We are in a contemplative state this week and as such believe that in our quest to find the keys to the issues posed last week it is first necessary to ask the questions that are at the heart of our profession. And so here is our take on the core issues surrounding our coaching and perhaps by extension your own coaching. It would be awesome if a dialogue ensues as we know enough to say with certainty we haven't all the answers, or the definitive set of questions.
Why do we coach? - Money, fame, peer recognition, awesome T-shirts, trips, name in the newspaper, personal satisfaction...
How do we coach? - Authoritarian, open practices, closed practices, limited input from athletes and or parents or assistants, seat of the pants, sit and eat, pace the deck, write on a white board...
Are there gains to be made? - In what areas...
Have we changed what we believe to be true? - About technique, training systems, dry land approaches, team dynamics, parent interaction, social dynamics...
What would happen to us if we are wildly successful? - Can we handle those changes...
Conversely, what would happen if to us if we missed the mark significantly? - Loss of job, no more speaking at clinics, loss of membership, financial impacts...
Are we too young to excel or too old to be relevant? - do age barriers or gender barriers exist in our sport...
We believe that if we can answer most if not all of these questions - as well as others you may add to the discussion - we are better prepared for the season that awaits us.
We are thinking about this a lot and we thank those of you (you know who you are) for stimulating this line of thought...might be a good roundtable at a clinic near you someday...
We all know there is a difference between 10x100/1:10 and 10x100/2 given the same exact swimmer. We believe this other line of thought is actually more important. Here's to an awesome week and an even better start to your season!
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