Be A Better Coach: Top 6 Swim Coach Tips

Looking for swim coach tips? If your team is unfocused, unwilling, or out of shape, you may need to depart from your usual coaching routine and try out some of the swim coach tips provided.

6 Swim Coach Tips to Overhaul Your Team

You don't have to be an Olympic level coach to run a great practice. Nor do you have to coach at the collegiate level to see vast improvements in split times. Being a great coach is all about organization, hard work, and lots and lots of patients and perseverance. Whether you're a coach to a whole squad of swimmers, or simply trying to help your own child master their stroke, you're sure to benefit from the swim coach tips below.

Evaluate Each Swimmer

Even the best of coaches can forget that a swim team's overall score is made up by individual swimmers. Even successful relays require each of the four swimmers to do the best they can. That's why it is important for you, as coach, to evaluate each and every swimmer's current times as well as their potential for improvement. When done properly, it won't take up too much time and can give you a better sense of what you're working with on a whole. Get an idea of swimmers' best split times (pull double duty with a trusty stopwatch that can record more than one swimmer simultaneously. Remember that every swimmer is different and no two swimmers are at the exact same level. Which brings us to our next point...

Don't Mass-Workout Your Kids

A lazy coach takes one workout and applies it to all their swimmers. A good coach knows that each swimmer needs a custom-made workout plan. This doesn't mean that you need to write up a different workout for each and every swimmer. But, if your workout is too hard for some swimmers (or worse, too easy), they will lag behind or not give it their all. You should alter your master workout plan to accommodate swimmer's of every skill level.

Make Your Practices Mean Something

The easiest way for a swimmer to lose interest in a practice is for it to be all over the place. In order to keep your student's attention, be sure to have a set schedule of events for each and every practice. This isn't to say that you always have to follow the lesson plan to a T, especially if certain groups need extra practice in a particular skill set. But, having a written workout or lesson plan will help keep the ball rolling and allow you to fit in many more drills and exercises than if it was simply done off the cuff.

Set Up a Reward System

Ok, so maybe it's not a good idea to reward your swimmers with a handful of sugary candy after every swim. But, a simple reward system can do wonders for a kid's motivation and self-esteem levels. While goodies and inexpensive swim gear can go a long way every now and then, something as small as a gold star sticker or team-wide recognition of their improvements can do the trick for any level or aged swimmer. We all like to be recognized for our hard work.

Ask Yourself...

"Are my swimmers improving with every session they have with me?" Just like swimmers, coaches can hit a plateau in their teaching methods. If you didn't answer the question above with an emphatic "yes", then there are probably a few things you could do to improve as a coach. But don't get down on yourself. Remember that coaching is not a static position; it's one the requires constant upkeep and improvement. But, when done right, it's worth every bit of effort!

Stay Positive!

One of the best ways that you can keep your swimmers actively involved is by staying as positive as possible. This doesn't mean that you have to be super-duper upbeat all the time, but you should be someone that the kids are happy to see... even when they know they have a killer workout ahead of them. Positive vibes are very contagious. And if you can keep the happiness spreading, you're sure to see positive results in the water and improved relationships on deck.

Share your best swim coach tips in the comments below!