Developmental Swim Team Coaching

Are you a developmental swim team coach looking for guidance, practice ideas, and more than the Foundations of Coaching course?

This is the resource for you.

Jeff N was the Head Developmental Coach for a USA Swimming Level 4 team for 12 years and this course will help you guide new competitive swimmers into good habits, and racing success.

Recommendation: take these 2 online courses before taking this one.

  • Teaching Swimming
  • Level Structure

Developmental programs have different criteria for joining the competitive swim team. For the purposes of training and standardization we need to agree on the following assumptions:

Swimmer Tryout Requirements:

  • Minimum age: 5 years old
  • Tryout required to join the team:
    • 20- 25 yards swimming of front crawl with breathing
      • No lifting the head
      • Must turn the head to the side
      • Breath must be to the side where the face is not covered by water
      • Looking for arms reaching to Position 11 and recovering over the water
      • Should have a flutter kick
    • 20-25 yards swimming of back crawl
      • Body held straight at the surface
      • Arms recover over the water
      • Flutter kick provides movement and body positioning
      • No dangling feet
      • No twisting hips
      • No face sinking underwater
    • 5 yards of butterfly kick
      • Can be done in soldier position
      • Can be done after a demonstration by the coach
      • Should be easily mimicked; even for people who have never done it
    • Attempt 5 yards of breaststroke.
      • Gauge of swimmer exposure to advanced strokes
      • Can be completely wrong; looking for the attempt
    • Comfort in going underwater, wearing goggles, and not afraid of deeper water.
    • Able to follow directions without argument or tears
    • Clearly had instruction in how to swim

Course Content

Developmental Framework
Structure
6 Topics
Placement
Grouping
Exit Criteria
Practice requirements
Competition Expectations
Measurements of Success
Pre-Practice “Dryland”
3 Topics
Establishing routine
Swimming Yoga Flow
Dryland Activities and Challenges
Small Group Learning
4 Topics
Space Limitations and Opportunity
Divide and Learn
Short Distance Training
Chunking
Aerobic Conditioning
4 Topics
Set Structure
Drills and Putting into Practice
Balancing Distance, Speed, Recovery, & Challenges
Sets
Challenges
Practice Writing
Consistent Attention to the Mundane
Enforcement
Feedback