Rookie Coaches Swimming Guide

I bought this book for my 13 year old son who will be a junior coach for his summer league team this summer. It will be his first time coaching, and even though he is a year-round competitive swimmer, this book is perfect for him. While it is written for the parent volunteer coach it is also perfect for any first time coach - regardless of age and regardless of their swimming knowledge. The section on communication is insightful and outlines quite a few tools for teaching a skill to novice swimmers - tools that can be used for teaching children just about anything. The gifted and experienced educator might think of these things as second nature but anyone new to coaching needs to think about how to go about it and this book provides that information. When reading about how to constructively criticize and encourage young swimmers my son exclaimed,"Hey, that's exactly what my coach does!" The sections on planning and safety are thoughtful and thorough. The drills and skills outlined in the book are the basics and those that every coach goes back to time and again. The sample practice outline is perhaps a little ambitious for the average summer league team with too little time in the pool, but it is a good outline and can easily be adapted to the limits of shorter practice times. The down side: The section on Conduct of a Meet is so basic that if you don't already know it, you really shouldn't be coaching a swim team. One thing missing that would be helpful is a primer on how to seed a dual meet. The book is exactly what the product description claims: A guide for the first time coach of novice swimmers. I reccomend it to anyone new to coaching swimming.

I've just started co-coaching a small club in Kinsale, Co. Cork. I'm a competitive swimmer and knew what I wanted to get across, but not how. John Leonard's book has really made a difference. I'm now structuring sessions in a useful way and I know I'm communicating better with the swimmers. I shall be introducing his suggestions about setting objectives and using a bulletin board when we start training again after Easter. I'm confident that my swimmers will benefit.Thanks John.