Last Updated on February 7, 2024 by admin
In this article, we’ll highlight 20 things that a swimmer can do during training to make their swimming coach happy.
- Competitive swimming can be a grueling sport, requiring swimmers to undertake many hours of repetitive training each week, in pursuit of excellence.
- Most coaches spend many, often unsocial hours on the poolside/deck for little or no monetary reward.
- The primary role of a swimming coach is to impart their knowledge and experience, to help the swimmers in their charge reach their full potential.
- Therefore, swimmers should make the best of each training session to achieve their swimming goals and in doing so make their swimming coach very happy.
Make your swimming coach happy: Before training
1. Great nutrition, the correct foods at the correct time:
Swimmers need to ensure that they consume the correct foods at the correct time.
- Proper swimming nutrition is essential for optimum swimming performance.
- It provides the swimmer with the energy they require to cope with the rigours of training and competition.
- Proper swimming nutrition also helps create new muscles and helps maintain and repair existing muscles.
2. Keep well hydrated:
Swimmers need to ensure that they keep hydrated at all times during the day.
- A fit and healthy body needs to be well-hydrated to perform at its optimum.
- Although most swimmers’ training is conducted in the water, they still lose a great deal of body fluid through physical exertion.
- This lost fluid should be replaced, as dehydration is one of the most common causes of poor performance.
Related articles on swimming nutrition and swimming hydration
We have produced related articles on swimming nutrition and swimming hydration. You can view it by clicking these links: swimming nutrition | swimming hydration.
3. Work towards your swimming goals:
Swimmers should ensure that when training they are working towards achieving their swimming goals.
- Setting swimming goals helps establish clear targets, priorities and expectations.
- They are a useful tool in enabling both the swimmer and the coach to gauge the swimmer’s progress and development towards achieving their goals.
Related article on setting swimming goals
We have produced a related article on the benefits of setting swimming goals. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming goals
4. Go to training with a positive attitude:
To help swimmers train at their optimum, they should go to training with a positive attitude.
- Many of the world’s top swimmers, use a variety of psychological self-motivational techniques, such as visualisation and self-talk, to help them increase their confidence and motivation.
Related articles on swimming self-talk, visualisation and swimming quotations
We have produced related articles, on several swimming psychological self-motivational techniques. You can view them by clicking these links: swimming self-talk | swimming visualisation | swimming quotations.
5. Make sure you have all of your training kit:
Swimming training requires a lot of kit such as goggles, swim fins, drinks bottle, etc.
- Swimmers should take the responsibility of packing their kit bag, to ensure that they have all the equipment they will require, including spare goggles and swim hat.
6. Arrive on time for the training session:
Swimmers should arrive on time for their swimming sessions.
- They need time to change, prepare and warm up properly before the training session begins.
- Sometimes this needs a bit of pre-planning to achieve, especially for morning training sessions.
Related article on morning swimming training
We have produced a related article, on morning swimming training. You can view it by clicking this link: morning swimming training.
7. Conduct a proper pre-pool warm-up before entering the pool:
Swimmers should ensure they conduct a proper pre-pool warm-up before entering the pool.
- Pre-pool warm-ups are of key importance to swimmers because, to swim fast, a swimmer’s muscles need to be warmed.
- This increases their flexibility and enhances their range of movement, making them more efficient whilst swimming.
- Swimming with warm and supple muscles reduces the chance of injury.
- An effective pre-pool warm-up also prepares the swimmer’s heart to pump larger amounts of oxygen-rich blood throughout their body whilst swimming.
Related article on swimming warm-ups
We have produced a related article on the benefit of swimming warm-ups. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming warm-ups
Make your swimming coach happy: Starting Training
8. Read and understand the pool warm-up set:
Before the swimmers enter the water, they should familiarise themselves with the pool warm-up set, to ensure they can perform it to its optimum.
9. Get in the pool quickly at the start of training:
Swimmers should start their training session promptly.
