[CLOH-News] Fwd: Coaching profession

Tue Aug 23 08:15:04 EDT 2022

My input would be as follows:

Culture should be the number one priority and communication of clear program goals. I can only speak from my experiences and am sure others will have far different than me. Once a solid culture is identified and implemented a lot of issues with parents should be resolved. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be problem families, but we have to be willing to meet with families and hear them out while also correcting them (education). The ones who leave are not a part of what you want to do.

I’ll add more to the pay raise echoes by Mike C. The identity of your program and what you want to do are massive in identifying the type of team you want to be. Do you want to be a professional team or a recreational team? Professional teams will require more resources across the board. The leadership and continuity of leadership has to be aligned with the head coach. The rates and what services are provided should align here. As an industry, we are dependent on the health of the economy and the health of a families employment situation.  This might be a new tough time for some programs as the job layoffs are being announced and inflation is effecting the pocket books of our families. In this aspect, I do believe working with families in a one off situation is the right thing to do.

Recruitment of coaches is tough. I’d love to hear others thoughts on this….

Have a great day everyone!

—
Mike

Mike Kavanaugh | Senior Head Coach Life Time Michigan

M.S., SSDC, NASM - PES, CES, ISCA,ASCA Level 4
“The greatest teacher, failure is."
-- Yoda

________________________________
From: CLOH-News <cloh-news-bounces at six.pairlist.net> on behalf of Mike Cunningham <swimdisney at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 8:01:11 AM
To: Mark.Rauterkus at gmail.com <Mark.Rauterkus at gmail.com>
Cc: cloh-news at six.pairlist.net <cloh-news at six.pairlist.net>
Subject: Re: [CLOH-News] Fwd: Coaching profession

I think that we are looking at 2 problems to keep coaches in the sport.
1) Pay expectations; the amount of money that is available to pay, and what
the next generation is expecting for their "expertise".  Potential coaches
look at built and strong clubs that can pay what they want, and too many
are past the point of wanting to build something.
2) Parents have become even more of an issue post COVID.  Lots of loud
voices, no real knowledge, and a frustration to teach the parents from the
coaches end.

Any other thoughts?
Mike Cunningham
Donner Swim Club Head Coach
Columbus North High School Head Coach

On Tue, Aug 23, 2022 at 3:08 AM George Carpouzis via CLOH-News <
cloh-news at six.pairlist.net> wrote:

> What do you think is the problem that there is a lack of swimming
> coaches?  A low salary?  Are we burnt out?  The passion is still there,
> but....
> Hope everyone is well!
> George Carpouzis, OLY
> Aquatics Coordinator
> Bishop Mackenzie International SchoolLilongwe, Malawi
>
>     On Monday, August 22, 2022 at 09:40:45 p.m. GMT+2, Mark Rauterkus <
> mark at rauterkus.com> wrote:
>
>  Hi,
>
> What a summer for me. More on that later.
>
> Today on the Facebook Swim Coaches Idea Exchange a thread came up about the
> high volume of coaching openings.
>
> We need to grow the profession, I think.
>
> Let’s kick around some ideas. And this email can help jump start the
> discussion too.
>
> Mark
> ISCA WEBMASTER
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Diane Jones <diane.jones at borgia.com>
> Date: Mon, Aug 22, 2022 at 3:18 PM
> Subject: Coaching profession
> To: <Mark at rauterkus.com>
>
>
> Hi Mark,
>
> I'm interested in what you are trying to do.
>
> I coach for a small Catholic high school one county west of St. Louis
> County.  We swim at a 6-lane YMCA that is the only indoor pool in a county
> of 105,000 and growing rather quickly.  There isn't much swim culture out
> here.
>
> The young people who were the first generation to do swimming out here are
> now old enough to coach, but it's hard to get anyone to make a commitment.
> The boys' program needed someone in a hurry--I'd worked with the guys for
> three weeks last year.  So I've stepped up.  This is what I've done for the
> girls program too, five years before.  Now I am a 60 year-old woman
> coaching both.
>
> It's cool, I love doing it.  I don't look at the stipend and start
> calculating hours worked and what that turns out to be hourly.  Instead, I
> look at what I can do to help get these kids the best training for their
> skill level, individual attention, etc.  I love and care about kids, and
> that helps me, I think.
>
> I will say that it's a bit daunting to come into this from rec coaching
> other sports.  I had a great masters coach, and I use a lot of those drills
> and sets.  I do have to say that I find a lot of coaching ideas, etc., are
> pretty filled with jargon.  I understand them conceptually, but to apply
> them in a real practice--with no assistant--it's too much for one person.
>
> I really wish there were some materials, especially specific to high school
> coaching.
>
> I do think baby boomers -- I was born in 1962 -- tend to have a strong work
> ethic, and most likely have emptied the nest of their own youth and high
> school athletes.  But there has to be a training path that is more basic,
> and less jargon-filled.  I happen to be a very motivated person, so I've
> gone the extra mile on my own. I think there needs to be training that
> better suits the specific coaching role a person might take.
>
> I've noticed with my own kids just how pervasive club sports have become in
> every sport.  When my older two, now 35 and 33, were middle school age
> playing soccer (and everything else), the big deal was to put together a
> local team to practice in the summer to go to Missouri State Show Me
> Games.  One weekend with hotel.  Done.  By the time my youngest, now 25,
> was that age, the better athletes were doing club soccer--three practices a
> week, far from where we live, lots of games.  We found coaches that were
> highly skilled, but didn't require a year-round commitment.  St. Louis has
> a lot of great soccer tournaments--so we played in the ones we could drive
> to.
>
> The expectation now, too, is that parents are supposed to be there for
> every single game or meet in which their kids are competing.  Multiply that
> by multiple kids, multiple sports, and the expectation is mom and dad will
> be at games/meets most nights of the week between them.  Basketball was the
> same way.  Swimming is getting to be the same way.  When I played field
> hockey and swam in high school, most parents did not come to the games.  I
> graduated in 1980.
>
> The other thing is this "stay to play" tournaments--where a team outside a
> defined geographic range must book at least 8 rooms from a partner hotel,
> as a condition of participation.  These parents then end up out of town
> lots to stay in hotels, rack up expenses.
>
> This puts a strain on everyone.  The young people who have kids of their
> own, the veterans in their 30's and 40's are in the thick of this with
> their own kids.
>
> Meanwhile, I have a 4 year-old granddaughter who started dancing at 3,
> going to field hockey training at 3 (I kid you not.)
>
> Anyway, those are some thoughts I have.
>
> Curious what you are looking at...
>
> Take care,
>
> Diane
>
> --
> Diane Jones
> Varsity Boys & Girls Swim Coach
> St. Francis Borgia High School
> diane.jones at borgia.com
>
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