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!
That's exactly what we're doing. We have a meeting set up between the coach, the board, and a few at-large members to sort things out. The emphasis is going to be on "constructive criticism". No subjective/personal criticisms. We're just looking at what it is going to take to move the team forward.If I may be permitted to provide some constructive criticism to your approach…
First off “constructive criticism” is a myth, it’s just criticism. Even objective criticism is criticism.
Second, unless the criticism is based on documented or well understood performance goals for the coach, you will be attacking the coach for things he had not been told he is accountable for.
Instead of meeting with the coach for constructive criticism, I suggest meeting with the coach to set and document specific and measurable and mutually agreed upon coaching expectations. If the board and the coach can’t come to terms on these goals then you need to find a coach who will. To truly move the team forward, you need a roadmap for success not just a list of potholes that have been noticed.
For example, if tardiness is a concern then set the expectation that the coach be on deck and ready to go 5 minutes before practice start time. Then be prepared to fire the coach, dock pay or whatever if he exceeds the number of excused tardy.
That's exactly what we're doing. We have a meeting set up between the coach, the board, and a few at-large members to sort things out. The emphasis is going to be on "constructive criticism". No subjective/personal criticisms. We're just looking at what it is going to take to move the team forward.If I may be permitted to provide some constructive criticism to your approach…
First off “constructive criticism” is a myth, it’s just criticism. Even objective criticism is criticism.
Second, unless the criticism is based on documented or well understood performance goals for the coach, you will be attacking the coach for things he had not been told he is accountable for.
Instead of meeting with the coach for constructive criticism, I suggest meeting with the coach to set and document specific and measurable and mutually agreed upon coaching expectations. If the board and the coach can’t come to terms on these goals then you need to find a coach who will. To truly move the team forward, you need a roadmap for success not just a list of potholes that have been noticed.
For example, if tardiness is a concern then set the expectation that the coach be on deck and ready to go 5 minutes before practice start time. Then be prepared to fire the coach, dock pay or whatever if he exceeds the number of excused tardy.
