Thursday, August 1, 2013

Professional Swim Coach

Professional Swim Coach



Michele Greb Mircea, it's all okay. I am very certain there are incredible coaches and researchers in Europe who are not familiar names to North Americans. It's a big world we live in!

It can be a bit difficult to bridge the gap between 12 & Under coaching to age group. It can be just as difficult finding an assistant who actually proves out when they move into age group and age group elite coaching. I know I am on the look out always for that special someone who can handle it and what I look for is almost completely NOT on the sports science side of coaching.

Anyone can learn why we coach, and what we coach, but plain and simple speaking, until that swimmer becomes senior national finalist level, we are all still spending most of our time teaching swimmers. Young coaches have this incredible tool called the internet that didn't exist in this form, back in the days of 1200 baud external US Robotics modems :-) It is so very easy to find out WHAT to coach now. HOW to coach it becomes the issue.

That and personality fit with the head coach. Best assistant I have ever had was simply amazing. I would be turning around to ask him to do something, or for something, and many times he would already be handing me what I was about to ask for. Asked so many questions, thought about what I would say, asked more questions, then came up with his own brilliant ideas. All with no sports science background. When he graduated from a masters in civil engineering and a year later took on a job in his field, I lost one of the best coaches I have had the pleasure to work with.

So Andrew, I think what I am saying to you is keep at it! Persevere in your search for the right place to make the next step. It will take a bit of time to find the right place and you WILL find many wrong places along the way. Just keep at it :-)

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