Brainstorming the Job of the Age-Group Swim Coach

I am going to putting on a coaches clinic back in my home town over Memorial Day Weekend. My cousin is getting married, so I might as well do some work, and try to give back to the area that gave me so much experience to become what I have become so far. To begin the clinic I plan to talk about the job of the Age-Group Swim Coach, as it is a clinic for young club coaches and summer league coaches of the area. Normally these coaches deal with young swimmers and I have seen so many approach coaching with the wrong mentality. So to begin the clinic I wanted to start with preaching what has been my approach, and has served me greatly as developmental coach, which I still believe that I am.

The biggest thing is that the coach must understand what they are there for. Be honest though, as it doesn't help you if you are not honest with yourself. If you honestly find a flaw in your thinking, you can always take steps to change it for the better. So many coaches coach to develop that great fast swimmer, but there time horizon is normally all wrong. If you make a great 10 year old or 12 year old it may not be the best thing, as have you also prepared them for the next step in the journey.

As the Age-Group Coach, we need to look at the big picture. Develop the skills early on that will serve them later in the career. The 10 and under ages, stroke work is always valued, but so is learning to feel the water and creating propulsion. Before this age, the habits of streamline, diving, turns, and transitions are developed. The better developed the less the coach later on has to focus on these things, and they can focus on other physiological and mental development.

Sometimes young coaches cling to a single swimmer, and push so much just to make that swimmer fast. They don't care how young they are; they don't care what the stroke looks like; they ignore some of the things that is going to help them later on. They worry so much about the time, and forget to look at creating a huge upside potential.

The coach must remember that they are not striving to get credit, they are trying to teach the skills necessary so they will be successful later. The great thing is that if done well, the swimmer does get fast under that coach, but there is always that up side because you haven't even tapped into physiological developing part of training.

So the job is rewarding, but at the same time, not that rewarding. If you view it the right way; you shaped this swimmer, and now they have moved on to the next aspect where the next coach actually makes them into the swimmer that achieves success.

As a developmental coach, I remember always telling my dad or brother, this is the next one. It didn't mean that they were going to be really fast that season, or even that year, but that they had the signs of being fast as the develop. Many times I have been right. It is sad to see those "next ones" fall to pressure of the social society when it comes fast and hard at them. Peer pressure and social aspects of American lifestyle can become the X-Factor in what happens to some kids with potential.

I continue to brainstorm this topic, and can't wait to see what I end up with for the clinic. As I really want to see if I can help people see my perspective, as I think it may make them understand some of the things I do better. The Developing coach has always been my job in club swimming, and I love every minute of it. I like to see the final product, but I really enjoy the developing process that takes part in the early and middle years of the career of swimmers.