OUR COACHING PHILOSOPHY:
We feel there are four things that we can do as coaches to help develop our swimmers as individuals:

1. The most important thing is to develop their self-image. Staff will continually build the swimmers up; we will be positive and enthusiastic with all team members.

2. Help the team members to understand the importance of being enthusiastic in everything they do.

3. Help team members develop a sense of responsibility for what they do.

4. Teach team members how to deal with the ups and downs of swimming competition.

As an individual and as part of a team, staff will:
Help each individual learn the basics of good swimming strokes, starts and turns. We will do this through group practice, individual instruction and participation in various levels of competition. This will be accomplished by our practice pattern and meet schedule. We plan to emphasize stroke work on the Monday and Wednesday emphasize endurance and conditioning on Tuesday and Thursday. Fridays will be our special emphasis day. We will address items such as starts, turns, finish, the IM, weakest stroke.
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Our goal is to build a solid foundation of swimming skills that can be used throughout their swimming career and beyond. If they swim well, they will eventually swim fast.
Our philosophy concerning participation in swim meets: Swim team members are expected to participate in a minimum of four meets during the summer season. This is for progressive development, this includes at least one each: Time Trial, Dual Meet, and Invitational Meet. We believe there is more to swimming than practice. The "normal" progression within the sport of swimming leads to competition. Swim meets provide a good learning experience for the children. It also provides an opportunity for the coaches to evaluate how effective the coaching has been and how the individual and team is progressing in their learning experience.
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Here are some of the things we’d like our swimmers to learn, and good ways to learn them in swim meets:
#1. We want our swimmers to learn to compete with good sportsmanship.
Some examples of good sportsmanship include saying "good luck" to others before you swim in your heat, and saying "nice swim" after the swim, thanking the timers, and listening to the coach.
#2. We want the swimmers to learn that the race is a learning experience.
We want the swimmer to tell us about the race and what they learned. We want to train the swimmer to talk to the coach before they race and get a last minute reminder, and after the race, go back to the coach to get immediate feedback.
#3. We want our swimmers to learn to race.
To start, swim and finish properly. We do this by reminding them that the race is made up of three or four parts. For 8 & under they are: 1. Dive start; 2. swim; 3. finish. For 9 & older they are: 1. Dive start; 2. swim; 3. turn, 4. finish. The swimmer has to concentrate on each part as they swim their race. We remind them that we want to swim good strokes as fast as possible with a clean finish. Learning to swim good strokes while swimming fast is a challenge!
#4. We want our swimmers to learn that they must compete within the rules.
We do this by explaining the starting procedures, what a false start is and what the rules of the stroke are in order for them to swim legally. In any good learning situation, disqualifications for a major infraction of the rules will happen and the swimmer must learn from them when they do happen. We want them to find out why they were disqualified and learn what they have to do correctly instead.
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For many years, your Head Coach has been an advocate of the philosophy of positive coaching. A few years ago an organization called the "Positive Coaching Alliance" was formed at Stanford University. They have an excellent and informative web site at: www.positivecoach.org it is our recommendation that all parents that have children participating in any organized sporting activity visit this web site.

We are including a couple of statements, "Redefining 'Winner" and "Filling the Emotional Tank", prepared by the Positive Coaching Alliance that reinforces our coaching philosophy.
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REDEFINING WINNER

"A Positive Coach helps players redefine what it means to be a winner through mastery, rather than scoreboard orientation. He/she seeks victory as a by-product of the pursuit of excellence. He/she focuses on effort rather than outcome and on learning rather than comparison to others. He/she recognizes that mistakes are an important and inevitable part of learning and fosters an environment in which players don’t fear making mistakes. While not ignoring the teaching opportunities that mistakes present, he/she teaches players that a key to success is how one responds to mistakes. He/she sets standards of continuous improvement for self and players. He/she encourages the players, whatever their level of ability, to strive to become the best players, and people, they can be. He/she teaches players that a winner is someone who makes maximum effort, continues to learn and improve, and doesn’t let mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop him or her."
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Filling the Emotional Tank

"A Positive Coach is a positive motivator who refuses to motivate through fear, intimidation or shame. He/she recognizes that every player has an "Emotional Tank" like the gas tank of a car. Just as a car with an empty gas tank can’t go very far, players with an empty "Emotional Tank" don’t have the energy to do their best.
A Positive Coach understands that compliments, praise, and positive recognition fill Emotional Tanks. He/she understands the importance of giving truthful and specific feedback and resists the temptation to give praise that is not warranted. When correction is necessary, a Positive Coach communicates criticism to players in ways that don’t undermine their sense of self-worth. A Positive Coach strives to achieve a 5:1 "Plus/Minus Ratio" of praise to correction, recognizing that this allows players to better hear criticisms.
A positive Coach establishes order and maintains discipline in a positive manner. He/she listens to players and involves them in decisions that effect the team. The Positive Coach works to remain positive even when things aren’t going well. He/she recognizes that it is often when things go wrong that a coach can have the most lasting impact and teach the most important lessons. Even in adversity, the Positive Coach refuses to demean him/herself, the players, or the environment. The Positive Coach always treats athletes with respect regardless of how well they perform."
NOTE: The Positive Coach Mental Model emphasizes the construct of the "Emotional Tank" articulated by Ross Campbell in his book How to Really Love Your Child (1977)

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