Side Coaching

How about situations where coaches have an "investment" on the team such as coaching their own sons or daughters? I find that many of those particular kids spend quite a bit of time being taught "on the side" by the parent. I also find that most parents don't know squat about the technical side of swimming and will only do more harm than good but there are also those who have good insight to the sport and might be able to give their kid that "extra attention" that perhaps the coach can't give due to a large volume of kids. I dunno, I think it can go both ways but to assume that simply because you are labled a "swim parent" and you must not know anything about the sport or that you cannot offer anything positive to your kid is kind of premature. I've been to too many swim meets and know too many swimmers (and I'm talking AAA,AA here) who obviously have been side coached by someone other than the head coach. On the other hand I've also witnessed too many beserk parents who are watching at EVERY practice, sending their kids to meets that the team isn't even going to and making them practice more than they should or need. I Personally think parents can offer alot to a kid if they know what they are doing but most don't and they don't have a clue that they are harming their kids. I'm a past and current (sorta) swimmer, I'm a swim parent and I'm a swim coach. I started coaching with the program where my daughter swims three years ago basically because I was riding the fine line of becoming one of 'those' parents, at least while on deck. The head coach took me aside and said 'you want to coach? Then let's give it a shot', I've been a developmental coach ever since. The number one hardest thing, in my opinion, is to be an accomplished swimmer and to have your child(ren) also be swimmers. You WANT to help them but you absolutely must not. You HAVE to let them have this sport for themselves, if you don't then you risk spoiling it for them. In my case as my daughter got a little older, we talked about the Coach/Parent dynamic and we promised each other to respect the role each of us has to play in the relationship. If I'm coaching her practice, I'm the coach, she's the swimmer but once practice is over, that relationship is done, we only talk about swimming (rarely) when she initiates the topic. Other than those times, it's a parent/child dynamic. We each slip up (her more than me lately as she tries to work both sides during practice) but we call each other on it and strive to maintain the boundaries. Another point is that you as a parent are part of a TRIANGLE consisting of Parent (you), Swimmer (your child) and Coach. If you have concerns or questions, email the coach. If there is something you are seeing in your child's swimming, do NOT speak with the swimmer, speak with the coach away from the pool deck. That is what we encourage are parents to do and in a lot of cases has really helped to reduce the parental stress on the swimmer. And we pay to have our child(ren) swim with these programs. We send our child(ren) there for a reason (sometimes just to get them out of the house ). If there is a perceived lack of instruction, then contact the head coach. And if someone thinks they have the skills, knowledge and ability to coach, try and find out if you can be a volunteer assistant coach just to see if it's something that you can do and enjoy. Remember, the coach is the third most visible authority firgure in your child's life behind parents and teachers. My daughter spends about 10 hours/week with her swim coaches.

Why are you paying a coach to teach your kid & then distract them by telling them to do things while in the session??? Save that for when you are in the pool with them.

Father Know's Best is not true when it comes to coaching.

How about situations where coaches have an "investment" on the team such as coaching their own sons or daughters? I find that many of those particular kids spend quite a bit of time being taught "on the side" by the parent. I also find that most parents don't know squat about the technical side of swimming and will only do more harm than good but there are also those who have good insight to the sport and might be able to give their kid that "extra attention" that perhaps the coach can't give due to a large volume of kids. I dunno, I think it can go both ways but to assume that simply because you are labled a "swim parent" and you must not know anything about the sport or that you cannot offer anything positive to your kid is kind of premature. I've been to too many swim meets and know too many swimmers (and I'm talking AAA,AA here) who obviously have been side coached by someone other than the head coach. On the other hand I've also witnessed too many beserk parents who are watching at EVERY practice, sending their kids to meets that the team isn't even going to and making them practice more than they should or need. I Personally think parents can offer alot to a kid if they know what they are doing but most don't and they don't have a clue that they are harming their kids.

What I meant by "side coaching" would be someone who gives instruction outside of normal practices perhaps at another location and without the youths coach having any knowlage about it. Sure. If my kids are in to it and the person knows what they are doing. It can't be at practice and a different pool is prefered. Some coaches don't spend enough time on stroke, extra help on stroke is a good thing.

All of these are great answers though I think many of you may have misunderstood or it is my fault for not making the question more clear. What I meant by "side coaching" would be someone who gives instruction outside of normal practices perhaps at another location and without the youths coach having any knowlage about it.

This is so true. 2-3 years ago I honestly thought there was something physically wrong with my daughter as she had the ugliest freestyle. She was strong but just all over the place. I had serious doubts about her having any real future in swimming. But now she has one of the smoothest strokes and is knocking on the door of AA times in the 200 and 500 free. Swimming takes time and even then there are no guarantees. But if success can defined as doing your best to improve day after day then swimming can be a wonderful experience. Yes, it takes time! It is not always those with early talent that succeed! And in fact, there are many that I can recall that fade out rather quickly. Somewhat sad when their names become a verb, such as "pulling an SG", meaning to burn out like SG (initials of that girl). No amount of side coaching would have changed anything. My kids love to hear the story of how a USA coach came to our house scouting my brother & sister as 10 year olds. My mom said, OK, but you have to take Michelle, too! I was that bad!! Here is a cut & paste from the USA team I attach with: Mustang Monthly- Internet Edition November 2008 A Refresher on our Team Philosophy Those that have been on the Dallas Mustangs for a while know what our team’s philosophy is. Those of you who are new to the team might not. Regardless of which category you fall into, it is always a good idea to remember why being a part of the Dallas Mustangs can be a long and worthwhile experience. Much of that experience is driven by the philosophy that the team embraces. Our philosophy is simply this: to develop an enjoyable and competitive program for each swimmer based on their skill, age, and interest. We don’t believe in pushing the younger age groups, mentally or physically. The focus at that age should be on technique and beginning to build an endurance foundation that will continue to help the swimmer throughout his or her swimming career. Pushing a child’s development too early or too quickly can be detrimental to the athlete in the long run. United States Swimming research shows the percentage of those athletes, who were ranked in the top 16 when they were younger, that were still ranked when they were in the 17-18 age group. The percentages were: 11% of ranked 10 and under went on to be ranked as 17-18 year olds 16% of ranked 11-12’s went on to be ranked as 17-18 year olds 33% of ranked 13-14’s went on to be ranked as 17-18 year olds 51% of ranked 15-16’s went on to be ranked as 17-18 year olds This shows that early success does not necessarily translate into long term success. Therefore, it’s important to be patient. Let the body grow and develop, while working on correcting strokes and building an aerobic base. The older Dallas Mustang age groups are challenged and are expected to contribute to the Dallas Mustangs’ continued national presence. There is obviously a high level of commitment and sacrifice needed to accomplish this lofty goal. We are also preparing those athletes to be successful at the college level. We expect all of our swimmers to treat others as they would like to be treated and to take the lessons that they learn from our program into every aspect of their lives. And we expect all of our swimmers to support each other. A big reason for the success of our program over the years is due to our team concept, which really shows when it’s relay time! Swimming is an incredible sport, with incredible people. Thank you for being a part of our great program. GO MUSTANGS!! Mook Rhodenbaugh – Head Coach

Yes, we need to help with homework and so many other things. In my opinion, doing well in school is not an option and trying to get to the Olympics is optional. I think a few people have said this already, but it is nice to let your kid have swimming to themselves and take ownership of it. The coach/swimmer relationship can be a great thing without the confusion of what their other coach(parent) will have to say after every race or practice. Having the coach take all the resposibility can be a great thing down the road when they assign hard sets and practices, that way your kids vent on the coach in the car instead of on you and why you are doing this to them.

In our swim team manual it says parents are not to talk to the swimmers or the coaches during practice times. That makes sense on so many levels, not the least of which is we're paying for the practice time and there is a finite amount of it. As for offering supplemental coaching... I never knew I wasn't supposed to. I have even said things to one of her coaches like, "When Z and I were at the pool together the other day..." They didn't bust me. lol I've felt it was like supplemental teaching. We practice reading at home, drill math facts, do science experiments, etc. I trust both her school teachers and her swim coaches to do an excellent job. I just know that they have a lot of students/swimmers, and I can give my kid one-on-one attention. For the record, my daughter is 10 and in her first year of YMCA swim team.