- There is nothing that annoys a coach as much as watching swimmers, adjust their goggles or their caps/hats on the poolside/deck while they miss valuable pool warm-up time.
Make your swimming coach happy: During Training
10. Work on your technique:
Swimmers should train using great technique.
- Training requires the swimmer to perform repetitive technical and physical drills, to master a set of key skills, which enables them to perform to the best of their ability while under the pressure of competition.
11. Work on your weaknesses:
During training, whenever a swimmer gets the opportunity to perform sets of their choosing, they should work on their weaker strokes at least once or twice a week
Make your swimming coach happy: Lane etiquette
12. Respect your squad members:
Swimmers should make allowances for the varying abilities that can occur in their lane.
- Slower and less experienced swimmers have as much right to be treated with respect as any other swimmer.
13. Respect your swimming coach:
Pay attention and listen to your coach.
- Be courteous to the other swimmers and don’t chat while the coach is giving instructions.
- Apologise to your coach if you turn up late to training.
- Inform your coach if you are injured or ill.
- Inform your coach if you have to leave the training session early.
- Thank your coach at the end of the training session.
Related articles on lane safety & etiquette
We have produced a related article on lane safety & etiquette. You can view it by clicking this link: lane safety & etiquette.
The don’ts
14. Don’t walk along the bottom of the pool:
Some swimmers attempt to cheat, by walking along the bottom of the pool.
- For those who do, here’s a message.
- HELLO, the pool is filled with clear water and the coach can see you, which doesn’t make them happy!
15. Don’t lose count of the number of lengths/laps you’ve completed:
Swimmers should stay focused on the set/rep they are currently performing and ensure that they don’t lose count of the number of lengths/laps they’ve completed.
- It’s important to take responsibility for your training.
- Don’t rely on others to count your sets or reps for you.
16. Don’t’ misread the pace clock and take a longer rest interval than you should:
Swimmers should stay focused on the set/rep they are currently performing and ensure that they don’t misread the pace clock and take a longer rest interval than they should.
Related article on how to use a swimming pace clock
We have produced a related article on how to use a swimming pace clock. You can view it by clicking this link: how to use a swimming pace clock.
The do’s
17. Keep hydrated during training:
Swimmers should ensure that they start drinking early during training, within the first 15 minutes.
- They should aim to drink around 500 ml per hour (A standard-sized sports water bottle).
- Swimmers should drink little and often, ideally every 15 to 20 minutes.
- They may also wish to consume a sports drink during a long training session.
Related article on swimming hydration
We have produced a related article on swimming hydration. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming hydration.
18. Refuel soon after training:
Swimmers need to replenish their fuel levels and should ensure they refuel, ideally 20 minutes after training.
19. Keeping a swimming log:
Many top swimmers review their training performance.
- To help them with this process many swimmers have a training evaluation sheet, which they keep in their swimming log.
Related article on the benefits of a swimming log
We have produced a related article on the benefits of keeping a swimming log. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming log.
20. Practice invisible swimming training:
A swimmer wishing to continue swimming at their optimum needs to practice invisible swimming training.
- Invisible swimming training is a series of disciplines to help ensure that swimmers receive the correct levels of nutrition and hydration, in combination with rest, recovery, relaxation and sleep.
Related articles on invisible swimming training
We have produced a related article on invisible swimming training. You can view it by clicking this link: invisible swimming training.
Takeaways
Competitive swimming can be a grueling sport, requiring swimmers to undertake many hours of repetitive training each week, in pursuit of excellence.
- The primary role of a swimming coach is to impart their knowledge and experience, to help the swimmers in their charge reach their full potential.
- Therefore, swimmers should make the best of each training session to achieve their swimming goals, and in doing so make their swimming coach very happy.
Swimming resource library
We have provided a swimming resource library, containing links to all of our publications and blog articles. To access any article by simply clicking on the attached page link: Swimming resource library
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