Our team in a college swimming intramural competition harvested six (6) gold, two (2) silver and three (3) bronze medals from twelve swimming events held at Philippine Marines-Navy Swimming Pool-Manila. I guess, this was a great start for a beginner like me as a coach in a swimming competition. There were nine teams competed in the different swimming events. At the end of the competition, our team dominated the league.
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| (photo source: mashable.com) |
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The summary of events and our medals are as follows:
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| Male |
Place |
Female |
Place |
| Freestyle 25m |
Gold |
Freestyle 25m |
Bronze |
| Freestyle 50m |
Gold |
Freestyle 50m |
Silver |
| Breastroke 25m |
No place |
Breastroke 25m |
Gold |
| Backstroke 25m |
Silver |
Backstroke 25m |
Gold |
| Relay Medley |
Bronze |
Relay Medly |
Gold |
| Relay Open |
Bronze |
Relay Open |
Gold |
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| My Swimmers! (photo courtesy of Ms. Cheryll Villareal) |
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The freestyle event (photo courtesy of Ms. Cheryll Villareal)
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In this event, I realized that coaching is really a challenging task. A combination of hardwork, passion and love for the sports is really important. I was blessed because my swimmers are dedicated and fast-learners. It was very hard in the beginning because forty (40 %) percent of them are zero knowledge in swimming when we started the training. But, in four weekends of practice, they improved a lot. And the result is really great.
In coaching, It is a must to know your swimmers in order to maintain their focus and performance during the training and in the actual competition . Let me share some of my personal tips in coaching.
1. Timetable. It is important that your swimmers are ready and skillful enough on the day of the competition
2. Proper nutrition. Performance is optimized when proper nutrition is included.
3. Proper execution versus speed. Speed is maximized if the the swimmers are used to executing the proper swim stroke.
4. Assignment. Take-home task could help them improve even when they are not in the water. There are body exercises that will maximize the muscles for better swimming performance.
Question:
What do you think is the formula of raising a champion swimmer?
