Young, first-time summer swim coach seeking advice!

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my heart.
I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would
be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Chase any parents off the pool deck with a stick that attempt to communicate with swimmers during
practice (if you let them get that close to the pool to begin with.)

- Al

Katie,

Its kind of hard to know where to start. are you looking at programming and planning, ideas for sets
and drills, etc? also, what is the ability level, even rough examples of times, size of squad etc
would be helpful. i'd love to help you out, if you can narrow down what you need!

Steve

"Katie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my heart.
I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would
be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Katie left this mess on 14 Feb 2004 16:57:15 -0800 for The Way to clean up:

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my heart.
I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would
be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Katie, as a former swimmer, a coach AND a parent...

Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Then count to a hundred. Take another breath. Then deal with it 🙂

Tao te Carl "It takes a village to have an idiot." - Carl (c) 2003

(Kudos to Cap'n Jim Wyatt for this link) BEFORE you ask a dumb-ass question
here...http://www.speakeasy.org/~neilco/bart.gif

"Al" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a9a9b8258e4cf2a989736@mayonews...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my
heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of
swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Chase any parents off the pool deck with a stick that attempt to communicate with swimmers during
practice (if you let them get that close to the pool to begin with.)

- Al

take Al's comment with a grain of salt...as a new and young coach, you'll NEED lots of parent
support, so be diplomatic in kicking the parents out. Sure, on a year-round dedicated team you need
to keep a leash on some of the semi-pro coach parents, but on summer teams your more likely issue is
the mom who wants to baby a six to ten year old doing swimming for the first time. Keep in mind,
you're coaching a summer team here, not coaching junior nationals...if you alienate the parents,
you're not going to be a head coach for long. You're going to have a lot of very inexperienced
swimmers and parents will want to be involved. Figure out and make clear what's acceptable and
unacceptable, when they can talk to you, etc. Coaches are hired to impart their knowledge, but it
doesn't mean you know everything...I've seen a number of coaches who seem to think they know it all!
Use parents to your advantage...you can quickly figure out a who a few parents are who are reliable
and dedicated, use them for running interference with other parents...on my daughter's team I and a
couple of other parents try to get between the coach and new parents at practice, answering the
questions we can and filling them in on the basic rules. Our team is a year-round USA/YMCA team and
has a dozen or so strong 10 and unders and another 60 or so who range from beginning five year olds
to medicore swimming early teens...there's little or no problem with the parents trying to coach,
it's definitely more the mom's trying to mollycoddle.

On the other hand, you do need to establish that you are the coach and you do rule the pool...young
coaches, especially female, can have problems with smartassed teen boys. kick their butts for
talking when you are talking, etc. Keep it fun, but when you're speaking everyone needs to shut up.

"Al" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a9a9b8258e4cf2a989736@mayonews...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my
heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of
swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Chase any parents off the pool deck with a stick that attempt to communicate with swimmers during
practice (if you let them get that close to the pool to begin with.)

LOL,,,,our floundering local municipal pool finally got taken over by a first rate swim team from
the next town over. My daughter had been swimming their, but now we can conveniently drive around
the corner for swim practice. The other pool had stands and specific areas, well away from the deck,
for the parents to watch. The new pool has no designations. So far, some of us parents have been
standing right on the deck with the coaches. I don't say a damn word, as well, I tell the other
parents to stay quiet! I'm really enjoying the better view. However, I suppose once the team gets
bigger, our close proximity deck view will be ended.

Rick Swanger

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"Al" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:MPG.1a9a9b8258e4cf2a989736@mayonews...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last
year but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give
it my best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to
my heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of
swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Chase any parents off the pool deck with a stick that attempt to communicate with swimmers
during practice (if you let them get that close to the pool to begin with.)

- Al

take Al's comment with a grain of salt...as a new and young coach, you'll NEED lots of parent
support, so be diplomatic in kicking the parents out. Sure, on a year-round dedicated team you
need to keep a leash on some of the semi-pro coach parents, but on summer teams your more likely
issue is the mom who wants to baby a six to ten year old doing swimming for the first time. Keep
in mind, you're coaching a summer team here, not coaching junior nationals...if you alienate the
parents, you're not going to be a head coach for long. You're going to have a lot of very
inexperienced swimmers and parents will want to be involved. Figure out and make clear what's
acceptable and unacceptable, when they can talk to you, etc. Coaches are hired to impart their
knowledge, but it doesn't mean you know everything...I've seen a number of coaches who seem to
think they know it all! Use parents to your advantage...you can quickly figure out a who a few
parents are who are reliable and dedicated, use them for running interference with other
parents...on my daughter's team I and a couple of other parents try to get between the coach and
new parents at practice, answering the questions we can and filling them in on the basic rules.
Our team is a year-round USA/YMCA team and has a dozen or so strong 10 and unders and another 60
or so who range from beginning five year olds to medicore swimming early teens...there's little or
no problem with the parents trying to coach, it's definitely more the mom's trying to mollycoddle.

