Want Swimming to Get Better?

I hear swimming coaches all over the world complain about all the things that are wrong with the sport. These include:* Declining numbers of kids in competitive swimming / club level swimming.* Administrators who don’t understand the sport.* Not enough pool space.* No real investment in rural and regional swimming.* Meets that are poorly attended.* Teenage drop out rates continuing to worsen.* Overly invested swimming parents causing stress and frustration.And the coaches are right. All of these problems exist to a greater or lessor degree in swimming in all countries.However, in reality, the only thing any coach can do to change and improve any of these big swimming problems is - to coach better.Ask yourself this question - and try to answer honestly.Is it really coaching to stand at the end of a pool yelling numbers at a group of kids for 2 hours twice a day? Think about the kids we coach.What do they want from the experience of sport?* To feel like they belong* To enjoy the experience* To feel safe* To feel connected to the coach* To feel like they’re learning and improving* To have friends* To feel part of something that’s relevant and meaningful to their lives.So how is standing at the end of the pool yelling “1:20, 1:24, 1:27” and “Take your marks - GO” for hours and hours each week delivering any of the experiences that kids are craving?The great Laurie Lawrence said once, “If the kids are swimming 6 kilometres, you walk 10 kilometres. Give them more than you ask from them.”Swimming coaching is not easy. Swimming coaches are some of the most wonderful, caring, hard working, professional people I know.But complaining about what the National Body doesn’t do or how terrible it is that there’s no 16 year olds at Meets isn’t going to fix anything.As deliverers of the experience of this sport, the ONLY people who can make this sport better - are coaches.Are you up to the challenge? I believe - without doubt - you are!Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe