Revised 02-21-09
In so many ways,
"COACHES" are the life-blood of
sport. It is especially so with the sport of SKWIM. Great
athletes can increase popularity of a sport temporarily, but
it is the coaches that cement a sport into culture. Coaches
help chisel character into our youth and young adults; guiding them
to new heights in play, by impacting who they are as people. The
“Spirit” of SKWIM therefore lives and breathes through
good coaching. Like the steeple of a cathedral, a good SKWIM
Coach is the “Spire” of the local SKWIM community; easy
to find, “inspiring” great teamwork, and helping save
lives.
SKWIM is loads of fun but always balanced
with safety, and tempered with respect for the welfare of
everyone in the water. It’s tragic, but on
average, each day in the U.S. alone, 10 people drown due to a
water related accident and another 40 are hospitalized, many of
which are left with a permanent disability, (CDC
2007). Some of these accidents could have been avoided
if the person had been an experienced swimmer, or better
understood his or her limitations around water. Coaching SKWIM
is all about building water-safe, water-smart, water-strong
community; it s about helping save lives!
Coaches that develop out a quality SKWIM
program understand the balance with fun, fitness and safety,
and the temperance needed regarding play. SKWIM is a fast paced,
non-contact sport, similar in tempo to basketball or
soccer. Key aspects of temperance in SKWIM include: Disk Play,
Defensive play, and Offensive Play, which will be covered under the
Safety and Coaching sections.
Do you hear the call to help coach SKWIM?
Coaching does not require great swimming skills. A separate
lifeguard is required on deck during all SKWIM practices and games,
to supervise the pool use. Coaches can focus on
coaching. If you have a passion for the water, reasonable
swimming skill, and some previous coaching, mentoring, or
counseling experience, you may qualify! If you have not been
swimming lately but want to coach that’s OK.
SKWIM is designed for the greater population which is not in the
water regularly. You will need to start playing
SKWIM yourself to understand the nuances of the
sport. You will gradually become stronger along with your
team, while you enjoy this fast-growing sport.
SKWIM is played with comfortable customized
swim fins (Positive Drive Fins or “PDF”) for your feet
that enable beginning and average swimmers to compete with
confidence, and good swimmers to perform at much higher
levels! Coaching with PDF Fins will enable you
to swim with ease while you coach.
Experience is not necessary, but
communication and enthusiasm mandatory! In just a few hours a
week, you can improve lives and help blend water-safety with an
exciting sport. Historically, water sport competition has been
for the elite few. The majority of the population has been
left out of competitive participation in the water. Now there
is a dynamic team water-sport which enables all members of
community to play! Its not about being the fastest, its about being
one with the team. Its SKWIM! But we need coaches like
you to help it grow.
What will I need to be a great
SKWIM Coach?
1)
A completed background check on file with your chosen pool
location
2)
A desire to make a positive difference in other people’s
lives
3)
A growing “spirit” for the sport of SKWIM and its core
principles of Grace and Excellence
4)
A great passion for aquatics and water safety.
5)
Enjoyment and satisfaction from teaching physical education,
kinesiology, and ergonomics (the basics, no kinesiology degree
mandatory J)
6)
Growing knowledge of offensive and defensive strategies of
SKWIM
7)
An understanding of SKWIM rules and regulations
8)
Familiarity with SKWIM equipment, set-up, and care
9)
Familiarity helping players with PDF fin sizing and
“fit” and adjustment
10)A growing network of local pool owners,
managers, and aquatic directors
11)2-6 hours a week available for coaching,
studying and SKWIM networking
Where can I go to coach a SKWIM
Team?
1)
If your local pool has a SKWIM team started, they will very soon
need a second coach for an additional youth, teen, or adult team.
Inquire within and be enthusiastic. Play in a few adult games
and get your feet wet.
2)
For a new SKWIM prospective location, pick the pool that is closest
to your home or work. Make coaching a convenient way to get both
your exercise and participate in community service.
3)
Its best if the pool has 6 or more lanes and at least a 25 yard
course, so the pool can be shared. If only 4 lanes, it can
work, but SKWIM will take most of the space.
Starting SKWIM in your area
!
1)
Drop by your local pool and tell them about SKWIM. Once you
reveal the Advantages of SKWIM Programming, the
SKWIM wheels begin to turn!
2)
Direct them to the SKWIM Website and show them around.
3)
Your local pool staff may have already heard of SKWIM….and
waiting for someone like you to volunteer to coach!
4)
Offer to host an in-service game for the pool staff so that they
can experience SKWIM. An In-Service is a monthly training meeting
for the pool staff. SKWIM is an excellent
“team-building” sport for pool staff in-service events,
and a great workout! You can participate as player coach
and/or Be the Official. It will give you
practice applying the rules and implementing calls. Be strict on
aggressive play, but be lenient on other rules to start. Like any
sport you have to allow some “innocent” rule violations
at the beginning. (Just imagine a group playing basketball or
soccer for the very first time J) Gradually as
the game progresses in the first 10 minutes, you can gently
reinforce and explain more rules.
5)
Offer to facilitate SKWIM for your local competitive swim team, as
a team-building reward from swim training. Invite the swim
team coach to observe, or to play in the staff
SKWIMMAGE.
6)
Once people have played, suggest a time slot for SKWIM each week at
the pool.
7)
Start with asking for just 3-4 lanes, one hour a week, in the
afternoon or early evening during open or public swim
time.
