Say That Again: Coaching to Different Learning Styles
Say That Again
“There are many different type of athletes: some love a lot of daily feedback, some just want to work, some get very nervous prior to major competitions and just need assurance. Regardless, it is important that the coach know and understand what is the best learning method for each athlete,” says Abi Liu, USA Swimming National Junior Team coach and head coach at Bellevue Swim Club (Wash.).
In aquatics, whether it is teaching learn-to-swim or counseling higher level athletes, there are many ways to dispense technique. The use of five standard cues—visual, auditory, logical, verbal or kinesthetic—are a start.
Bryan Dedeaux is division director of 11-12s at Mission Viejo (Calif.). He and fellow Nadadores coach, Chris Mendoza-Smithour, have had frequent discussions on how their swimmers learn. “One of the biggest deficiencies I see in coaching as a whole,” Dedeaux says, “is a lack of awareness when it comes to identifying and working effectively with different personality types and learning abilities. There is considerable information out there to help coaches, teachers and parents identify multiple learning styles, disabilities and neurodivergent behaviors. As a result, it is pretty simple to glean basic knowledge to help you build a better communication toolbox. We should all strive to unlock the full potential of each athlete by tailoring the transformative experience we provide to their unique needs.
“I grew up with a learning disability, so I am fully aware of the struggle a child can have when trying to adapt to a one-size-fits-all teaching approach. To effectively deliver our message to a large group of swimmers, we must recognize the individual differences that make up the group. A coach cannot expect his swimmers to automatically match his individual learning style. That requires a coach to be aware of his/her learning and teaching styles and be flexible with coaching methods to make individual connections with swimmers.
“Blanket coaching styles can work well early on. However, the quicker a coach implements communication strategies that focus on individual learning styles, the easier the season gets and the happier the swimmers become. That results in better buy-in from both athletes and parents.
“When coaching 10-and-under athletes, it’s important to keep the environment focused, fast and FUN!” says Mendoza-Smithour. “By gamifying sets, letting swimmers race at end of practice or making up competitions and challenges, you are teaching them that competing with friends is fun, allowing swimmers to fall in love with the sport.
“As 11-12 age-group athletes begin to develop a better sense of self and agency, it’s important to allow them to make choices, good or bad, so they may learn that every choice has an outcome. That way through their actions and following consequences, they will be able to make connections and take ownership of their swimming,” Mendoza-Smithour declares.
JOB ONE
Many successful coaches put a premium on getting to know their athletes…as people. Asking about family, school and interests outside of the water throughout the season can build a basis of trust with huge payoffs. By making better individual connections, a coach can view individual responses, providing insight into individual needs.
ON DECK
Visual learners make up the majority of Nadadores swimmers, observes Dedeaux. “For them, I want to show exactly how I want something to be done. If I stand on deck trying to show them a proper pull in freestyle, but drop my elbow, they will see that and mimic it as closely as they can. I frequently supplement my instruction with pictures, instant video feedback, videos of pro swimmers and demonstrators in practice.
“For auditory learners, I use language, analogies and metaphors that are very visual and make sense to my audience. I avoid using technical and biologically correct internal cues, but instead use environmental ones such as, ‘Keep your elbow at the surface and press your fingers to the bottom of the pool.’
“I understand verbal learners need to talk—so I let them. Then I listen and validate what they are trying to communicate before acting further. Sometimes verbal learners can do well with homework assignments like writing down their thoughts about a race plan or the steps in a good open turn,” he says.
“Physical learners need to move. These kids do well when they are trying, failing and trying again. My thought is don’t be too quick to correct, as they may need some time to get it right. As long as they are in motion, they are learning and adapting on the go.
“Of course, there are other types of learning styles as well. Kids will typically pick up information in any style that you are teaching, but mixing and matching your coaching cues and connecting with each athlete in the way that they respond almost always produces the most satisfying outcomes,” says Dedeaux.
HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
For day jobs, two Michigan coaches, Darren Millar and Eve Julian, are educators. Millar is a two-time MISCA zone coach of the year and current organization president. He is also a first-grade teacher, has coached swimming at Royal Oak High School outside of Detroit for more than 30 years and is fully versed in how student-athletes learn.
“For the kids who pick it up aurally, I need to be deliberate with my word choices,” says Millar. “I leave nothing to the imagination, take it slowly and make the learning process a progression—i.e., ‘We’re doing this, which will lead to that and lead to the third thing.’
“Children today are such a visual bunch. For practice, every day I have a written workout at the end of each lane. This helps everybody, especially visual learners. Since there is specialization involved, I like all swimmers to see what the other specialty groups are doing.
“At the beginning of the season, we go over all of our drills. When I say, ‘We are doing flip drills,’ I mean this…; when I say, ‘Miss America wave,’ we are doing that….’ That way, swimmers have a basic knowledge and built-in vocabulary going forward,” he says. In addition to taping swimmers above and below water, Millar will often have swimmers don goggles and watch demonstrators under water as he emphasizes various stroke elements.
