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Print this entrySwimming Question of the Week - January 13, 2009
Coaches: What do you do to get all your assistants on the same page with you? Swimmers: What are the effects of your coaches being (or not being) consistent?
Responses
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From certain coaching situations I've seen lately (not my own.. in case the coaches I work with see this... I AM the assistant), I'm not sure it's right to assume that the assistants SHOULD be on the same page as the head coach. Leadership comes in many forms, and some head coaches have shown that they have a very hard time with that word. Leadership is understanding how to create a unit that works together to create a winning situation. When the head coach demands that all under him get on the same page, or refers to the team as "his", or "mine", then the cast is set and the assistants can potentially get the feeling that they're not really needed, listened to, or will share in the success that is supposed to happen. That same feeling can ultimately make it's way down to the athletes, who could potentially stop working, start getting in trouble, and NOT perform. Ultimately what can end up happening is some very good coaches wasting time and risking their own reputations by being associated with someone who isn't capable of being a leader... or head coach. I think a better question should be, "Head Coaches - What can you do to create a situation in which your assistant coaches, and athletes, will run through walls for you?" Demanding they get on the same page probably won't do that. Just my humble opinion. |
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about the question for the coaches: I am not a coach adn do not have experience how is it to stay on pool deck and to give advises. But isn't the athlets the ones who more or less define on what page the coaches are?! A swimmer can be extremely dixciplined and hard working, but he can be on a different level when it is about how fast she/ he tires off, how healthy is she/ he, how fast she/ he recovers... and the coach must consider all this and make his coaching work for these swimmers too. We all aim the same, to get the most out of the training, but we are all very different. I understand that the main points of a coaching can/ must stay the same... but aren't the fine points that makes the difference at the end?! about the questions for the swimmers: the results of my coaches not being consistent was that I always ended up more or less swimming on my own or coaching myself. To be honest, I do not have the time and the energy to think so much about my training, and I do not understand as much of it as a "qualified" coach does. That's why the solution was simple - to find a consistent coach, who also loves what he's doing and is interested in the success of his swimmers. Anything different than that is literally preparation for failure. Just my experience/ opinion. |
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I sat in a meeting of troubled coaches with one of the most respected coaches in the country as the moderator and listened to his advice and counsel. He told the head coach essentially this: At least once a week you have to sit down and meet with your coaches.
My feeling is once a week is not asking too much.
You may think to yourself, of course don't all coaching teams work together in this way?
There is nothing worse than feeling uninformed and not included as an assistant coach due to lack of positive communication. There are many issues and questions that can be diffused easily with this daily approach of coaches communicating openly. Perhaps coaches who have been on deck for many years feel that the new coaches must "pay their dues" and learn in the same difficult and time consuming ways that they did over the past 20-30 years. But the fact is, swimming needs more good - and great coaches. Sure many will develop in the old school way of hard knocks.
Look at a new coach with all of their passion and enthusiasm. Almost like a child.
(Just my experience/ opinion) |
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What about a team coached by three equal coaches (one for each workout)? Sometimes we say quite different things to swimmers. I will encourage a swimmer to drop a 50 in order to get her body used to swimming on a faster interval; another coach will want her to keep swimming the whole set, maybe slowing down the interval. I asked the swimmer if this was confusing; she said it was a little confusing. Can different coaches have different approaches? And can swimmers take or leave what works for them? I'm hoping so! Still very much learning how to help swimmers swim their best. |
Glenn Mills
sprinter
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