On the other hand, you do need to establish that you are the coach and you do rule the
pool...young coaches, especially female, can have problems with smartassed teen boys. kick their
butts for talking when you are talking, etc. Keep it fun, but when you're speaking everyone needs
to shut up.

Glad you added these comments - it's good (particularly for a new coach) to hear from someone a
little less jaded when it comes to parents :-)

- Al

"Al" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a9adecee165e510989738@mayonews...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"Al" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:MPG.1a9a9b8258e4cf2a989736@mayonews...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
> Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently

got

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> a job as head coach for a summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant
> for a different team last year but have

never

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> give it my best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> sport that is very close to my heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from
> coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Chase any parents off the pool deck with a stick that attempt to communicate with swimmers
during practice (if you let them get that close to the pool to begin with.)

- Al

take Al's comment with a grain of salt...as a new and young coach,

you'll

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

NEED lots of parent support, so be diplomatic in kicking the parents

out.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sure, on a year-round dedicated team you need to keep a leash on some of

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

semi-pro coach parents, but on summer teams your more likely issue is

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

mom who wants to baby a six to ten year old doing swimming for the first time. Keep in mind,
you're coaching a summer team here, not coaching

junior

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

nationals...if you alienate the parents, you're not going to be a head

coach

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for long. You're going to have a lot of very inexperienced swimmers and parents will want to be
involved. Figure out and make clear what's acceptable and unacceptable, when they can talk to
you, etc. Coaches

are

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hired to impart their knowledge, but it doesn't mean you know everything...I've seen a number of
coaches who seem to think they know

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

all! Use parents to your advantage...you can quickly figure out a who a

few

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parents are who are reliable and dedicated, use them for running interference with other
parents...on my daughter's team I and a couple

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

other parents try to get between the coach and new parents at practice, answering the questions
we can and filling them in on the basic rules.

Our

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

team is a year-round USA/YMCA team and has a dozen or so strong 10 and unders and another 60 or
so who range from beginning five year olds to medicore swimming early teens...there's little or
no problem with the parents trying to coach, it's definitely more the mom's trying to
mollycoddle.

On the other hand, you do need to establish that you are the coach and

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

do rule the pool...young coaches, especially female, can have problems

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

smartassed teen boys. kick their butts for talking when you are

talking,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

etc. Keep it fun, but when you're speaking everyone needs to shut up.

Glad you added these comments - it's good (particularly for a new coach) to hear from someone a
little less jaded when it comes to parents :-)

- Al

Hey, there are plenty of us swim parents who are pretty bad, but there are more of us who try and
help and, if possible, do the things the coaches ask us to do. Unfortunately,the majority,
especially with summer teams, are mostly disinterested beyond the fact it serves as partial
daycare/babysitter.

Summer swim teams are a different animal than the year round...my daughter's YMCA team swells from
about 60+ in the rest of the year to about 100 in the summer, and way too many of those parents see
it as an extension of daycamp.

You'll really need to figure out who's who among the parents, ignore the ones who ignore you,
cultivate the useful ones and keep an eye on the troublemakers...nothing will get you canned quicker
than a bunch of p.o.'d parents!

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hey, there are plenty of us swim parents who are pretty bad, but there are more of us who try and
help and, if possible, do the things the coaches ask us to do. Unfortunately,the majority,
especially with summer teams, are mostly disinterested beyond the fact it serves as partial
daycare/babysitter.

Yes, the parents interested in helping without expecting anything in return (e.g., a spot on a relay
for their kid) are a Godsend.

Quoted message said:

Summer swim teams are a different animal than the year round...my daughter's YMCA team swells from
about 60+ in the rest of the year to about 100 in the summer, and way too many of those parents
see it as an extension of daycamp.

You'll really need to figure out who's who among the parents, ignore the ones who ignore you,
cultivate the useful ones and keep an eye on the troublemakers...nothing will get you canned
quicker than a bunch of p.o.'d parents!

Been there, done that... er, had it done to me, I should say.

- Al

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Katie,

Its kind of hard to know where to start. are you looking at programming and planning, ideas for
sets and drills, etc? also, what is the ability level, even rough examples of times, size of squad
etc would be helpful. i'd love to help you out, if you can narrow down what you need!

Steve

Steve,

My team has about sixty swimmers, seventy if you count guppies. They are slightly higher in ability
than the swimmers I worked with last year, but that's not saying very much. Although there are a
few who are above average, most are at the very beginning level. With the ten and unders 25 free,
we're talking about thirty five seconds would be pretty good for this group; with the older kids'
50 free, anything under a minute is good. All in all, mostly novices with a few at the higher
levels (maybe one or two get under 35 seconds in the fifty free). There aren't many older kids; we
have five 15/18's that I know of but they're fourteen year olds who've just moved up; guppies can
be as young as four.

I'm looking for any help you have! Mostly help on how to deal with difficult parents, though the
advice that's already been given is very good. 🙂 Drill ideas for novice swimmers would also be
great: especially for teaching them to do the strokes legally...

Thanks so much for your interest; I really appreciate it!

To those who replied about the parents: points taken, both of them. I will try to find a middle
ground. 😉

Here's another thought...figure out who really runs things in the organization and what is the
direction they want the team to go. At my daughter's Y, we lost the coach a little over a year ago
when she refused to play the political games of the folks on the Y exec board as the Y folks
responded to the squeaky wheel of the day...which at that point was handful of vocal lap swimmers
[censored] the swim team had grown from under 20 to 70+ kids and they no longer had a pool to
themselves at all hours . The coach quit, the Y announced they weren't going to swim USA any
more...then we parents started squeaking, and the Y came back around to USA and hired a good coach.
I sat with the director of the Y and just asked him to cut the BS and just let me know the direction
of the team...if they wanted a developmental team doing Y meets only, fine, we were going to find
another team. If they were going to put forth an effort to accomodate all kids, from the couple of
boys with downs syndrome, to the 35 second 25 yard free kids, to the better kids like my daughter
(she's one of the top eight year olds in dallas and all north texas), then great. I like having my
kid on a team that has room for everyone, not just focusing on the elite swimmers, but not ignoring
them, either.

the previous coach and the exec board clearly had different perspectives of what the team was to be.
i think getting it straight between yourself and the powers that be and then communicating that to
the parents is vital.

"Katie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Katie,

Its kind of hard to know where to start. are you looking at programming

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

planning, ideas for sets and drills, etc? also, what is the ability

level,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

even rough examples of times, size of squad etc would be helpful. i'd

love

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to help you out, if you can narrow down what you need!

Steve

Steve,

My team has about sixty swimmers, seventy if you count guppies. They are slightly higher in
ability than the swimmers I worked with last year, but that's not saying very much. Although there
are a few who are above average, most are at the very beginning level. With the ten and unders 25
free, we're talking about thirty five seconds would be pretty good for this group; with the older
kids' 50 free, anything under a minute is good. All in all, mostly novices with a few at the
higher levels (maybe one or two get under 35 seconds in the fifty free). There aren't many older
kids; we have five 15/18's that I know of but they're fourteen year olds who've just moved up;
guppies can be as young as four.

I'm looking for any help you have! Mostly help on how to deal with difficult parents, though the
advice that's already been given is very good. 🙂 Drill ideas for novice swimmers would also be
great: especially for teaching them to do the strokes legally...

Thanks so much for your interest; I really appreciate it!

To those who replied about the parents: points taken, both of them. I will try to find a middle
ground. 😉

"Katie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Katie,

Its kind of hard to know where to start. are you looking at programming

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

planning, ideas for sets and drills, etc? also, what is the ability

level,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

even rough examples of times, size of squad etc would be helpful. i'd

love

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to help you out, if you can narrow down what you need!

Steve

Steve,

My team has about sixty swimmers, seventy if you count guppies. They are slightly higher in
ability than the swimmers I worked with last year, but that's not saying very much. Although there
are a few who are above average, most are at the very beginning level. With the ten and unders 25
free, we're talking about thirty five seconds would be pretty good for this group; with the older
kids' 50 free, anything under a minute is good. All in all, mostly novices with a few at the
higher levels (maybe one or two get under 35 seconds in the fifty free). There aren't many older
kids; we have five 15/18's that I know of but they're fourteen year olds who've just moved up;
guppies can be as young as four.

