International Swim Coaches Association “Techniques and Technologies to Educate Today’s Swim Coaches” “Developing a Coaching Philosophy” by Coach Dick Hannula ***** Originally published in Coaching Swimming Successfully (2003, Human Kinetics). Reprinted with Permission of the Author, 2019. **** Your philosophy is the set of principles or ethics that you live by. Vince Lombardi [famous American football coach] was quoted as saying that the only concerns in life and the lives of his players should be God, family, and the Green Bay Packers, in that order. My teams may not be the Packers, but they are that important to me, as your teams should be to you. I must care about all of the swimmers on my team, whether they are the fastest or the slowest. The faces may change year to year, but my philosophy remains the same. A swimming coach’s success is measured by the progress and the development of his or her swimmers. Although you may have a limited talent pool to draw from, the athletes who make up your team should reflect the teaching, training, and discipline that you’ve given them. This reflection is made visible by their actions in and out of the pool. Your philosophy must be centered in the belief. If you believe totally in your basic philosophy, then it has the roots necessary to ensure a lasting commitment. Continuity in your core beliefs, you philosophy, is necessary to gain the respect of your team members and their parents. You must be totally committed to your beliefs; otherwise, your philosophy won’t stand up through adversity or failure. [Here] I present the principles that form the foundation of my philosophy, and I describe how I share the philosophy through the goals I establish for my swimming program. Remember that my philosophy influences all phases of my coaching, just as your outlook affects you actions. Every coach must determine his or her own philosophy-the unwavering principles that will provide consistency and clarity in decision making. All of the most successful coaches in our sport, from Peter Daland, George Haines, and Doc Counsilman to Mark Schubert, Eddie Reese, Skip Kenney, and Richard Quick, have demonstrated the importance of leading a swimming program with a steady and clear vision. Origin of a Philosophy Your philosophy of coaching is developed from your own experiences, both in swimming and in life. Experiences specific to your swimming coaching philosophy would include these: • Books and magazine articles you have read • Videos you have watched Address: 2721 Brambleton Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA 24015 ǀ Phone: (+1) 540-904-2666 ǀ Fax: (+1) 540-772-0578 ǀ Website: www.swimisca.org International Swim Coaches Association “Techniques and Technologies to Educate Today’s Swim Coaches” • Clinics you have attended • Experiences you have had as a swimmer and a swim coach • Conversations you have had with athletes and coaching colleagues • Observations you have made of other coaches at training or competitions Many coaches have had the invaluable opportunity to intern with an experienced and successful coach. I have had many young coaches intern with me, for periods ranging from two weeks to nine months. Other coaches have told me about spending a week or more just watching the successful coaches train swimmers their way in their own pool. Learning Opportunities You will never have enough experience form just your own program. You need to get “outside the box” occasionally. One of the best learning opportunities was to visit several successful coaches and observe their training sessions over a few days. I observed Ricard Quick and Skip Kenney at Stanford University. I also went to a training session at the University of California, Berkeley, with Nort Thornton. I came back from that trip with many new and useful ideas that improved my program. Another major opportunity to watch successful coaches is at the national championships. At the first national championship meets I attended, I had the opportunity to watch great coaches and swimmers in action. At my first national championship, I watched the coach and his world record holder work on the backstroke in the warm-up pool. They used drills to improve technique at the championship meet. I catalogued those drills for extensive use with my swimmers in our training sessions. These drills were new to me and proved very successful for my backstroke swimmers the next season. Such learning opportunities are all around you, so take advantage of them when they present themselves. I have never found a successful swim coach who wasn’t willing to share ideas. All of your experiences with other coaches will factor into the development of your philosophical base. I encourage you to keep adding to that base through your contacts with the many excellent former and active swim coaches available to you. A swimming coach’s success is measured by the progress and the development of his or her swimmers. Defining Your Philosophy Every coach must develop a philosophy that will be the base for coaching decisions. My philosophy grew from three sources. One was Howard Firby of Canada, who was the greatest teacher of stroke fundamentals that I’ve known. He impressed on me the need to teach technique effectively to achieve any success as a coach. Address: 2721 Brambleton Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA 24015 ǀ Phone: (+1) 540-904-2666 ǀ Fax: (+1) 540-772-0578 ǀ Website: www.swimisca.org International Swim Coaches Association “Techniques and Technologies to Educate Today’s Swim Coaches” Another source was Coach John Tallman, formerly of the University of Washington. John was a scientist long before science entered into swim coaching. Always challenging and forming new ideas. John made me aware and appreciative of changes in coaching. The third source was my friend Bob Miller, who coached in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington. Bob, himself and athlete, had the ability train hard and challenge his swimmers accordingly. Through him I learned to better appreciate the value of hard work in swimming success. After more than 40 years of coaching swimming, I have developed six equally important tenets for my philosophy. (You may add or subtract from these in defining your own philosophy.) 1. There is no substitute for hare work. All swimmers must invest time and effort in the sport. Success in competition is the direct result of how much work each individual puts into it. Similarly there are no shortcuts for a coach. Consistent and persistent effort by athletes and coaches is a prerequisite for achieving anything worthwhile in swimming. 2. Every athlete counts. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. You must be concerned about the attitude and the improvement of every team member. Team strength comes from raising the standards of all team members. 3. Winning is not just being Number 1. Every swimmer on your team can be and should be a winner. A winner sets goals and then strives to attain them. Both swimmers and coaches who continue to strive for their goals are winners. Winning must be measured against one meaningful and reliable standard-yourself. As the coach, you have to accept this philosophy of winning and educate your and their parents accordingly. 4. Responsibility is required. The greatest power you have is the ability to choose. However, your choices require responsibility. Because you choose to coach, you are responsible for your team’s results. Similarly, because your swimmers choose to be on the team, they must accept the responsibility of their choice. Your swimmers can choose to study for an exam or to watch television during their available study time. While in training, your swimmers can choose to get the necessary sleep each night or they can decide to stay up late and report to practice tired. In any case, your swimmers must bear the responsibility for choices they make. 5. Teach first and train second. Keep returning to basics. All swimmers must establish good technique before they train effectively. 6. Change is necessary. In coaching, change is a fact of life. The athletes you work with the “best” was to teach and train them will change. Such variations are sometimes necessary for your own motivation. A Change Isn’t Always Forever One very successful year, our team used a method of cycle training that was the result of a college class called Physiology and the Swimming Coach. The following year we intended to follow the same procedure but after the first week I called my team together and told them I couldn’t get excited about Address: 2721 Brambleton Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA 24015 ǀ Phone: (+1) 540-904-2666 ǀ Fax: (+1) 540-772-0578 ǀ Website: www.swimisca.org International Swim Coaches Association “Techniques and Technologies to Educate Today’s Swim Coaches” the same program again this year. We all agreed and had a more successful year because of the meaningful changes made in the program. One key to longevity in coaching is adapting to change. Programs need to be dynamic to maintain the enthusiasm of the athletes and the coach. Be Comfortable and Be Yourself Though your philosophy may change somewhat over your years of coaching, the core of your philosophy- those tenets that revolve around your value system and that comprise what you want your swimmers to receive from your program-probably won’t change. For your basic philosophy to be comfortable, it will have to conform to your value system. You need to be yourself, so don’t adopt a philosophy that isn’t you. Be the best that you can be and do it your way. Each coach will have his or her own style of teaching, communicating, and motivating swimmers.