What Are the Objectives of a Swim Coach?

Swimming is primarily an individual sport, but there is also a team aspect. Swim coaches work with both recreational and competitive swimmers teaching the skills of the sport. They help athletes get the most of their time in the pool, instructing individual swimmers and building a quality team experience. The objective of the coach is to provide a quality experience and to help athletes grow in confidence as they see their abilities improve.

  1. Health and Safety

    • The primary duty of a swim coach is the health and safety of the swimmers in her charge. Knowing the individual athletes that she trains and how they respond under certain training methods is a big part of the job. She must know how many events and which events are best for each swimmer and then help them come up with an appropriate training regimen that prepares them for success without putting too much strain on the body.

      It also part of the objective to make sure athletes are healthy before they get into the pool, and avoid putting them in jeopardy by having them swim when already injured.

      A coach must also be schooled in lifeguard and emergency techniques to be prepared in case a situation arises.

    Teaching Swimming Skills

    • Coaching swimming is a process of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual swimmers and helping them find the right events to match their talents. The swim coach needs to recognize sprinters and distance swimmers and then be able to work with swimmers on strokes, turns, entering the pool, finishing off races and breathing techniques to help them improve their time in competition. An ability to identify quality relay swimmers and put them together in the right order is also an important part of the position.

    Organizational Skills

    • Swim coaches are heavily involved in the management of the swim meets in which their athletes participate. One of the objectives of the position is to run quality events that stay on schedule and provide a quality experience for the swimmers from all teams that are participating.

      Additionally, the ability to organize training sessions that make the best use of available time and facilities is a primary coaching objective.

    Promoting Athletes

    • While some swimmers are in the sport just for the enjoyment of it, many athletes are hoping for college scholarships and chances to swim at major competitions. Swim coaches have the additional objective of helping each swimmer accomplish what she wants to accomplish with the sport. If that includes the goal of a scholarship, the coach plays a major role in promoting the swimmer to make that happen if at all possible.