I'm looking for any help you have! Mostly help on how to deal with difficult parents, though the
advice that's already been given is very good. 🙂 Drill ideas for novice swimmers would also be
great: especially for teaching them to do the strokes legally...

Thanks so much for your interest; I really appreciate it!

To those who replied about the parents: points taken, both of them. I will try to find a middle
ground. 😉

The best strategy for 'difficult' parents is to get a swim session for them to swim themselves. If
the join and you coach them, they'll suddenly become understanding, if they won't join they'll shut
up out of shame. Either way, they'll be grateful to you for doing something for them as well as
their kids, and see you in a better light.

Mike, i thought that was a great piece, and offered Katie some sound advice.

My only point would be that the training methods you described for her group, (aerobic threshold,
lactate production and lactate tolerance no less!), are way out of their league i imagine.

I would probably be doing a fairly lengthy warm up daily, (1000-1200 yards) which will cover your
aerobic needs, The remainder of the time i would spend on drills, short sprints such as builds and
breaks and then ancilliary skills such as turns and starts, with relays games and novelties mixed
in. from what i gather of the general summer league programs, you have no need to be doing anything
but this type of work.

"Mike Edey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Katie said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my
heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of
swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

I was in a similar position not too long ago. I'd had a lot of experience as an athlete, and some
informal coaching, but I hadn't had anything to do with summer swimming whatsoever. There was only
a little culture shock 😉. At any rate I did have some good resources to work with, and a great
club filled with people who, oh my, actually _liked_ swimming. That group of people are the
biggest reason I have anything to do with the sport - it wasn't that long ago that my own
experiences & baggage (not to mention the politics, the bickering and all the rest of the [censored])
had pretty much driven me from the pool entirely. That being said there are a few points I found
valuable - I hope they may be of use to yourself:

-Keep a log book. Keep _everything_ in the log book. Workouts as planned, workouts as
accomplished. Attendance. Meet results & splits. Notes for newsletters. Executive meeting notes.
Meet entry deadlines & reminders. Notes regarding behavior & disciplinary problems (best to get
another person to initial those too, just in case). This book will be your bible, don't leave home
without it. A water resistant cover is important.

-Talk to your parents. Swim club parents, regardless of experience, _love_ to talk about their
kid. Talking about their kid is simply the best & most efficient way to win a loyal supporter. It
doesn't take a big group of kids to find a substantial number of capable/industrious parents so
make sure they're working with you.

-Technique, technique, technique. Here the summer club season (for those making provincials) runs
about 15 weeks. There's no way you're going to get in enough fitness work in that time to better
improvements from technical development or growth. Strength and fitness are important, but should
be secondary goals. Hammer home the important technical points - streamlines, breathing patterns,
starts & turns, clean pulls & relaxed recoveries, stroke length+rate.

-Planning. be sure that your workouts cover most of the energy systems on a regular basis.
Here our summer club swimmers race every weekend in june & july and the culture expects pb's
pretty much every weekend. You might then want to consider swimming some aerobic work every
day, some threshold work a couple times a week, some lactate production a couple times a week
and (maybe) some lactate tolerance once a week. Use that big swack of aerobic work to practice
turns & skills/drills. You might need to introduce your kids to the concept of 'appropriate
intensity' - most will prob be familiar with '50fr race pace' & 'jumping off the
bottom/warmup' and little else.

-KISS. 95% of your kids, 95% of the time, need to hear the same things as the rest of the group.
Over & over again. This means you'll end up repeating the same advice 90% of the time. Don't try
to get to fancy, or spend too much time trying to mold little Johnny, the 45sec 50freestyler, into
an Olympic contender by tues. Just because you might know how you'd like your kids strokes (or
mental skills or race plans or fitness goals or....) to change doesn't mean they'll have to skills
& background to make those changes. Pick a few points you'd like to work on, establish _one_
phrase to identify each one, attempt _many_ descriptions (verbal, visual, kinesthetic) for each.
Spend some time trying to 'close the feedback loop'
- to associate the 'feel' of the stroke/skill with the visual identification. Video work is ideal
for this, but not usually practical. How creative can you be in your attempts to close the loop?
Please share exercises you find useful 😉

-Talk. Many coaches are more then happy to offer advice, you just have to ask. Well that's not
entirely true - it helps _enormously_ if you have a clear, succinct question to ask. Eric Raymond
wrote a great paper "How to ask questions the smart way" (catb.orgsmartOpen ↗
questions.html) which, while originally intended to ease the pain of seeking advice from the
resident techy, offers great advice for obtaining useful information from those who might not feel
any great obligation to share with you.

