Coaching with Integrity and Compassion

08/17/2021

I know it has been a long time since I shared anything here. I apologize for neglecting my audience. While I have been extremely fortunate to continue coaching throughout the coronavirus pandemic, it has not been without some struggles and adjustments. Thankfully, I ended up in a better position with more stability. I look forward to finally returning to a regular coaching schedule in a few weeks to start our first fall/winter season in our normal pool in a couple years.

What I am asking my audience is what would you like to hear from me about. Should I continue the blog post regarding the impacts of coronavirus on competitive swimming? An Olympic summary and thoughts? Technique and training? Other ideas?

10/01/2020

So proud to see my fellow coach’s, and more importantly friend’s, team get spotlighted by USA Swimming. We need more of her, her husband, and their swim team in USA Swimming.

USA Swimming News Article

09/28/2020

I highly recommend taking advantage of these free webinars done regularly. I have found it to be a very well organized and presented education of fundamentals for many important aspects of the strokes. Even if you cannot attend live, register as you typically will receive a replay link after the live webinar.

FREE Webinar just announced on Breaststroke Undulation. Save your seat here: https://webinar.getresponse.com/GaT7j/improve-your-breaststroke-undulation?uid=debed4b7

Join us on Nov. 6th at 1PM EST, as we will be discussing everything about BR undulation. After all, you can't swim this stroke without undulating -- so learn how to improve yours today!

09/25/2020

from . I cannot put it any more simply and better than says here! 👍🏻
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Happy swimmers = fast swimmers. 😄 What's your favorite swim meet memory?

09/15/2020

A rare moment of me expressing some emotional reaction on the day to day details of my coaching. It is an amazing feeling when you get to coach alongside one of your former swimmers. The knowledge exchange continues in a different way from when it was coach and athlete, but just as much knowledge transfer happens now as peer coaches. This does remind me how I have been at this for a while now, but I still feel very young at heart with much more still to learn and improve. I left the pool deck today after the first day back in the new season with so much pride and excitement (and that is going to help as we navigate many obstacles related to coronavirus restrictions and issues).

09/10/2020

Mental health and athletes is making news again, but unfortunately it is getting attention due to it still having an unwarranted stigma of signaling the athlete may be weak. There should not be a stigma for athletes, or anyone, to speak up about mental health issues they may experience. Talking about and addressing one’s mental health issues does not make one weak. Yes, one is vulnerable when speaking out, but one is displaying great strength. Today’s example of showing great strength comes from Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback, Dak Prescott. Unfortunately, he has been wrongly criticized by Skip Bayless as weak for speaking out publicly on the mental health issues he has experienced. Dak Prescott is showing leadership like Michael Phelps has done regarding athletes and their mental health. Mental health is just as important as physical health and injuries.

Here is a article explaining how Skip Bayless is wrong and being rightly criticized for his remarks.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/09/skip-bayless-dak-prescott-depression-comments-reaction-brother-cowboys?fbclid=IwAR155g1_HSMXEp-F9yPP1cOArOp7GNAn4A3LSlVJzgF5-Z_XfwDwlI76lNo

09/09/2020

For fellow swim coaches in the United States, USA Swimming is going to be offering health insurance to coach members. Information about the plans and enrollment process is being rolled out as we speak. Here is a link to a recording of an information webinar held in early September.

This is "Outlining Individual Coach Benefits" by National Team High Performance on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

08/14/2020

I must apologize for not yet posting the blog post (or much of anything) I previewed about a month ago. My coaching status was up in the air during the spring and part of the summer due to coronavirus. Thankfully, while things are still crazy due to coronavirus I am happy that my coaching is continuing. Being in a better place I will get back to finishing my blog post about my thoughts on the impacts of coronavirus on swimmers and coaches, including their families. I will also get back to sharing more content more regularly.

08/14/2020

So cool to see something I have done with my age group swimmers also is done with some of the best collegiate (and worldwide) swimmers. Though difficult, they usually have found this be fun. Also, and most importantly, they learn more how to balance their kick and how their legs work together to make that powerful engine called a strong kick.

from USA Swimming with
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Swimmer sharks doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo 🦈 (🎥: )

06/23/2020

While listening to the Swim Coaches Base podcast by RITTER Sports Performance recently, I was struck by a comment from his guest. They were discussing how to build a team from scratch. I don’t remember the exact quote, but the idea was this coach did not believe in going after transfers, especially of older kids (I think he meant 13 and older), to build a team. The idea was more to build from younger, new to competitive swimming kids. They accepted older transfers, but it sounded like they would almost have to interview to explain why they were wanting to change teams. I absolutely love the belief in building a team from the youngest swimmers and ones who are new to the sport. Building your culture is usually much easier this way and you are not growing at the expense of other teams. It was refreshing to me hearing this.

Fun fact: Can anyone find me in either of the team pictures as these are both team pictures from my age group swimming days?

06/17/2020

Simply awesome! I think all sculling drills are so helpful. They help a swimmer learn how certain movements will or will not help their forward motion/progress in the water. We want them to learn that feel for the water. I believe you can start them with basic sculls, but also just give basic instructions of body position and then say experiment with moving hands through various sculling motions to see what works. Experimenting can be fun for them!

06/08/2020

I really like how this discusses positive character traits to be a great coach. While the performances of swimmers are something to measure when evaluating coaches, the character of the coach is a more important aspect in evaluating the impact and influence a coach has on their athletes. And typically an added benefit of a coach having these traits is that they are better equipped at helping to guide each swimmer to their greatest potential success in the pool.

There are certain characteristics that define an excellent swim coach, including being a lifelong learner. Here are eight of those traits.