So, coaches are getting some bad press in a couple of other threads, so I thought it might be interesting to talk about who has really impressed us as a coach (masters or open) and what it was about that coach that was so good. Ok, I'll go first.
A fellow named Archie Mckinnon was my first coach in age group, when I was 7-9yrs old & was flat out the best communicator I have ever seen. He let us know why we were doing what we were doing, what we were going to do & consulted us frequently as to what we wanted to get from our swimming (us individually, not the parents). Sounds out of a modern textbook, right? This was 1959-62 I've never had a coach since who came close to him, which had a great deal to do with me leaving swimming when I was fourteen.
Former Member
I really liked Debbie Meyer, she coached me as an age-group swimmer. She primarily coached younger age-group swimmers at the time so I didn't have a chance to continue with her through H.S. She was hoarse all the time from yelling off times during workouts...but the constant feedback really helped, I dropped massive amounts of time.
I have got to admit that my new coach really rates! Rick Benner has been working with me for about 4 weeks now and he has really managed to fix alot of the problems I have had in my strokes. He is helping me to learn how to sprint again, while still being able to handle my distance races to.
This past week was alot of hard workouts yet even though I was tired todays swims were equal to my best times. This was an intersquad meet so there was no pressure at all. Just have fun and have solid swims. I can't wait till Nationals!
I'm going to say assistant coach Kate of my master's team, for two reasons:
1) It is a running joke to use massive amounts of flattery about how she is our favorite coach :bow: , in the hope of making practice easier
2) She has a strong, dry sense of humor, which she uses to crush us in practice :drown:
This is a tough one because there are so many things that can be learned, and everyone offers a different point of view... Here are the top 5 anyways...
1. Deryk Snelling - His ability to inspire you and make the most out of yourself. He was an incredible motivator, and could stir the passion during training and racing...
2. Gary Vandermeulen - His sprint program provided confidence through methods, and he also knew how to motivate at crucial moments.
3. Monica Schlodder - Her independent focus in the face of adversity was second to none, and her educated intellect was unwavering. She was a great proponent of finding your natural strength(s).
4. Ken Olsen - His grasp of technique rivals the greats, and his video analysis business is thriving, for good reason(s).
5. Jaime Conners - He has patience and a stable understanding of sprint training, and an uncanny ability to implement.
JACK NELSON
Jack Nelson continues to be one of the greatest influences for me. One inspirational sentence from him was worth a thousand words from another coach. I still quote him to my kids. A guy who overcame tremendous odds as a young person and proved his trademark phrase, "Access to Success is Through the Mind."
Coach Sean FWJ Fowler :applaud:
To understand why, just check out the 'coaching' part of this forum (famous 'how to increase my stroke rate' thread).
He spent hours coaching for a 38 y/o person with no swimming career that he did not see before living in another continent. Increased his swimming abilities, gave swimming programs, tips, drills, morale, whatever a coach can give. From the inspiration I had from him, I started a swimming Internet site. I have 88 forum members in my site. I have the courage to swim among the talented masters swimmers. I also had some medals this year. What did he get? Just a 'thank you'.
Not just a great coch, but a great personality!!!
Dave Back, who is my coach right now. This is because he always says encouraging thigs to me, always inspires me to be the best I can possibly be (he gave a huge speech onece to the team about potential) and gives me really helpful tips about improving my stoke.