-Enjoy successes. There are so many ways to be successful at the pool - the only hard part is
recognizing & appreciating them. As a swimmer it's easy to get hung up on a race that was a little
dissapointing, time wise, and neglect the great turns or adherence to race plan, or focus, or
start, or reaction time, or streamlines, or break outs, or transitions, or kick, or breathing
pattern, or body position, or stroke form, or approach, or turns, or aggressiveness, or
graciousness, or cheering, or team leadership or workout attendance, or attention to stretching,
or warmups, or warmdowns, or good use of the pace clock, or attention in workout, or 'water bottle
attendance', or ....

As a coach the same applies - you're there to help aid the growth & development of a group of
children, both as athletes & people. Should this same group of kids swim fast on weekend X so much
the better, but that's a side benefit. Just as there's many ways to be a better swimmer there's
many ways to be a better coach. Don't neglect the countless ways you can be a better role
model/manager/director/counsellor. How many ways did you succeed today?

--Mike

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike, i thought that was a great piece, and offered Katie some sound

advice.

Quoted message said:

My only point would be that the training methods you described for her group, (aerobic threshold,
lactate production and lactate tolerance no less!), are way out of their league i imagine.

I would probably be doing a fairly lengthy warm up daily, (1000-1200

yards)

Quoted message said:

which will cover your aerobic needs, The remainder of the time i would

spend

Quoted message said:

on drills, short sprints such as builds and breaks and then ancilliary skills such as turns and
starts, with relays games and novelties mixed in. from what i gather of the general summer league
programs, you have no need to be doing anything but this type of work.

Even that sounds like too much, at least on the warmup end...if the bulk of the team would be happy
with 35 second 25 frees, a thousand will take about an hour!

Quoted message said:

"Mike Edey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Katie said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

job as head coach for a summer swim team and am very excited about it.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was an assistant for a different team last year but have never been a head coach before. I'm
enthusiastic about this job and want to give

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my
heart. I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of
swimmers would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

I was in a similar position not too long ago. I'd had a lot of

experience

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as an athlete, and some informal coaching, but I hadn't had anything to

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with summer swimming whatsoever. There was only a little culture shock

😉.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At any rate I did have some good resources to work with, and a great

club

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

filled with people who, oh my, actually _liked_ swimming. That group of people are the biggest
reason I have anything to do with the sport - it wasn't that long ago that my own experiences &
baggage (not to mention

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

politics, the bickering and all the rest of the [censored]) had pretty much driven me from the pool
entirely. That being said there are a few points

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

found valuable - I hope they may be of use to yourself:

-Keep a log book. Keep _everything_ in the log book. Workouts as

planned,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

workouts as accomplished. Attendance. Meet results & splits. Notes for newsletters. Executive
meeting notes. Meet entry deadlines & reminders. Notes regarding behavior & disciplinary
problems (best to get another person to initial those too, just in case). This book will be your

bible,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't leave home without it. A water resistant cover is important.

-Talk to your parents. Swim club parents, regardless of experience,

_love_

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to talk about their kid. Talking about their kid is simply the best &

most

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

efficient way to win a loyal supporter. It doesn't take a big group of kids to find a
substantial number of capable/industrious parents so make sure they're working with you.

-Technique, technique, technique. Here the summer club season (for those making provincials)
runs about 15 weeks. There's no way you're going to get in enough fitness work in that time to
better improvements from technical development or growth. Strength and fitness are important,
but should be secondary goals. Hammer home the important technical points - streamlines,
breathing patterns, starts & turns, clean pulls & relaxed recoveries, stroke length+rate.

-Planning. be sure that your workouts cover most of the energy systems

on

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a regular basis. Here our summer club swimmers race every weekend in

june

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

& july and the culture expects pb's pretty much every weekend. You might then want to consider
swimming some aerobic work every day, some

threshold

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

work a couple times a week, some lactate production a couple times a

week

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and (maybe) some lactate tolerance once a week. Use that big swack of aerobic work to practice
turns & skills/drills. You might need to introduce your kids to the concept of 'appropriate
intensity' - most

will

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

prob be familiar with '50fr race pace' & 'jumping off the bottom/warmup' and little else.

