With some recent talk about coaches, accomodating to swimmers, and swimmers obeying coaches, I thought I'd post a poll.
So who is receiving coached workouts? Do you like him/her? Do you like his/her workouts? Do they pay you attention, criticize and advise, or do they like to sit and read, or flirt with other swimmers/lifeguards?
Former Member
...anyone can print a workout and do it...poorly.
Have you been spying on me? :lmao:
Is a coach a person who does stoke correction or a drill sargeant???
I think there are very few real coaches and more drill sargeants....
A coach a wonderful thing for sure. I never had a coach of any type after 1952. After that I had people who were called coaches but they did not coach me. Eg. the coach of the 55 Pan Am Games, 56 Olympics, 54 and 58 BE and Commonwealth Games. All they did is train me. They gave me workouts that I was supposed to do. I only did some of the stuff they asked me to do.
After those days as a long distance swimmer I had trainers who would go with me and make sure I did the workouts I planned for the day. I paid this trainer he made sure that I go to the pool or lake on time and I followed the plan. He accompanied me in a row boat or kayak when I swam in dangerous water for safety.
With this day of digital cameras every one can coach themselves. If they need a drill sargent go to a swim club.
I've had good and bad coaches in USS and High School. The worst ones were the ones virtually nobody could talk about without lapsing into profanity. I like the coach on our masters team because he is still learning and moving up the chain in coaching (masters is not his only coaching job), and is willing to try different things out on us, and doesn't consider his word to be the last word.
I swim with the kids team partially because there is a coach. The masters team has a "coach" but most days he writes the workout on the board and then gets in to swim. I am the type that needs someone to correct my stroke on deck. The kids coaches are great. They are all trained. The one that I am swimming with now is an ASCA Level 1. He knows what he's talking about, too. As an adult in with kids I don't get "yelled" at as much but they still get on to me if I'm not doing it right and I love it. That's what I'm paying them to do.
Alison
Interesting point. Maybe the solo swimmers read and post more frequently here because they're coach-less? I know I do ...
Fort, thats an interesting observation.
As a recent electee to our team board, one of the things I am working towards is getting more of our team involved in more USMS activities. Using your logic, it would be likely that the majority of our team just comes to practice and never checks out the website. I think we could get a few additional people to come more frequently to test out some new fitness theories or techniques learned from the website or from the forums here.
Using your logic, it would be likely that the majority of our team just comes to practice and never checks out the website. I think we could get a few additional people to come more frequently to test out some new fitness theories or techniques learned from the website or from the forums here.
Out of 125+ swimmers on my team, I know of 3-5 who actually look at these forums. Our team does have its own website, plus there's a state website, with a blog that you can respond to.
The team does do various other events, such as Friday Happy Hour monthly, weekend breakfast periodically, etc....and the participation rate for those is quite high, higher than for meets.
For an informal poll, this is quite enlightening. I wonder if the USMS governing board were to run a broader based poll if the results would be similar. That would be alot of solo swimming going on!
For an informal poll, this is quite enlightening. I wonder if the USMS governing board were to run a broader based poll if the results would be similar. That would be alot of solo swimming going on!
Interesting point. Maybe the solo swimmers read and post more frequently here because they're coach-less? I know I do ...
Could be, but it could show a hole in the Masters swimming program that so many either can't (in my case) or won't go to a coach.
I think it's just difficult for some people, with busy schedules and kids and whatnot, to get there at the designated practice times.
