How to Choose the right group and coach?

With a new season starting I always seem to have a lot of swimmers and families contact me expressing interest in my program.  During those e-mails, phone calls and face to face meetings I like to take the time to explain how I do things. This can be from selecting the right group, to why my groups practice as much or as little as they do, to my expectations and even explaining the dynamics of those swimmers already in my groups. 

I have learned over time I am not the right coach for everyone, as much as I would love to be.  I always suggest that a swimmer and their family come to try out a few practices to get a good feel the commitment.  Participating in just one workout does not give you a good example of what our training or practices are like.  You could choose to come on a day when the group is tapering, doing a drill heavy work out or even on a day when we are doing a test set. And if that is the case any one of these practices does not show you what our season plan will be. 

As a swimmer or family you should be looking for a couple of different things as you are trying to choose the best team/group for you.  First, does the schedule work with your school, after-school activities, family activities, etc.?  Second, does your swimmer seem to connect with the coach in charge of the group and do they respect him/her?  Third, after communicating with the coach do you agree with the direction he/she or the team is going?

Now this seems simple, but if one of these three items does not fit when you are looking at teams the team is probably not going to be a good fit for you.  The reason I say that is if you disagree or do not fulfill one of those items there will be constant strain when it comes to the team and your athlete’s training.  For example, if the schedule does not work and you are missing a lot of practices the coach is not going to be happy and your swimmer is not going to get the most out of their training. 

Now at the same time I have plenty of swimmers come and try out one practice and never return.  As I said before to get a real feel of the team and coach you need to come to more than one practice and I suggest coming for an entire week to get the best feel for the program and coaches. 

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and are to not be a reflection on anyone other than myself.