-KISS. 95% of your kids, 95% of the time, need to hear the same things

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the rest of the group. Over & over again. This means you'll end up repeating the same advice
90% of the time. Don't try to get to fancy, or spend too much time trying to mold little
Johnny, the 45sec

50freestyler,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

into an Olympic contender by tues. Just because you might know how you'd like your kids strokes
(or mental skills or race plans or fitness goals or....) to change doesn't mean they'll have to
skills & background to

make

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

those changes. Pick a few points you'd like to work on, establish _one_ phrase to identify each
one, attempt _many_ descriptions (verbal,

visual,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

kinesthetic) for each. Spend some time trying to 'close the feedback

loop'

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- to associate the 'feel' of the stroke/skill with the visual identification. Video work is
ideal for this, but not usually practical. How creative can you be in your attempts to close
the loop? Please share exercises you find useful 😉

-Talk. Many coaches are more then happy to offer advice, you just have

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ask. Well that's not entirely true - it helps _enormously_ if you have a clear, succinct
question to ask. Eric Raymond wrote a great paper "How

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ask questions the smart way" (catb.orgsmart questions.htmlOpen ↗) which, while
originally intended to ease the pain of seeking advice from the resident techy, offers great
advice for obtaining useful information from those

who

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

might not feel any great obligation to share with you.

-Enjoy successes. There are so many ways to be successful at the pool - the only hard part is
recognizing & appreciating them. As a swimmer it's easy to get hung up on a race that was a
little dissapointing, time

wise,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and neglect the great turns or adherence to race plan, or focus, or

start,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or reaction time, or streamlines, or break outs, or transitions, or

kick,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or breathing pattern, or body position, or stroke form, or approach, or turns, or
aggressiveness, or graciousness, or cheering, or team

leadership

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or workout attendance, or attention to stretching, or warmups, or warmdowns, or good use of the
pace clock, or attention in workout, or 'water bottle attendance', or ....

As a coach the same applies - you're there to help aid the growth & development of a group of
children, both as athletes & people. Should

this

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

same group of kids swim fast on weekend X so much the better, but that's

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

side benefit. Just as there's many ways to be a better swimmer there's many ways to be a better
coach. Don't neglect the countless ways you can be a better role
model/manager/director/counsellor. How many ways did

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

succeed today?

--Mike

thought they were 35 second 50's. my bad...

in that case, yeah, all drills, all short sprints, all novelty skill work.

"Count Scrofula" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike, i thought that was a great piece, and offered Katie some sound

advice.

Quoted message said:

My only point would be that the training methods you described for her group, (aerobic
threshold, lactate production and lactate tolerance no less!), are way out of their league i
imagine.

I would probably be doing a fairly lengthy warm up daily, (1000-1200

yards)

Quoted message said:

which will cover your aerobic needs, The remainder of the time i would

spend

Quoted message said:

on drills, short sprints such as builds and breaks and then ancilliary skills such as turns and
starts, with relays games and novelties mixed

in.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

from what i gather of the general summer league programs, you have no

need

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to be doing anything but this type of work.

Even that sounds like too much, at least on the warmup end...if the bulk

of

Quoted message said:

the team would be happy with 35 second 25 frees, a thousand will take

about

Quoted message said:

an hour!

Quoted message said:

"Mike Edey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 16:57:15 -0800, Katie wrote:

> Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently

got

Quoted message said:

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> job as head coach for a summer swim team and am very excited about

it.

Quoted message said:

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> was an assistant for a different team last year but have never been

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> my best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to
> my heart. I'm here to ask for some advice:

any

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would be

most

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> appreciated. Thanks so much!

I was in a similar position not too long ago. I'd had a lot of

experience

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as an athlete, and some informal coaching, but I hadn't had anything

to

Quoted message said:

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with summer swimming whatsoever. There was only a little culture shock

😉.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At any rate I did have some good resources to work with, and a great

club

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

filled with people who, oh my, actually _liked_ swimming. That group

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

people are the biggest reason I have anything to do with the sport -

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wasn't that long ago that my own experiences & baggage (not to mention

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

politics, the bickering and all the rest of the [censored]) had pretty much driven me from the pool
entirely. That being said there are a few

points

Quoted message said:

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

found valuable - I hope they may be of use to yourself:

-Keep a log book. Keep _everything_ in the log book. Workouts as

planned,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

workouts as accomplished. Attendance. Meet results & splits. Notes for newsletters. Executive
meeting notes. Meet entry deadlines &

reminders.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Notes regarding behavior & disciplinary problems (best to get another person to initial those
too, just in case). This book will be your

bible,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't leave home without it. A water resistant cover is important.

