The focus of most swimming coaches is on the observable – the measurable – the countable.

As human beings we are drawn to the things we can see, we can count, we can measure, we can feel: the things that we believe to be real. We are by nature focused on the tangible, on the obvious, on the coachable elements of the sport of swimming.

We count laps. We measure speed. We record results. We set goals. We observe technique. We focus on skills.

Yet, speak with senior, experienced coaches and they will consistently report one thing: it is the intangible, the immeasurable, the uncountable, the seemingly “uncoachable” aspects of the sport that are the most important.

It is the things you can’t see that have the greatest impact.

It is not what you write on the white board that matters: it’s the “spaces” and the “gaps” between what you write that determines success.

The challenge however is this.

It is relatively simple to coach speed.

It’s relatively straight forward to coach swimming skills and swimming techniques.

It’s easy to coach endurance and power and kicking and pull and starts and turns……

But how do you coach commitment?
How do you coach confidence?
How do you inspire a swimmer to believe that anything is possible?
How can you inspire a swimmer to willingly chase the unknown, to aspire to what can’t be seen and to give everything they have to the achievement of something they’ve never experienced?

The difference between good coaches and great coaches hasn’t got anything to do with their periodization or workout writing or skills practices: they are exceptional not for what they know – but for how they feel – and for how they make others feel.

Their greatness is defined by the execution of their art – the art of swimming coaching.

Greatness in coaching comes not from WHAT you do – but through your ability to connect, to engage and to inspire your swimmers to consistently practice, prepare and perform to the full extent of their capability.

Great coaches connect with their athletes. They make it all about the athletes. They listen: they listen twice as much as they speak. The care about their athletes. And the athletes know it.

Great coaches engage with their athletes.

They create partnerships with their athletes. They build respectful, trusting, effective relationships with their athletes. And as a result, the athletes give more to the coach, to the program and to their own development than could ever have been expected.

Great coaches inspire their athletes. They ignite the spark of excellence that lives in the heart of their athletes. They fuel the fire that burns in the imagination of their athletes…the fire that motivates the athlete to willingly pursue the highest challenges imaginable.

Great coaches change their athletes. Not just in the obvious, measurable ways. But they create the environment where swimmers grow and thrive and develop the attitudes and behaviours that will carry them to success in all of their experiences throughout their lives. Great coaches help to create great people.

Coaching is change.

Coaches are the masters of change.

We have the opportunity to change more lives in one year than most people could ever comprehend in a lifetime.

Coaching is change. We understand change – we understand how it works.

Swimmers may join your program to change their swimming skills, to change their swimming techniques, to change a measurable quality of their swimming performance.

But for great coaches, the most important changes they can inspire in an athlete are much deeper, more meaningful, more enduring.

For great coaches, the art of coaching means having the unparalleled opportunity to change the life of young human being: to make a lasting, powerful, positive impact on the heart and mind of another person – and in doing so knowing that you’ve opened their life to limitless possibilities.

If you are beginning your coaching journey, it is easy, it is normal and it is natural to be seeking more and more information about training sessions and workouts and preparation cycles…to be searching for information on biomechanics and nutrition and dryland training and recovery.

For any coach, learning the foundation principles of the sport is often the first step into the world of coaching. Spending time researching the countless pages available online and in printed books on physiology, on technique, on skill, on racing strategies is the first stage of learning for most coaches.

But to become great at coaching, to become a Master of the art of coaching, understanding WHAT to do, is merely the starting point.

The real art of coaching lies in the HOW and the WHY.

It lives inside your heart and not online or on your laptop.

The very essence of coaching – all you need to know about the art of coaching – is already inside of you. It is your intuition, your values, your character, your own innate desire to build connected, engaging relationships with others and to help people be all that you know they can be.

There is a truth to coaching and it is this: what you carry into the profession – will be there with you when you leave it.

In other words, who you are, your values, your beliefs, your attitudes and your motivation for coaching will be the driving forces behind your career throughout its entirety.

Your knowledge about the sport will grow. You will gain a deeper and richer understanding of the principles and practices of helping swimmers to swim fast. Your level of experience and your commitment to continuous improvement and learning will provide you with insights on all aspects of the science of the sport.

Yet, in terms of the art of coaching, you already know what you need to know.

Before you become overwhelmed with the relentless obsession of collecting swimming drills and before your mind becomes full of the infinite variations of skills practices and workout designs available to you with the press of a few buttons, stop for a moment.

Stop for a moment and think about the reasons why.

Ask yourself – why do I coach?
Ask it again – why do I coach?
And ask it a third, and a fourth and fifth time – why do I coach?

Before barreling forward in an endless pursuit of what’s out there….start with a sincere look at what’s “in here”.

Before you charge ahead looking for what you can learn from the sport, spend some time understanding what it is the sport can learn from you.

Think about what it is that you bring to the sport – before you consider what you can take from it.

Coaching is a gift.

It is a rare profession where everyday – in so many ways – you get more from the experience than you imagine.

It is a vocation where you gain energy through the experience of giving energy to others.

It is more than a job, it is more than a lifestyle – it is what life is about.

Your task is simple.

To grab the opportunity of coaching with both hands and to relentlessly, gladly, selflessly, completely - give all you can in everything you do to help everyone you coach be all they can be.

There is no greater experience than coaching.