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!
Silly me, thinking that coaching is about sharing a love of the water and not just a USMS Top 10 ranking!!!
I doubt the coaches posting here feel any differently. The original post was about people passive aggressively pouting because of a lack of "recognition" and "working for nothing." That sounds pretty weird to me, and I coach plenty of beginning and intermediate swimmers. In fact, I spend more time and energy with that category of swimmer than I do with my TT swimmers. If the real complaint was a silent coach or lack of feedback or hostility, that's a different matter. No masters swimmer deserves a coach like that. And I find it hard to believe that, as Jpetyk mentioned, there are some coaches who think "masters don't want feedback." I experience the exact opposite.
Being late is kind of inexcusable, isn't it? I mean, you're supposed to be on time, and leaving you in the hands of the lifeguards, well, that's not their role.
By all means talk with him about the "team"concerns. When he was hired, did the team have any say in what they were looking for?
Yes --- being younger, he may be timid in dolling out corrections and praise.
Do you have an assistant that can help with workouts when he is delayed?
I think you need to step up team ideas before the team falls apart.
Being late is kind of inexcusable, isn't it? I mean, you're supposed to be on time, and leaving you in the hands of the lifeguards, well, that's not their role.I think it can be excusable. At least in our club we don’t pay our coach enough to quit her full time job, so sometimes she works late or has other obligations that delay her. When she is late, we will typically do a regular warm-up and if she still hasn’t arrived then one of us comes up with a first set. It’s no big deal for our club; we’re all adults. I agree this isn’t the lifeguard’s job, but someone on your club should be able to come up with a set.
…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!".It sounds like a conversation with your wife would help to uncover the petty issues. After talking with your wife, then talk to the coach to express the concerns of other swimmers.
Swimmers should not be called names or gossiped about behind their backs simply because they ask for clarification about a principle of swimming.This is good general advice, not just for swimmers. However this and subsequent posts seem to have strayed off topic.
I was referring to the post that you chose to conveniently remove shortly before this one, referring to the (in your words) "brainiac Carnegie Mellon grad students" that you seemed to consider so amusing/annoying for daring to question your coaching. Why don't you put that post back on this thread before you pronounce judgment?
You are trying to sell a product on this forum. As I understand it you are selling individualized or very small group training. For instance your base package runs over 2X our monthly dues and your "elite" package is 5X our monthly dues. As a side note, I swim on a team with actual elites so I get easily confused by that term. A few of us on this forum coach actual Masters teams, some of which are rather gigantic. Your advice is usually much more marketing oriented than the real-world of Masters swimming and coaching. Every Masters coach I know is kind and caring, but certainly not above frank discussions with swimmers and gallows humor. We are adults, after all. They way we coach our Masters teams is far different than how I coach my high school team.
And on the flip-side, how often do the swimmers recognize the efforts of the coach? How often do you thank the coach for a “good workout”, “good Set”, “thanks for noticing my swim”, etc…
Also, recognition from fellow swimmers is often appreciated. It’s okay for you to praise the improvement of your intermediate/beginner swimmers. “good job on that 100”, “your kick is getting much better”…
The leader of a team isn’t always the coach. And maybe the coach can learn from your positive example.
Excellent point! I'm big on gratitude. A little bit of :applaud:, :chug:, and even :cake: can go a long way. (Who doesn't like a homebaked treat at birthday time???)
I agree with Fort. Most Masters swimmers desire feedback, but you darn sure better be careful how you administer it. I have found you can be pretty honest with the fastest swimmers but that level of pushing will not be welcomed by the newer swimmers.
New or beginner swimmers are challenging for a coach, especially if the level of ability is very low. Those swimmers take a ton of time and will impact how the coach interacts with the rest of the team. On occasion I did have to let a true beginner know that lessons were in order, not a Masters team. Those were cases where the swimmer was a danger to themselves.
Couple of us did make the coach aware of some of the gripes this morning, in a non-confrontational manner, so we'll wait and see what happens.And on the flip-side, how often do the swimmers recognize the efforts of the coach? How often do you thank the coach for a “good workout”, “good Set”, “thanks for noticing my swim”, etc…
Also, recognition from fellow swimmers is often appreciated. It’s okay for you to praise the improvement of your intermediate/beginner swimmers. “good job on that 100”, “your kick is getting much better”…
The leader of a team isn’t always the coach. And maybe the coach can learn from your positive example.
