#make training fun

Teaching swimming lessons to young children can be difficult. They don’t like getting their mouth or nose wet, get eyes wet, and certainly don’t want to submerge. Often they cry just getting splashed, so teaching at that point is not going to happen. Tears are not inevitable but very common. Then I found a Barbie mermaid. I brought the Barbie Mermaid to the pool for my lessons because I thought…

I legit registered in the first ten minutes the link went live but could only get an audit spot. The working spots sold out that fast. But I was informed I was second in the wait-list so I've been holding out hope.

Just got an email that a working spot opened so of course I jumped on it.

Super excited because the topic is play as a primary reinforcer! I've been shifting my training, with both my dogs personally and with client dogs, to be more play heavy. It's an ongoing goal of mine to make training more fun for the dog and I'm so happy to have this opportunity.

As everyone gets longer in the tooth as a coach you always wonder if you did a good job. Was I a mentor? Was I a caring adult? Did my time with each young person become an important moment in their early life? Today I received this wonderful note from a swimmer from my very first coaching post: I didn’t want to reveal the name of the club for privacy The great feeling this gave me has really…

Every once in a while we all come across something that works very well.  This is one of those things and I want to share it.  I have found that making board games into a poolside game will get swimmers very excited about swimming.  I use this Snakes & Ladders Game for our warm ups. There are a few versions of this board game that I have made but the various deviations that are possible are…

We all have our critical items in our coaching bag: a phone, a stopwatch, likely a ledger with your plan, some flip-flops, and then various highlighters, pens and paraphernalia. (And a face mask!) There is one more thing you need at every session. Before I reveal the last item, follow this hypothetical story; You have been exceptionally busy in your working day and now you rush to the pool,…

Technique or Training. Chicken or Egg?

What is more important: endurance or technique?  To me there is no ‘chicken or egg question’ in the debate of what should be the priority between high mileage or technique.  Technique must always come first and always be the focus.  I will tell you why I feel this way.

I would take it further and say that technique can be both the chicken and the egg.

Many coaches will agree with the importance…

Sometimes our mind can get in the way.  I remember my coach in Calgary Deryk Snelling saying, ‘keep your head in your own lane’.  It was one of those maxims that was easier said than done, but certainly important.  I’m sure you’ve been in a race and you’ve gone out too fast and someone is bearing down on your lead; then it’s very hard to keep your head in your lane.

Sometimes it isn’t even…