-Talk to your parents. Swim club parents, regardless of experience,

_love_

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to talk about their kid. Talking about their kid is simply the best &

most

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

efficient way to win a loyal supporter. It doesn't take a big group of kids to find a
substantial number of capable/industrious parents so

make

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sure they're working with you.

-Technique, technique, technique. Here the summer club season (for

those

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

making provincials) runs about 15 weeks. There's no way you're going

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

get in enough fitness work in that time to better improvements from technical development or
growth. Strength and fitness are important,

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

should be secondary goals. Hammer home the important technical

points -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

streamlines, breathing patterns, starts & turns, clean pulls & relaxed recoveries, stroke
length+rate.

-Planning. be sure that your workouts cover most of the energy systems

on

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a regular basis. Here our summer club swimmers race every weekend in

june

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

& july and the culture expects pb's pretty much every weekend. You

might

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

then want to consider swimming some aerobic work every day, some

threshold

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

work a couple times a week, some lactate production a couple times a

week

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and (maybe) some lactate tolerance once a week. Use that big swack of aerobic work to practice
turns & skills/drills. You might need to introduce your kids to the concept of 'appropriate
intensity' - most

will

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

prob be familiar with '50fr race pace' & 'jumping off the

bottom/warmup'

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and little else.

-KISS. 95% of your kids, 95% of the time, need to hear the same things

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the rest of the group. Over & over again. This means you'll end up repeating the same advice
90% of the time. Don't try to get to fancy,

or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

spend too much time trying to mold little Johnny, the 45sec

50freestyler,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

into an Olympic contender by tues. Just because you might know how

you'd

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

like your kids strokes (or mental skills or race plans or fitness

goals

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or....) to change doesn't mean they'll have to skills & background to

make

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

those changes. Pick a few points you'd like to work on, establish

_one_

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

phrase to identify each one, attempt _many_ descriptions (verbal,

visual,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

kinesthetic) for each. Spend some time trying to 'close the feedback

loop'

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- to associate the 'feel' of the stroke/skill with the visual identification. Video work is
ideal for this, but not usually

practical.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How creative can you be in your attempts to close the loop? Please

share

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

exercises you find useful 😉

-Talk. Many coaches are more then happy to offer advice, you just have

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ask. Well that's not entirely true - it helps _enormously_ if you have

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clear, succinct question to ask. Eric Raymond wrote a great paper "How

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ask questions the smart way" (catb.orgsmart questions.htmlOpen ↗) which, while
originally intended to ease the pain of seeking advice from the

resident

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

techy, offers great advice for obtaining useful information from those

who

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

might not feel any great obligation to share with you.

-Enjoy successes. There are so many ways to be successful at the

pool -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the only hard part is recognizing & appreciating them. As a swimmer

it's

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

easy to get hung up on a race that was a little dissapointing, time

wise,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and neglect the great turns or adherence to race plan, or focus, or

start,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or reaction time, or streamlines, or break outs, or transitions, or

kick,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or breathing pattern, or body position, or stroke form, or approach,

or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

turns, or aggressiveness, or graciousness, or cheering, or team

leadership

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or workout attendance, or attention to stretching, or warmups, or warmdowns, or good use of
the pace clock, or attention in workout, or 'water bottle attendance', or ....

As a coach the same applies - you're there to help aid the growth & development of a group of
children, both as athletes & people. Should

this

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

same group of kids swim fast on weekend X so much the better, but

that's

Quoted message said:

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

side benefit. Just as there's many ways to be a better swimmer there's many ways to be a
better coach. Don't neglect the countless ways you

can

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

be a better role model/manager/director/counsellor. How many ways did

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

succeed today?

--Mike

"Katie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about it. I was an assistant for a different team last year
but have never been a head coach before. I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my
best effort; I've been swimming for twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my heart.
I'm here to ask for some advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would
be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

I'll leave the in pool advise to the experts but as a former parent board prez for a summer league
team, here's some observations.

