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![]() How to coach swimming... Posted on: Thursday 10th July 2014 Bookmark This | Print This Page | Send To A Friend | Post A Comment Dan Bullock is the highly regarded Head Coach of Swim for Tri (www.swimfortri.co.uk), and has been coaching triathletes at swimming for well over a decade, winning many accolades and awards along the way. As well as a lot of experience as both a swimmer and a coach, Dan has spent many years developing his own coaching style as well as acting as a mentor and trainer for the coaches within his business and beyond. In this extended piece, Dan pulls together many of his thoughts and approaches on HOW to coach swimming. If you are a coach, or have aspirations to add coaching skills to your portfolio then this is an absolute must for you, and is sure to give you many ideas and tips to develop your own style and approach. And this is NOT about swim techniques... Read on and enjoy 10 specific pointers to include within your own coaching. I was disappointed to learn that it was not in fact Steve Jobs who first came up with a simple coaching mantra I keep at heart. It would have been the kind of cool thing he would have pioneered but I did in fact trace it back to the BBC: "Inform, educate and entertain"I now know others also said that, but Steve Jobs was very good at the three of them if you have ever watched his keynote speeches. With 20+ people in the water during a fitness session, I know how dull they can be so to entertain is essential. To educate through good communication i.e. inform, is essential. If you can also motivate as well then you are well on your way. Swim technique knowledge is essential but you can learn that. If you want me to be your mentor then I cannot teach you some of the key skills you will need. Let me explain... Bob Bowman (Michael Phelps' coach), said anyone could come and coach with him at his swim club if they bring enthusiasm and motivation, as he can't teach those. He can teach you all the technique and theory you need, but you need to want to get up early, fire up your sessions with enthusiasm and motivate in perhaps one of the most uninspiring environments going for many sports people. Jimmy D Shea and his use of simple language means people understand him. He motivates, as he is passionate about his subject. He is describing what he does, personally as a swimmer, in simple language terms. He is good because he is not a trained coach showing off his swimming knowledge. I would consider him a potential great swim teacher (although he is probably is not looking to be!). On this area do not be afraid to be a great swim teacher. This is quite different to coaching, and I would say it is probably harder then coaching due to the patience and empathy needed. If you are looking to help at your child's swim club, perhaps it is a shame the head coach gets a lot of the glory when really some of the best work is done by the swim teachers with the younger children. Teaching swimming is hard!. Dealing with the frustrations of your swimmer as they struggle is hard, especially with adults not used to being given tasks they cannot do. As adults - for most - we don’t remember the frustration of tying shoelaces, riding a bike etc. Swimming will be quite humbling so preparing an adult for that takes great skill. Do something regularly that you are not good at to humble yourself and remind yourself how hard it is for the swimmer in front of you. The only real compliment I look for when coaching is the hope that people feel "the time flew by" and they can’t believe the session is over. If I have informed, educated, entertained and perhaps also challenged then I feel I have succeeded with a good fitness session. Obviously there are longer-term rewards, the thanks and satisfaction when someone makes a cut off that was previously questionable. When someone achieves a new distance previously thought of as unattainable. But as an immediate response to a good session, this feedback can be quite rewarding. Here are ten specific pointers I use in many of the fitness sessions we offer. I like all of our coaches to coach with these pointers in mind to offer a great session. One of the hardest challenges for a Tri Swim Coach is to include so many swimmers of differing abilities. Here is how to avoid anyone feeling left behind or excluded, challenge all, keep everyone safe, employs a degree of swim technique yet delivers a good fitness challenge..
Good luck if you are embarking on a career of coaching. It will be hard, enjoyable, challenging yet rewarding and I highly recommend it. You don’t have to be a fast athlete to be a great coach. Many great swim coaches have been average competitors themselves. Sometimes you need the analytical eye that as a competitor hinders as you question and investigate aspects of your own training, but could leave you performing to a higher level as a coach. For more information on open water sessions, swim coaching, workshops and overseas camps visit www.swimfortri.co.uk ![]()
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