I See You, Coach
A note to all of the coaches in the arena
Taking a break this week from the USA Swimming series to acknowledge and celebrate all of the coaches finishing up their seasons. It doesn’t matter if you are at DI NCAAs or logging 13 hour days at your LSC’s Silver Championship meet, you all deserve recognition.
The Championship Season Grind
As coaches, we are on a rollercoaster throughout the meet. I was once told that we are sometimes only as happy as our saddest swimmer, and have certainly experienced that feeling on many occasions.
Swim meet weekends usually mean long hours on deck away from home, family, and friends. The meet venue might only be five miles from where you live, but you barely have time to do more than eat, sleep, and shower when you are there. The rest of your time is spent at the pool.
Some of you are spending your weekend at a meet for the third or fourth time in the last six weeks. I know you’re tired and worn down, maybe you have been battling a low-grade cold or respiratory infection for a few weeks now, and the sunlight and warmer days are calling you. But this is what you do, and you are darn good at it. So go out there this weekend and give your swimmers the energy and attention you aspired to at the beginning of the season.
The Emotional Weight of Coaching
Championship season isn’t just about seeing the work come together. It’s also about navigating the emotional ups and downs of performance. Every swimmer showed up wanting to swim well. You knew some of them would be unhappy with their performances. A coach who pays close attention to their athletes knows what to expect heading into the meet.
Some athletes you thought would swim well did not, and you’ve lost sleep trying to figure out why.
I’ve always said that the hardest thing about being a swim coach isn’t working with parents or the long hours on nights and weekends when most professionals are off. It is when the swimmer heads to the blocks for their race. At that moment your job description changes from teacher and guide to cheerleader. It’s all in the hands of the swimmer to execute when the horn sounds. Your ability to affect the outcome is non-existent from there.
Championship season also means listening to and discussing results with upset swimmers and parents. The swimmer might be upset before the meet ends, and you have to find a way to get them on track for their next race. Regardless of how you thought the meet would go for them, there is still a part of you who ignores that and wants to will the swimmer to some personal bests. You dig into your bag of tricks thinking of something to say or a tweak to their stroke to overcome any lack of preparation or negative mindset and just help them see some success.
You want to give an upset swimmer or parent space to speak their frustrations while you keep cool and stay professional. You might only need to pull out the practice attendance sheets for the past few months to demonstrate the reason for these results. But instead of escalating the situation, you suggest a meeting before or after practice in a week, because you know when everyone has a chance to calm down a more productive conversation will ensue.
Time to Reset
The end of one season usually means that the next season has already started. Your team might already be accepting new registrations and you likely have some swimmers who have completed their championship meets and begun to ramp up training. This isn’t baseball, basketball, or soccer where the volunteer parent-coach can sit back and largely forget about the sport for eight or nine months. The next season is next week! For some of you, it is high school season while for others, the focus turns to long course season.
You spend so much time and energy taking care of others, now is the time to focus on YOU.
We all got into coaching for a reason, but sometimes the demands we put on ourselves and the demands others expect of us are too much. Burnout is real and can hit any coach who isn’t taking the proper steps to reset and renew.
You need to refresh and decompress from the last few months. What are you going to do in the next seven days to clear your head, heal your body, and sharpen your focus for next season? Now is a great time to run a personal assessment.
If you aren’t sure where to start, here are three areas you might want to look at:
NB: I am not a doctor, talk to a real one before beginning any new nutrition, sleep, or exercise program. View this section as suggestions, not prescriptions.
Are you staying active?
It doesn’t have to be a hardcore workout, maybe just make an effort to “get a sweat in” multiple days a week.
Go for a walk (especially after each meal), play some pickleball, or maybe download the All Trails app and find a place to hike nearby.
Super mega bonus points for every opportunity you take to get outdoors and lean into the amazing healing power of nature.
Are you getting enough sleep?
The likely answer for everyone reading this, swim coach or not, is NO. Prioritizing sleep is the best and easiest act of self-care you can perform during this reset period.
A good friend has devised a program aimed at getting the equivalent of eight hours of sleep in six hours. For many coaches, you don’t get more time in bed than that. If you are interested in learning more, check out that program HERE.
A few things that have been working well for me lately when it comes to getting enough sleep:
I completely gave up alcohol almost two years ago. Among the many benefits I am seeing has been better and more consistent sleep.
I take a magnesium supplement each night after dinner.
Once I am in bed and turn the lights out, I go through a five-minute, “Deep Sleep” guided meditation followed by six minutes of 4x4 box breathing. I use the Calm app for meditation and Othership app for breathwork.
I have been doing the meditation and breathwork at night for about two weeks now and I am noticing an increase in both heart rate variability and REM sleep as well as a decrease in the amount of time it takes for me to fall asleep.
Are you properly and actively addressing your mental health?
You likely don’t need to spend all of your waking hours over the next week or two planning next season, writing workouts, and holding meetings with parents and/or swimmers. You need and deserve a break. Maybe you cut the amount of time you are working by 25 or 50% (even the smallest adjustment can make a big difference). Couple that with cutting the amount of time you are looking at your phone/email/computer screen by the same amount for at least a week. Replace that time with healthy, non-work activities that fill your cup.
This is a great time to connect with fellow coaches to ask questions, seek advice, or just check-in with them. No one knows what you go through like another swim coach, so make a point to reach out to and connect with a colleague now.
You Matter, Coach
No matter what you do to recharge between seasons, remember that YOU MATTER.
Take a moment to let that sink in…
You matter just as much as any swimmer in the water or parent in the stands. You might not put yourself first very often, but taking a step back to take care of yourself is the LEAST SELFISH thing that you can do. When you take a break and take care of yourself, you are taking the necessary steps so that you can bring 100% effort (or as close as possible) to the pool deck each day.
Just as flight attendants instruct parents to affix their own oxygen mask first before helping their children, you need to take the necessary steps to ensure your health first. You’ve already taken the first step simply reflecting with me here, what’s the next small step you could take to keep the ball rolling?
Remember: rest is not laziness.
YOU MATTER because you aren’t just a swim coach. You are an agent for change helping to mold the lives of the leaders of tomorrow. You have the opportunity to make an incredible impact on so many lives. Some people you work with or work for might not see that or appreciate it.
But I do.
So, thank you for what you have done and what you continue to do. Having been there myself, I know how hard you work and how much you care. I see you, and I know you see each other, too.