The job is more than just coaching. You're the CEO of the team. You probably report to a parent
board but you're ultimately responsible for the whole shebang so think of yourself as a manager not
just the coach. Learn to manage, delegate and supervise. Don't try to do everything yourself but you
do need to make sure everything gets done. If coaching is your life's ambition, these are skills
you'll have to master. If this is just a temporary stop on the road to somewhere else, these skills
will serve you well in other endeavors. Take advantage of the learning opportunity.

Hire good competent assistants that you like and will have fun working with. If the coaching staff
is having fun, it will be infectious.

Your group will be looking for fun and improvement, probably in that order. Make sure everyone
(swimmers coaches and parents) at the end of the summer says "that was fun, I want to do that again
next year."

Fun and performance are not mutually exclusive. Ask a little more of the kids than you think they
can handle. You'll be surprised both by the results in the pool and how much they like being
challenged.

STP

[email hidden] (Katie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post so please be kind. I recently got a job as head coach for a
summer swim team and am very excited about
it. I was an assistant for a different team last year but have never been a head coach before.
I'm enthusiastic about this job and want to give it my best effort; I've been swimming for
twelve years and it's a sport that is very close to my heart. I'm here to ask for some
advice: any tips from coaches, swimmers or even parents of swimmers would be most
appreciated. Thanks so much!

You might find it helpful to read this article:

totalimmersion.netsummerleague.htmlOpen ↗

I think that the 'fun' thing, STP mentions, is one of the key things! It does NOT mean, that you
have to play the clown all the time. The kids must feel, that you have fun working with them and
beeing with them at the pool. You an have dedicated times for fun (like make some games in the water
for warming up and/or closing the session)

And for the parents: as others said here before, I can only tell you the same:

work togehter with them as good as possible , make the first step: talk to them, inform them about
your plans/goals/visions, invite them for a special 'open door' training session and tell them what
you are doing and why.

Have fun with the kids

Dani (former teacher and parent of a 10y old swimmer)

[email hidden] (Robert W. McAdams) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

You might find it helpful to read this article:

totalimmersion.netsummerleague.htmlOpen ↗

I read this article, and the similar ones on the website. WOW!! I can't believe I missed this when I
Googled "Swim Coach." Thank you very much for the valuable information. I do have one question,
though. My dad is really into TI but I don't know much about it. Is a kickboard really that
ineffective as a training tool for kids (it's the only equipment my pool has/can afford)? I used
them last year with a group of very young kids and they seemed to be effective in many ways. For
many it was the only way they could make it across the pool, and that helped them feel acomplished
as well as learning to put their face in the water and breathe to the side without the added
complication of arm movements. I probably used them several times a week. Would you suggest I use
them less? Maybe the article meant that kickboards were not effective for more experienced
swimmers...that I might buy, especially in summer swimming, though I think a six-beat kick in free
is very important (I only just learned how to do it a few years ago and my sprints have improved
immensely; it took me out of a slump where I couldn't make my arms any stronger but stil had an
ineffective kick). Anyway, sorry for the ramble; the long and short of it is: are kickboards a valid
training tool, and if so, for what abilities is this a good use of my time?

Thanks again for the article!

Yes, Kickboards can be valuable, (i don't use them with my groups, but i don't discount their value)

I think the question is, is TI a valuable teaching medium 😉

"Katie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Robert W. McAdams) wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You might find it helpful to read this article:

totalimmersion.netsummerleague.htmlOpen ↗

I read this article, and the similar ones on the website. WOW!! I can't believe I missed this when
I Googled "Swim Coach." Thank you very much for the valuable information. I do have one question,
though. My dad is really into TI but I don't know much about it. Is a kickboard really that
ineffective as a training tool for kids (it's the only equipment my pool has/can afford)? I used
them last year with a group of very young kids and they seemed to be effective in many ways. For
many it was the only way they could make it across the pool, and that helped them feel acomplished
as well as learning to put their face in the water and breathe to the side without the added
complication of arm movements. I probably used them several times a week. Would you suggest I use
them less? Maybe the article meant that kickboards were not effective for more experienced
swimmers...that I might buy, especially in summer swimming, though I think a six-beat kick in free
is very important (I only just learned how to do it a few years ago and my sprints have improved
immensely; it took me out of a slump where I couldn't make my arms any stronger but stil had an
ineffective kick). Anyway, sorry for the ramble; the long and short of it is: are kickboards a
valid training tool, and if so, for what abilities is this a good use of my time?

Thanks again for the article!