8)
VERY IMPORTANT: Piggyback SKWIM
! Start SKWIM in just 3 or 4 lanes
wide. Be sure to share the pool with an existing program, such
as public swim, open swim, lap swim, so that SKWIM has an
audience! Therefore SKWIM can “share” an existing
recreation program and does not need its own time slot to start a
program. This sounds tough to do but it is a sure-fired way to make
SKWIM visible to the community. Work with the pool director to
pick a time that can fit SKWIM in, without compromising the other
program. You may find a few early evening programs that
under-utilize the pool space. It may ruffle some
feathers the first time. Remember, you only need 3 lanes for
45-60 minutes once a week, to start the
program.
9)
Make sure you have someone designated to help you set up the SKWIM
system. If so, set up time can be 5 minutes.
10)SKWIM will start to grow in the very first
session. Invite anyone at any age to play; families,
individuals, groups and friends. Take the time to explain the
use of the fins and the disks.
11)SEE SKWIM RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR COACHING
DETAILS
When can I start Coaching
SKWIM?
12)You can start today. Call us to discuss
your interest and the opportunity.
15)Start with our condensed “RULES and
REGULATIONS” page.
16)View our online videos and photos and study the
nuances of SKWIM.
17) Tap into the techniques and drills of
SKWIM and understand why SKWIM is the fastest growing water-sport
in America.
1)
In just 2-3 hours a week, you can help build water-safe,
water-smart, water-strong community! Without
being a lifeguard, you can help save
lives.
2)
The sport of SKWIM is designed to help people, young and old, learn
to compete in the water. Interactive competition is perhaps
the single best way to gain strength, stamina, confidence, and
experience in the water. As coach, you facilitate
and encourage the team to learn SKWIM and therefore enhance their
swimming expertise.
3)
You can share this coaching experience with a special
player: your child, your spouse, or a friend, and make it your
time together!
4)
Your time is extremely valuable! That is why we encourage
coaching from the water. As coach, this water-class is free to
you. Get your weekly exercise as you coach. There is no better
way to get a balanced workout than to Swim with SKWIM fins.
A lifeguard will always be on-deck for you, monitoring all
participants. Teach the drills and techniques by example.
SKWIMMAGE with the team. No matter what your skill level,
attempt to lead by example. Before long many of the
players will surpass you in skill, grace and
excellence. That is a great day to behold, and a time to
measure and tune your coaching style. Congratulations!
1)
SKWIM is coached, officiated, practiced and played with
Grace &
Excellence!
a.
Grace….learning to use the gifts
we have, with respect for the game, and all
participants
b.
Excellence....striving for the best in
others, and yourself, at all levels of play.
2)
Get to know the Rules, Regulations, and Equipment of
SKWIM
3)
Coaching SKWIM is very similar to coaching other team sports such
as soccer, basketball, and many of the same techniques and drills
can be applied.
4)
You will have access to short online weekly coaching tips
that are fast and easy to learn. SKWIM is designed to be
intuitive.
5)
Be committed. Give it all you have for those few hours per
week. Be a little early for practice and leave a little
late. Parents and friends of SKWIM will want to get to know
you, so offer some time. Show Grace & Excellence always,
and it will rub-off on the players! It will also rub-off on
the rest of your day!
6)
Whether coaching youth or adults, offer your background check
information early-on in your discussions with a public or private
pool, or aquatic facility.
SKWIM is about Grace &
Excellence both in and out of the water. These
two attributes are reflected in the way the game is coached,
officiated, practiced and played. SKWIM is a non-contact team
sport, yet, also a full-mind and whole-body
competition, with oneself and one’s opponent. Coaching with
Grace & Excellence sets a high expectation for each
player’s behavior and performance. Expect the very best
from your players. Youth and adults tend to rise to expectations
and are attracted to grace and excellence and a positive attitude.
Look for the best in all your players , and instruct for the
best. Coach the positive in what gains results for the team.
Spend little time discussing poor behavior or
technique. Always correct with the positive and Toward
Grace and Excellence . You have little time with your
team. Use it wisely.
Great coaches care about others, can convey a
simple message, live by example, and find joy in hard work. You may
be a parent, a friend, a lifeguard, a teacher. If you are
interested in joining our coaching or officiating team at SKWIM
Northwest, or SKWIM International, please contact us at the
above contact icon.
SOME REASONS WHY SKWIM HELPS SAVE
LIVES
SKWIM is more than just a fun easy-entry
water sport. It is also a precursor to
live-saving. The following are the ways in which SKWIM skills
can carry over to live-saving and water-safety
technique:
1)
In SKWIM, players are required to be highly aware of all other
players in the lagoon.
2)
Players swim predominantly “head-high” so as not to
loose sight of the disk and other players.
3)
Players are often required to sprint to the disk side by
side, in close proximity with others in the water.
4)
Players are required to work cooperatively in the water with
teammates in sometimes difficult conditions and sometimes in a
state of fatigue.
5)
Players press their limitations in the water and understand when it
is wise to ask for support or substitution. Limitations in the
water are experienced and expanded under lifeguard
supervision.
6)
Players learn to pace themselves and to understand aquatic
anaerobic and aerobic function.
7)
Players learn to work above water and underwater, installing
the goals and securing anchorage for the goals.
8) Players learn multitasking
and dexterity in the water playing with the disk, while also
swimming.
9) Players learn
to swim with swim fins and understand the safety advantages
thereof.
BUILDING WATER-SAFE, WATER-SMART,
WATER-STRONG COMMUNITY
