get distracted

It’s important to stay focused and not to get distracted when coaching.

• Either by fellow coaches or parents,
• Except in an emergency, parents should not be allowed on the poolside.
• Don’t use your phone on the poolside, useless it’s when taking the squad register or in an emergency.

#14 Plan

‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’

Success in competitive swimming doesn’t just happen by chance.

• Behind every successful swimming programme, a lot of planning is involved.
• A great swimming coach leaves nothing to chance and always pays attention to detail.

The key to a successful swimming programme is

• The setting of Swimming Goals
• The formulation of an Annual Training Plan
• The Monitoring and Recording of the swimmer’s performance
• The Evaluation of the progress of the swimmers and the coach, against their swimming goals and the annual training plan.
• The Adjustment of either swimming goals or the annual training plan, to help get the swimmer ‘back on track’.

As you become more experienced and adept, your planning methods will develop and become more robust.

• Sometimes coaching different squads necessitates a change in your planning methods
• You may find yourself coaching more than one squad, which may require your producing multiple programme plans
• It’s therefore important that you regularly review and if necessary, adapt your planning methods to ensure that they are meeting the needs of your particular squad/s.

#15 Take a long-term view while focusing on the here and now

You should continue to think about your swimmer’s long-term goals and ambitions while making your short-term training sessions (the here and now) the best they can be

• Spend time finding different ways to improve and freshen up your sessions
• It’s good for your swimmers and it’s good for you

#16 Review each training session/workout

Review each training session/workout. Ask yourself,

• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• Is there anything you can do to improve the next session?

#17 Look after yourself

Sometimes coaching can be a bit draining…

• Working long unsocial hours, especially in the mornings or at meets
• Often coaching in a hot and sticky environment when working indoors

Therefore, to become a better swim coach, you should look after yourself both physically and mentally, for example

• Eat well – make sure you set a good example to your swimmers, eat healthily and keep hydrated
• Get enough sleep – ensure you get enough sleep to help your body and mind to rest, repair and rebuild from the rigours of coaching
• Look after your friends and family.
  • Having a swimming coach in the family or as a friend can be tough.
  • As a result, many relationships can become strained.
  • Therefore, you should ensure that you look after and make time for your family and friends

#18 Involve Assistant Coaches

An enthusiastic and committed assistant coach can be a great benefit

• They can be an extra pair of eyes when focusing on the stroke technique
• They can also help to time and record test sets
• Ensure that when planning you gradually increase their involvement in both your planning and the delivery of your sessions.

#19 Mentoring

A mentor is an experienced and trusted swimming adviser.

• This can be a very valuable resource to help anyone become a better swim coach.
• In my own experience, I was very fortunate to have several excellent mentors, particularly when I first started coaching and when I was studying for my coaching qualifications.
• I have found that not only are most coaches from within my club willing to pass on their views and experiences, but also those from other clubs.
• It’s therefore important for any coach to develop a mentoring network, either face-to-face or via social media.

Related article on swimming mentoring: an introduction

We have produced a related article on swimming mentoring: an introduction. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming mentoring: an introduction

#20 Educate your swimmers

Hydration & Nutrition

Educate your swimmers about the importance of the correct types and levels of hydration and nutrition

Related articles on swimming nutrition and swimming hydration

We have produced related articles on swimming nutrition and swimming hydration. You can view them by clicking these links: swimming nutrition | swimming hydration.

Sleep, Rest, Relaxation & Recovery

Educate your swimmers about the importance of the correct amounts of sleep, rest, relaxation & recovery.

Related articles on sleep, rest, relaxation & recovery

We have produced related articles on sleep, rest, relaxation & recovery. You can view them by clicking these links: swimming: dryland relaxation techniques | invisible swimming training | the secrets of a good night’s sleep for swimmers | recovering from swimming training

Coping strategies

Competitive swimming can be tough psychologically as well as physically. Therefore you should educate your swimmers on the importance of coping strategies, such as,

• Dealing with setbacks
• Visualization
• Self-Talk

Related articles on coping strategies

We have produced related articles on coping strategies. You can view them by clicking these links: how to deal with swimming setbacks | swimming visualisation: an introduction | swimming self-talk: an introduction

Bonus tip – educate the parents

Last but by no means least, it’s important that the parents of your swimmers are supported and given all the information they require.

• They play a vital role in lovingly supporting their child’s journey, development and enjoyment of our sport, which often requires a significant investment of their time and money.
• For many swimming clubs, the main depository for the bulk of such information is the club’s website.
• However, if you coach a junior squad, where many parents may be new to our sport, they may require regular communication via a social media channel such as a squad WhatsApp group.
• Coaching a more senior squad will almost certainly require regular face-to-face meetings with the swimmer and parents.
  • These are usually regarding the training programme and the swimmer’s development throughout the season.

Takeaways

In this article, we will provide you with advice, examples, hacks and tips with our 20 top tips to help you become a better swim coach

• Which we have adapted and developed during our combined 40+ years of coaching competitive swimmers.

Swimming resource library

We have provided a swimming resource library.

• This contains links to all of our publications and blog articles.
• Now with an easy-to-use index.
• To access any article simply click on the attached page link: swimming resource library

Swimming Publications

EatSleepSwimCoach produces a growing range of publications on a wide range of swimming subjects.

• These include competitive swimming drill publications for backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
• Which are now available in both Amazon Kindle and paperback formats.

For information regarding our portfolio please follow the Swimming publications link on our website https://eatsleepswimcoach.com/publications/

Recommended swimming equipment

We have provided a recommended swimming equipment page.

• It contains the swimming equipment that we and our swimmers use and recommend.
• You can access this page by clicking on the following link: recommended swimming equipment.

The Competitive Swimming Exchange – Facebook Group

We are members of the Competitive Swimming Exchange.

• This is a competitive swimming Facebook group to help exchange ideas and information to collectively improve the sport we love.
• It’s an international group for all swimmers, coaches, teachers, masters, triathletes and swimming parents. It’s for all those who are interested in competitive swimming, either in the pool or in open water

For more information about joining this group please use the following link: The Competitive Swimming Exchange