Hello-
I am my team's Swimming Chair (we have water polo and tri too). My team has a lot of new people (and some stubborn people) who don't seem to want to follow our coached workouts. They just want to do their own thing or do the workout at their own pace regardless of the rest of the lane.
So far, I have kept pretty quiet on this issue.
- We have some coaches that are more strict than others.
- I don't want to have to create a strict "age group" atmosphere.
- We sometimes have a compressed number of lanes at our facility, where different levels may get squeezed together in one lane. We are a larger team.
However, I'm a slower-medium swimmer, and I have left some practices because they have turned into such "**** shows" with people doing their own workouts. (Yes, I could say something to my lane mates or coaches, but I would be so bitchy in the moment).
After returning form our end-of-summer break, I'd like to kindly explain the logic of why we order lanes from fast to slow, why it is important to follow the workouts as written by the coaches and that there is no shame in moving up or down a lane depending on speed. Does anyone have any guidelines on "practice etiquette"? In my position I could just be blunt, but I'm looking for a kinder approach, especially for people who may not have swam age group and may just not "get it" Thanks!
I got into a masters class as a newbie (age 68) last winter and not only didn't I understand the jargon, I couldn't keep pace or complete what was being asked. The "warm-up" was pretty much a full workout for me. After a couple weeks, one other old timer and I sequestered ourselves to the last lane and did as much as we could at our own pace. The coach would say, here's the workout, do whatever you can. What I really needed was a session on stroke improvement, not a race workout. I had and have no interest in sprint distance racing. I want to improve, but I'm not about to get competitive at 50 or 100 yards.
I got into a masters class as a newbie (age 68) last winter and not only didn't I understand the jargon, I couldn't keep pace or complete what was being asked. The "warm-up" was pretty much a full workout for me. After a couple weeks, one other old timer and I sequestered ourselves to the last lane and did as much as we could at our own pace. The coach would say, here's the workout, do whatever you can. What I really needed was a session on stroke improvement, not a race workout. I had and have no interest in sprint distance racing. I want to improve, but I'm not about to get competitive at 50 or 100 yards.
