IMPROVING YOUR ATHLETES AND YOURSELF

BRANT BEST

COACH DEVELOPMENT – SWIMMING QUEENSLAND

SQ COACH AND CLUB DEVELOPMENT

• Planning with Swimming Qld. crew (SQ) and Regions

• Brisbane North – Wide Bay – FNQ - NQ

• Organizing Clinics - Camps - coach workshops

• Coach development

• On deck - Observe and interact with program

• Off deck - brainstorming sessions

• Solution based problem solving

• Technique – planning – programming – sports science translator

Strategy – Racing – set structure – listening post

MENTORING IMMERSION

• Acacia 1996 -2000

• Bernie Wakefield - Innovator

• QAS 2007/2008

• Stephan Widmer – Breaking barriers

• Scott Volkers – Technique / pacing

• NSWIS 2010 -2016

• Jim Fowlie – Systems and physiology

• Brian Sutton – Pacing and energy systems

• SOPAC – Coaching director – Mentoring developing coaches

• NSWIS – Immersed in coaching environment

• Thanks ASCTA for such a narrow topic

• Apologies to Chris Meyer’s

• What better coaches do better and why they are better coaches ?

• BETTER COACHES CONSISTENTLY MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

• ALL COACHES WANT DRIVEN ATHLETES – FOSTERING BUY IN

• No Rocket science - super simple

• Foundation focus – creating time and allowing clarity of mind

• Love a chat swimming - don’t love presenting !! Much better as a conversation

• Help me out – ask questions

How to make yourself and your athletes

better?

HOW DO THE BETTER COACHES DO BETTER?

• Technique retention

• Race execution

• Athletes’ training effort

• Coaching ideas and

direction

• One on one time

• Racing turns

• Coach athlete relationship

• Athlete buy in

• Planning ahead

• Clarity of thought

• Training execution

BETTER COACHES CONSISTENTLY MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

HOW THE BETTER COACHES ACHIEVE THAT?

• Looking for the challenge –what’s working and what is in the way!!

• Effective reflection to understand the challenge

• Plan based on observations and reflection to fix the challenge

• Develop structure of program around their goals

• Act on the plan

• Observe the plan in action and test its effectiveness

CLEARER VISION - PLENTY OF TIME - DRIVEN ATHLETES

We make better decisions

with a clearer view!

STEP AWAY FROM THE WATCHES FOR A MINUTE

• If you had a CLEARER VISION of your

program and athletes

• If you had MORE TIME to run the program

and work with athletes

• If this created more DRIVEN ATHLETES

WOULD THIS CHANGE YOUR PROGRAM IF THIS

WAS A HIGHER PRIORITY?

IF YOU HAD MORE TIME TO DO SPEND ON THESE

• Technique retention

• Race execution

• Athletes’ training effort

• Coaching ideas and

direction

• One on one time

• Racing turns

• Coach athlete relationship

• Athlete buy in

• Planning ahead

• Clarity of thought

• Training execution

WOULD YOU BE A BETTER COACH?

CREATE MORE TIME

• Can we structure programs / squad structure to creates time?

• How effectively do we watch our athletes at key times

• How compromised is our vision by our structure/programming ?

• What are we missing? – and what is the cost?

• Compromising key performance components

• Pacing/ stroke rates/ underwater/ breakouts / technique/ skills

• Could we program better to improve these key racing components

• Can our swimmers run a session off the whiteboard ?

• What opportunities are missed if they cant?

• Flow on effects of being 10% more effective in each/any of these areas?

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

• Cycle the program – 3 lanes/ 3 groups

• e.g. Aerobic kick / stroke count 100s / coach led efficiency

• Two sessions a week split the group into two 1 hour focus sessions

• Create time to film – aerobic session as stroke opportunity

• Time/watch fast turns during aerobic work

• SOPAC swim down - 4 x 300 - 100 @ A3 timed turn 200kick @ short rest base

• Create a culture of responsibility – expectations for execution of session

• Schedule discussions - avoid the daily sermon

• Athlete meetings group and individual

• Chat individually through dryland time before and after

BENEFITS OF MORE TIME

• Clarity of mind

• Better reflection – better coach learning - informed planning

• Know your athletes better – make them feel important

• Athletes and coach on the same page as to problems and solutions

• Culture of self determined athletes = better decision makers !!

• Your own professional development program – a more informed coach !!!!

• MORE TIME = MORE ENGAGED AND MOTIVATED ATHLETES

NOW WE HAVE MORE TIME TO………

• Create self driven athletes – create culture first

• Implement a System of consequences and time to follow up

• Make athletes responsible for stroke changes

• How many of your athletes know exactly what they are working on

• Whose responsibility is it to solve these problems?

• Create and reward training Pbs and benchmarks around your training focus

• Link technical changes to these PBs

• Make the program more relevant to the individual = buy in!

TIME TO ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY - EXAMPLES

• Technical changes – sometimes skill is about desire to execute

• Reward for execution – conditionally approve / ½ swim down / group reward

• Stroke efficiency

• Coach benchmarks/recognizes/ measures mini -max Pbs from PB + 7-8 to Pb + 3-4

Main set effort

• Reduced volume for measures achieved

• 6 repeats done well or 8 performed badly

• Lane vs lane point score

• Game play

RELEVANCE THROUGH GAME PLAY

• Creating game play around goals

• Enjoyable – athlete and coach

• Challenges athletes to find a way – resilience – racing – self responsible

• Bringing racing to training

• Athletes consistently quicker – consequences real

• Execution self driven – effective learning and race rehearsal

QUESTIONS?