By Alison Murtagh, Swimming World College Intern
With hot summer nights beginning to grow shorter, and July turning into August, many summer league swim teams are starting to partake in their championship meets. While I am no longer a summer league swimmer myself, these past few months marked my first as a coach, and what a whirlwind it was.
I remember 12 years ago, looking up wide-eyed at my summer league coaches as they stood on the side of the pool—always grinning and laughing with one another. I thought they were the coolest people out there, wearing their matching green polos and big sunglasses. Like my other young teammates, I told my parents that I wanted to be just like Coach when I grew up. To first-grade me, these lifeguards-turned-coaches were my heroes, and I aspired to be just like them. They always had a positive attitude, and made me look forward to coming to swim practice in a cold, unheated pool.
A Rookie Coach
Photo Courtesy: Thomas Agostini
This summer, I took a turn in their shoes. For most college and high school students, summer jobs are just a way to make money to spend during the following school year. However, my time at the Andover Country Club proved to be quite the opposite. I found myself enjoying work every morning and looking forward to seeing my favorite kids on deck at precisely 9:00 a.m. (albeit, there always were a few stragglers). I learned more about the sport over my time as a coach and reaffirmed my love for the water.
While some days were more stressful then others, I would not have wanted to spend my summer doing anything else. As a coach, I was responsible for making sure my swimmers swam fast, but more importantly, that they had fun. It was my first time writing workouts for a group of swimmers, and making sure they improved the technical aspects of their strokes. Previously, I had only been responsible for my own swimming, but this summer I now had a group of 15 nine and ten-year-olds to train and be a role model for.
Realizations from the Coaches’ Corner
Photo Courtesy: Colleen Collins
Over the past three months, I have learned it’s okay to make mistakes. There were plenty of times where I tried new drills that failed horrifically, or forgot to remind a swimmer to finish into the wall with two hands on the butterfly, resulting in a disqualification. However, as the summer wore on, my swimmers’ times got faster, and my coaching improved.
To be a summer league coach, I realized you have to roll with the punches. Not everything will go according to plan, and most likely, there will be tears from swimmers. Despite my best organizational efforts, kids missed their races or sometimes even swam the wrong stroke. However, for every bad race, there were ten more great swims and best times. I learned that I couldn’t control everything, and sometimes just had to go with the flow.
Most importantly, I quickly realized the importance of my attitude on deck. If I was happy, my swimmers were happy. As a result, I made sure to end each practice with a high-five and a “good-job” to all my swimmers. As a coach, it is important for me to pass on my love for the sport to the next generation of athletes. I had to show them that despite contrary belief, staring at a black line all morning could indeed be fun.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Photo Courtesy: Thomas Agostini
With the summer coming to an end, and our team starting to gear up for the league’s championships, I have begun to realize how much I will miss coaching summer league— from the drawings given to me every morning, to the hugs I receive after a swimmer goes his or her best time. I will miss driving to get coffee with the other coaches in order to prepare for a long meet, and cheering my heart out when my swimmer finally completes a legal 25-yard butterfly. And, when Friday mornings roll around, I am certain I will miss crazy jumps and cannonballs, as well as doggy-paddle relays.
As I wrap up my first season as a coach, I can only hope that I inspired my nine and ten-year-olds as much as my summer league coaches inspired me all those years ago.