Would you expect a high school swim coach to know what a split is and why it is important?
Last night my daughter was watching my granddaughter's HS swim practice. The assistant coach asked my daughter to time a 500 for a couple of kids. My daughter asked the coach if she wanted splits or just the finish time. The coach said, "Split, I don't know what that is." My daughter explained. The coach then asked, "Why would I want to know that?"
Well, I have to give the coach credit for asking.
Should a HS coach know this, or do I have an unreasonable expectation?
I agree with Betsy. There are very successful coaches in all sports, even at professional levels, who've never played the sport they're coaching. Still, I'd think that if this person has been coaching swimming for at least three years that they'd have learned about splits by now. But be careful what you wish for if you want the current coach replaced. You could end up with someone worse. Maybe they'll know more about coaching...but there might be "other" issues with the replacement.
Laineybug...maybe it'd be worth it for you to establish a "coach the coach" relationship with this person. Maybe you can't volunteer to be at every practice, but if it's generally known that the person was never a swimmer...offer you assistance to help them understand some of these, and other nuances about the sport.
Dan
I agree with Betsy. There are very successful coaches in all sports, even at professional levels, who've never played the sport they're coaching. Still, I'd think that if this person has been coaching swimming for at least three years that they'd have learned about splits by now. But be careful what you wish for if you want the current coach replaced. You could end up with someone worse. Maybe they'll know more about coaching...but there might be "other" issues with the replacement.
Laineybug...maybe it'd be worth it for you to establish a "coach the coach" relationship with this person. Maybe you can't volunteer to be at every practice, but if it's generally known that the person was never a swimmer...offer you assistance to help them understand some of these, and other nuances about the sport.
Dan
