Coaches Education

ASCA Announces Finalists for George Haines Coach of the Year Award The American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) has announced the five finalists for its annual George Haines Coach of the Year Award. All five coaches guided athletes to medals at the World Championships in Singapore. The finalists...

How Swimmers and Coaches Can Collaboratively Use Information at Their Fingertips We’ve all seen the sports movie. Darkness surrounds our hero, as he studies the greatest athletes in the sport late at night. How can he improve? Will he rise to their level and win it all? It can be applied to almost a...

Should College Swimming Recruits Be Weightlifting? “Colleges don’t want their swimmers to lift before college.” It’s a statement I’ve heard whispered on countless pool decks, murmured through many a swim meet stands, and mumbled during the swim practice carpool.  A belief has long spread across age-...

With just one week left before registration rates increase, the countdown is on for the 2025 ASCA World Clinic presented by Fitter & Faster Swim Camps, the world’s premier professional development event for swim coaches. Regular registration ends July 30, and with new keynote speakers and timely top...

ASCA and Fitter & Faster Swim Camps Announce Top Five Age Group Coaches of the Year The American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) and Fitter & Faster Swim Camps are pleased to announce the Top Five Age Group Coaches of the Year for small, medium and large teams. Congratulations to the following o...

Choosing the right swim school can be overwhelming — especially with so many great programs expanding across the U.S. From nurturing early swim experiences to developing strong stroke technique, the best schools share a commitment to safety, consistency, and confidence-building. Whether you're looki...

The Professional Swim Coach Course Book is a Must-Have for Coaches at All Levels For good reason, support and guidance are sought by professionals in all fields. When a question or issue arises, it is comforting to have an outlet that can provide answers, or a blueprint for how to handle the situati...

ASCA and Fitter & Faster Announce Top-25 Age Group Coaches of the Year The American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) and Fitter & Faster are pleased to announce the 2025 Top 25 Age-Group Coaches of the Year for small, medium and large teams. The results were compiled using a dataset provided by U...

Fun and Effective Kickboard Drills to Enhance Your Swimming Kickboard exercises are a fun way to improve your swimming skills, as well as your strength and endurance in the water as a whole. At first glance, swimmers may get the impression that the only way to use kickboards is for traditional kick ...

Scientific Research Says Music Benefits Athletic Performance Swimmers who listen to music before a race aren’t participating in a mindless task, they are utilizing a scientifically proven method to enhance their performance. Significant research has been conducted to further understand the impact th...

A Letter to Swim Coaches Everywhere: Thank You From the Archive Dear Coach, I would like to begin this letter by asking you a question. A simple, one-word question: Why? Why did you pursue this career? Why do you wake up at the most ungodly hours every day, just to inevitably scream at your swimmers...

It's mid-summer and everyone is in the pool! Now is the time to consider getting your child confident in the water. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4 in the United States, and the second leading cause for kids under 14. That’s why the American Academy of Pedia.....

In this exclusive Q&A, Swimming World Publisher Jack Hallahan speaks with TYR CEO Matt DiLorenzo about the company’s landmark partnership with World Aquatics, the evolving structure of swimming, and where storytelling, sprint formats, and NIL intersect in shaping the sport’s future. For more on NCA....

Dryland Training: Six Exercises to Maintain Fitness During a Break By J.R. Rosania In this article, I have illustrated six exercises that will help both recovery and spark fun. After a season, it’s sensible to take your training down a level, but continue to do enough to maintain fitness. These exer...

Once Largely Dismissed, Data Usage is Taking Swimming Into the Future Russell Mark knew the look before coaches even had to open their mouths.  It was the early 2000s, and Mark had worked his way from a research assistant to a biomechanics analyst with USA Swimming. Using video technology, he prepar...

Winning By a Tenth: Why Starts Matter More Than Ever In swimming, just tenths or even hundredths of a second often separate medalists from non-medalists. The difference between winning and losing, standing on the podium or missing it, or qualifying for a championship final often comes down to a razo...

Whether you swim laps, play water polo, or just enjoy a dip, chlorine can leave you with red eyes, itchy skin, and dry, brittle hair. Meet TRISWIM (10% Discount for SW Readers) TRISWIM’s chlorine removal shampoo is the only personal care line made for all ages and types of swimmers. Formulated to .....

Backstroke to Breaststroke: Which Turn is Right For You? The transition from backstroke to breaststroke in the individual medley has become a major topic of discussion in the swimming world over the past decade. The crossover turn has largely dominated the competitive scene, favored almost unanimous...

New Book 'Get Going! With Competitive Swimming' Offers Insights for All Ages Just in time for the next swim season, author Mike O’Hare is set to launch “Get Going! With Competitive Swimming” — a visual, technique-packed book now available for pre-order, with shipping set to begin May 29. About the B...

Event Specialization and the Case for Varied Training: What Do Coaches Think? As a complement to an article from earlier this week, The Science Behind Specialization, by By Dr. Donald Lee Aivalotis, II, Swimming World runs this piece, which features commentary from several coaches on the topic of yo...