Training overview

The focus of the youth group is learning to swim and learning to train. Most things that younger swimmers need to learn, in order to become elite, competitive swimmers needs to be taught to them in their first few years in the competitive stream. The kids need to learn the mechanics of swimming and how their bodies effectively work in the water. This is why I encourage the kids to "play" in the water prior to workouts whenever possible.

They also need to learn the basics of training i.e. descending sets, using the pace clock, and proper swimming etiquette such as sharing a lane with numerous swimmers. In addition, the Youth Group swimmers do a lot in the development of goal setting and charting their course in the pool.

Logging the Miles and Progression Throughout the Season

The youth group trains between 3000-3500 metres per session on average, but because the focus is so much on skill development, sometimes we sacrifice metres to emphasize skill development. The first few months of the season I try and teach everything that the kids will need to know over the course of the year.

First I teach them how to swim, then teach them how to train and then how to race. All this should be done in a fun and safe environment. Every practice should Be Safe, Be Fun and Be Productive. I heard that in a conference once and I really believe in it.

In the beginning it is important for kids to learn and understand my expectations as well as for me to understand their motivations. As the year progresses I try and help the kids to understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to utilize their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

Coaching Style

I try to behave in a way that the kids can relate to, communicate with and respect me. I have high expectations for them in how they do things. I do not put high expectations on how they perform. I believe the results will come if they built up a solid training base with good solid skill development.

Training Benchmarks in the Youth Group

Every kid has shown me something this year that makes me proud. My favourite moment this season occurred when I was writing the warm up on the board before practice and went down to the other side of the deck to discuss something with Murray. During our chat I noticed that at the designated start time to practice the kids began the set without me even saying a word to them. I was very proud of them for doing this as it showed a high level of maturity, commitment, and responsibility: all things that I have preached about throughout the year. I made sure the kids were very aware of how proud of them I was.

Kids improve at very different rates. Jacqueline Douglas is a perfect example of someone who at the start of the season was doing everything right during practice. She was improving her strokes, training hard and listening to her coach. She just wasn't getting the results in meets that were equivalent to the training. However over the past few months she has started to show the benefits of her labour. She narrowly missed provincials at a meet in Richmond Hill in April.

I love the energy and enthusiasm of the young kids. When you learn how to harness that energy from a group of kids and get them to direct it towards a common goal, it is the most rewarding feeling. Watching a kid make a goal that they have been struggling with is awesome. Whether that goal is making the Olympics, Nationals, Provincials, Central Regions or whatever is irrelevant. I truly believe it is the journey that is important not the destination.