My team just got a new coach about four months ago. Now personally, I don't have any major problems with this coach. He gives a pretty good workout, he is quite knowledgeable about stroke techniques, and he is trying to build some team unity. Admittedly, we have had some issues with him about showing up for workouts a few minutes late and relying too much on the pool lifeguards to provide us with a workout when he sometimes doesn't show (a much bigger problem for the newer/less experienced swimmers).
The big conflict seems to be from the beginning/intermediate swimmers and the triathletes (I'm also a triathlete, but I have a pretty strong swimming background). Now, this may seem quite trivial, and even a little bit petty to those of us who swam in college and have an intense competitive drive and thrive on the thrill of a good swim, but many of our intermediate/beginners are complaining that they are not getting recognition for their efforts. Thinking back to my early age group days, I can remember when a coach simply saying "good job" to me meant everything. It's what kept me coming back for more painful workouts the next week. Now swimming Masters, I really don't care if a coach singles me out for accomplishing something. I'm happy with an occasional Top Ten or winning a medal at Nationals. But we are now losing a lot of swimmers because they feel they are working for nothing. They don't see why they should swim Masters vs. just lap swim.
What's brought this to a head is that this morning, after workout, my wife sent me a text expressing how disgusted she was with our coach. She didn't go into specifics, but she ended with the statement "I'm done!". I didn't see what brought this on, but I did notice that halfway through workout, she was just swimming laps by herself. Back and forth, no stopping. I glanced at our coach, and he gave me a confused look, saying "so-and-so just wants to swim". While I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone, coach is a pretty young guy, with most of our members being 20-30 years older than him, and I think he might be a bit nervous expressing himself to some of us.
So heck, now I'm stuck in the middle. What do I do? Do I try to talk to the coach? Do I stay out of it? Help!
Of course there's a difference in not receiving praise and being ignored. If these beginner swimmers are expecting feedback, and it's not forthcoming, that's a legitimate gripe.
There is a difference between praise and feedback, and I read "not getting recognition for their efforts" to mean praise. I agree with you about feedback. My pet peeve is watching a coach ignore his swimmers who are swimming with (obvious) poor technique that could cause injury and NOT providing any guidance or feedback. I have seen this happen numerous times with one of the coaches of a kids team at the pool I have been swimming at while our pool is closed for repairs. (Note to Rob Copeland who probably knows both coaches at this coach. It's not my buddy/part-time coach. He's an :angel: with his kids!)
Of course there's a difference in not receiving praise and being ignored. If these beginner swimmers are expecting feedback, and it's not forthcoming, that's a legitimate gripe.
There is a difference between praise and feedback, and I read "not getting recognition for their efforts" to mean praise. I agree with you about feedback. My pet peeve is watching a coach ignore his swimmers who are swimming with (obvious) poor technique that could cause injury and NOT providing any guidance or feedback. I have seen this happen numerous times with one of the coaches of a kids team at the pool I have been swimming at while our pool is closed for repairs. (Note to Rob Copeland who probably knows both coaches at this coach. It's not my buddy/part-time coach. He's an :angel: with his kids!)
