Coaching is good but hard to find. I took our masters group the other night, and everyone enjoyed the stroke correction/suggestions.
I poached this quote from Stud off the over thread I started about training...it caught my attention for several reasons.
First and foremost I will say there are some incredible coaches out there doing a LOT of great things...however based on Laura and I having swam with dozens of teams all over the country the reality is that these great coaches are the minority.
Sadly I think that this is most often not because the coach doesn't know how to coach...but rather they tend to be burned out and/or simply don't think most masters care about being coached.
I mentioned my own first hand experiance with this awhile back while swimming with Sun Devil masters a few years back. At that time one of the coaches was Attila Czene who was a two time Olympic medalist and one of the most incredible swimmers have ever scene...sadly however when he "coached" it consisted of showing up late, giving the workout and sitting in a chair catching a tan!
I had earlier in the season decided to swim the 200IM (at Coral Springs) and was not going to let this guy get paid to do nothing so I challenged him to help me out...and guess what, he was awesome. He went on to tell me that 99% of the time he attempted to "coach" masters swimmers they either A) ignored him or B) listened to him and then didn't try so he basically gave up.
I have since that time always asked the coach when visiting a team to watch my stroke and if they had any suggestions to please give them...which I have been happy to find out more than not are willing to do.
So I challenge swimmers and coaches to start talking more. If your paying dues and not geeting coached tell them how you feel about it.
If your a coach....don't take masters for granted...start coaching and if your consistent about you'll find your swimmers will love it.
Coaching can make a huge difference. But I find much more disappointing the poor quality of age group coaches. This is more important than Masters - since as Paul says Masters isn't real swimming.
Some of the age group coaches in my city - and with so-called clubs of excellence - have been just ridiculous. They coast on the reputation of the club and rely on competition between swimmers.
That is sad and I too have seen it happen. Usually a dissatisfied parent will start working on a young, good coach to create a breakaway team when it gets to the point you are talking about.
I do think though that Masters is very important to some folks and it is very important that they have a coach to guide them. Many adults come from other sports and are no longer able to compete in those sports due to injuries. They still want to compete in something but do not have the first clue about how to train to compete in swimming. This is where a good masters coach can really help out.
Coaching can make a huge difference. But I find much more disappointing the poor quality of age group coaches. This is more important than Masters - since as Paul says Masters isn't real swimming.
Some of the age group coaches in my city - and with so-called clubs of excellence - have been just ridiculous. They coast on the reputation of the club and rely on competition between swimmers.
That is sad and I too have seen it happen. Usually a dissatisfied parent will start working on a young, good coach to create a breakaway team when it gets to the point you are talking about.
I do think though that Masters is very important to some folks and it is very important that they have a coach to guide them. Many adults come from other sports and are no longer able to compete in those sports due to injuries. They still want to compete in something but do not have the first clue about how to train to compete in swimming. This is where a good masters coach can really help out.