Eve Julian is the NISCA secretary and webmaster. She is also in her 19th year as the boys coach at Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids. “I do my best to talk, show and then have the kids do,” she says. “When I’m explaining a concept, I try to keep it short and concise, then I demonstrate on land. If I have the resources available, I also try to show video of the correct way of doing. Then I have the swimmers demonstrate back to me—sometimes on dry land, sometimes in the water. Here I might also include manipulation where appropriate—especially with breaststroke—and then have them demonstrate back.
“One phrase I use a lot if the kids are unclear is, ‘I don’t think I explained that well enough.’ I will follow that with different words—i.e., ‘Pull your head back’ instead of ‘lift your chin.’ I keep talking, showing and doing until swimmers start to feel it on their own. Sometimes I ask them to feel what they’re doing wrong before I ask them to try to fix it. In this case, video comes in handy.
“I once had a backstroker crossing way over on his entries. His right hand entered above his left shoulder. I asked him to enter his hands at 10 and 2. He thought he was, but he was still crossing over. So I asked him to swim backstroke with his arms entering at 9 and 3 instead, telling him to keep his arms perpendicular to his body on the entry. What felt like 9 and 3 to him was actually more like 11 and 1. I showed him the video of what he thought was 9 and 3, and he suddenly realized that what he was feeling and what he was actually doing were not the same thing.”
Abi Liu, who was 2019 Pacific Swimming coach of the year, utilizes aids, sample videos and underwater cameras as a part of her instruction. When a swimmer is having difficulty, she will often have them demonstrate a stroke on land with their eyes closed. As with Julian, she says, “When I video them and show it afterward, they are often surprised at how the video differs from what they were thinking. Another approach I take is pairing swimmers. This not only enhances the learning experience, but it also creates opportunities for teamwork. (Author’s note: College teams—Stanford men for one—have used this approach successfully for years.)
HIGHER EDUCATION
Thanks to his videos and his presentations worldwide, Steve Haufler is one of the country’s most visible and successful stroke technicians. As a coach (youngsters through Masters) and instructor at Orinda Country Club (Calif.), his summer league teams have won 22 consecutive Orinda Moraga Pool Association championships.
Over the last 45 years, often in concert with former assistant, Bill Aidan, Haufler has developed an instructional system dependent upon swimmer skill. “When working with a beginning adult, I use pretty much the same progressions as I would for an 8-and-under. The vocabulary is different,” he says, “but the approach in teaching strokes follows the same priorities: 1) air exchange, 2) body position and balance, 3) kicking, 4) pulling, 5) timing of kick and pull and 6) timing of the breath.”
Essential to his approach, in addition to instructing while in the water is the use of simple cues, key words and phrases by which he hopes the swimmer will sense what to feel, see, imagine and envision while in the water. He utilizes a one-at-a-time progression for each stroke that has taught hundreds of thousands to swim. He starts that teaching with a verb—i.e, using words and phrases such as “see,” “feel,” “imagine,” “keep” and “stay,” then to convey sequence, “at the same time,” “as soon as,” “before,” “after” and “instead of.”
“Instructions don’t have to be precise,” he says. “Often, simpler is better. Stroke problems are frequently the effect of something that came before, so go backward in time to see what is causing the problem.”
More than one coach will say that the toughest stroke to teach and toughest to master is breaststroke because there are so many moving parts to convey before the stroke becomes smooth. When teaching, Haufler starts with the kick, telling his pupils to:
- Recover the lower leg behind the thighs while bringing the heels toward the butt
- Keep the knees facing the bottom of the pool
- Feel* the feet flex and turn out
- Feel* the toes spread apart as they curl back and separate
- Concentrate on moving the feet rather than the legs
- When kick fires, knees will be apart
- Kick back and together at the same time for a narrow kick that closes quickly
- Circle the lower leg back and around to full extension and squeeze
- Keep legs together when returning them to straight
- Keep knees in the same place since the action takes place over the back of the legs, not the stomach
* Note the invocation of kinesthetic terminology
When it comes to the arms, he asks that the swimmer:
Imagine opening elevator doors:
- Feel the shoulders come out of the ears
- Press to the “Y” and then the tallest “Y”
- Imagine stretching a rubber band (thumb to thumb)
- Press out and maintain pressure on the water as the hips move toward the hands
He is equally precise in laying out the fundamentals of the catch and breathing. A particularly vivid visual regards movement after breathing. He counsels, “Take one second to breathe while leaning forward. Imagine a ponytail that stays on the back of the neck while sledding down the pool. This prevents the lifting and tucking of the chin so common in beginning swimmers.”
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Life teaches the young and old that learning is an ongoing endeavor. What a coach says and how it’s heard will not resonate with all on deck in the same way. Making use of visual, auditory, logical, verbal or kinesthetic clues is a critical start. More important is knowing one’s athletes and which cues to employ.
Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” is in its third printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and distributors worldwide.
Terrific article and great explanations and examples of different learning and necessary teaching styles!