Unveiling the Enchantment: The Hidden Allure of Holiday ‘Visiting Swimmers’

To the trainers of visiting swimmers:

The holiday travelers, those returning from colleges, the spring vacationers, the summer holiday-goers. These swimmers require a facility to practice, as we cannot anticipate swimmers to be tethered to their local pools and clubs every day of the year.

However, coaches of traveling swimmers are not merely temporary fixes. They aren’t just a warm presence with a large container of water nearby.

The connection between the visiting swimmer and the hosting coach is distinct, and it is one brimming with potential for both parties.

At this juncture of the season, it can be easy for athletes and indeed, coaches, to lose focus, to take it easy, to create simple workout sets, and to lessen their underwater dolphin kicks. We’ve all committed this error. There’s a lot happening during this time of year.

Yet simultaneously, this period is vital for the season’s progression, the midpoint, the ‘first turn,’ if you will, leading up to significant spring and summer championship events.

Once, an experienced coach who trained at the YMCA where I practiced visited to offer some guest coaching. Some of you might remember Bruce Rollins, a prominent figure in Texas private school coaching, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

At one moment, knowing that he had delivered advice that I had shared throughout the year, he winked after takeoff and remarked to me, “sometimes the finest coach is the one who is 5 miles away.”

His observation held true. Occasionally, athletes become weary of listening to the same coach. They grow tired of the rhythm, the humor, the workout demands, even the terminology.

At times, a ‘new coach’ is precisely what they require, especially a young swimmer deep into winter training, to rekindle the learning areas of their minds. For these visiting coaches, it’s also a chance to assess what you do and how you convey it.

It’s a marvelous cycle of feedback. Envision a swimmer arriving at your pool from a true powerhouse club like Carmel or Sandpipers or NCAP. Picture the opportunity to observe how that swimmer operates, how they approach a practice.

Even if the visiting swimmer is not affiliated with that program, it presents your athletes the opportunity to compete against a new swimmer. Perhaps the holidays provide a chance to incorporate some relays, something competitive, something innovative and refreshing for your entire team that displaces them from their regular routines. If they are collegiate swimmers returning home, utilize them to inspire your current swimmers about their upcoming objectives and aspirations.

Don’t underestimate this chance.

The most effective coaches are consistently seeking such opportunities to re-engage their athletes. High engagement is the ultimate superpower of the top coaches, and can compensate for numerous educational gaps in physiology or psychology or coaching theory. 

Although college swim camps may not always host superstar coaches, they provide a platform to engage athletes in an entirely different manner, encouraging them to immerse fully as swimmers for a week. That’s what creates a memorable experience for the athletes; that’s the magic potion that enhances their performance. Holiday training can harness this as well.

In a sense, this might be a chance to give athletes a mental break without interrupting their training. There’s a reason Leon and Ceccon plan to travel to Australia for a while after the Olympics.

So to these coaches, particularly those in warmer states like Florida, Arizona, and California that receive numerous holiday visitors, thank you for taking this responsibility earnestly.

And to the swimmers: permit yourself to engage and appreciate. You will acquire some knowledge. Some of that knowledge will be beneficial once you return home, some may not be, but if you approach it correctly, and quickly adapt, you will possess more of those tools in your toolkit that the world’s most accomplished coach of the moment, Bob Bowman, often discusses, along with some new acquaintances across another state.

That’s truly awesome, and something I wish all swimmers could experience.

It may not align precisely with what you’re accustomed to, and depending on your age and skill level, you may or may not discern where your visiting program excels or falls short. But just embrace it for a couple of weeks. Relish the journey. Don’t overanalyze it. Go swim.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays, and for those traveling away from home, safe journeys.