Coaching the beginning groups

What you teach at this level does make a big difference, but is that really what makes a beginning group better? I think that one big aspect to a beginning level group is the order of the group. Now, these groups are always chaotic; they are little kids most of the time. The trick is figuring out how to create an organized chaos with these little swimmers that are bouncing off the walls.

I also believe that some chaos is ok. Don't think that everything being perfectly organized is great either. Understanding the generalized psychology of young kids, shows that if you have workouts that are completely orderly and no chaos at all; boys get disinterested, as they enjoy some chaos. No organization though leads to unproductive workouts and concerned parents.

Swimming is a sport that requires discipline. The small little things really become huge in competitions at the higher levels. Discipline ends up leading to success in the pool. So creating order is extremely important, but also not to overdo the organization that you push kids from being interested, and probably a team full of girls.

Coaching young kids requires learning how to create this balance. Most coaches who are successful with young kids probably begin very organized, and then learn where chaos can be allowed within a practice. I was the opposite, my practices were chaotic and I learned how to grab their attention with bringing up the desire to be better. I then went on to learn how to organize the workouts better. I began differently though, as I had very little training on how to run a workout, but rather some basic guidelines.

Best thing is to create boundaries. They are never allowed to cross those boundaries. A little playing around is allowed as long as they are within the boundaries. As the groups progess in ability, the more structure there needs to be, and the learning the discipline aspects of the sport that will benefit them in the pool.