The coronavirus has obviously affected sports at every level. Swimmers in particular are having to find places to train, or figure out dry land training since pools are closing, something that inspired Megan Oesting to do something different as a coach.
It is a challenge, to say the least. But not just for coaches of elite swimmers and clubs.
Youth swimming is affected with no club activity for at least 30 days, per the USA Swimming mandate.
So how are coaches keeping contact with their swimmers without being in contact?
Megan Oesting of the Eastern Iowa Swim Federation, the 2019 National ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year, has a plan.
She is sending daily updates to her team in a Google form, which involves a video update from her as well as clips on swimming and life skills, then has questions about each for the swimmers to answer.
Megan Oesting created the Eastern Iowa Swim Federation from a local community team in 2016. Since then she’s expanded to three sites, rewritten over two thirds of the previous team records, broken and reset over 40 Iowa Swimming records, posted over 25 Top 100 All Time National Age Group swims, half of which were in the top 10, including 1 National Age Group Record.
She appears in USA Swimming’s Foundations of Coaching 101/201 coaching education videos, and was featured in the February 2019 Swimming World Magazine Special Sets. She was selected as Head Coach of the 2019 USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp in Louisville, KY, assisted at the USA Swimming Leadership Summit Camp for 2019 and assisted at the 2018 USA Swimming National Girls Select Camp at the Olympic Training Center. She was selected to speak at the Legends of Texas and Fishers, IN Coaches Clinics, as well as University of Iowa student business organizations as an expert on communication and empowerment. Megan Oesting is a part of the USA Swimming Women in Leadership conference, the National Team Coaches Conference and an active member of the USA Swimming National Team Alumni Association.
This is GREAT!
She is amazing!!
Amy Killpatrick Leopold