One of the mistakes that I make as a coach is to think that everything is going to be OK once a student demonstrates that they can do “it” in a lesson. I am finding that an area of improvement for me is following up with students so we don’t assume that it’s happily ever after just because they have been swimming better. I am now seeing that we tend to slip back into old habits or slip into new weak habits while thinking that we have had our class or lesson and everything is going to be fine.

As a student reminds me, if this were golf or tennis we would know our stroke was not right yet because the ball goes off course. There is no immediate feedback like the ball going left or right with every stroke we take in the water.
Attention swimming product manufacturers of the world, the first one who can make the kind of product that gives us stroke feedback immediately as verifiable as a golf ball hooking will have a worthwhile product for swimmers.

Yet even my ability to see my ball go left or right has not perfected my golf stroke. If seeing the ball go off course made me a better golfer, I would be improving faster than Tiger Woods who hits the ball straighter than I do. Tiger Woods has a golf coach and I do not. Now, how does that make sense?

When it comes to golf, I would need a coach or an instructor more than once a year to expect a positive, lasting change in my golf game. Once may only be enough to let me know the top things that I am doing poorly. I would need a coach weekly or biweekly to go beyond knowledge of what I am doing wrong.

If you are improving with a knowledgeable swim coach, stay with the coach and your program.

If you are not improving and want to improve find a coach or change to a coach who is really good for you. A good coach will challenge an adult more mentally than physically. A good coach will be able to relay an idea to you in several different ways and mediums. A good coach will also listen to you to pick up when you are doing something correctly or thinking of something in the correct way and in your own language.

Alas, good coaches don’t last forever. Life changes and they or you move out of the area in one way or another. If you really want to get good at swimming, find a good coach and stick with improvement.