Swiss head coach Meloni detailing coaching philosophy for elite swimming at Paris 2026 teaching clinic

Leading Swiss coach Massimo Meloni supplied an in-depth evaluation of his general method when he held an elite swimming clinic on the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026.

Meloni, head coach on the Swiss Aquatics Training Base group – which incorporates Olympic medallist and a number of brief course world report holder Noe Ponti – was conducting the final of a sequence of coach clinics in several disciplines throughout the framework of the European Aquatics Academy.

His presentation entitled “Beyond the Stopwatch: My Training Philosophy for Elite Swimming” lined three most important areas – Meloni’s coaching philosophy in elite swimming, how he builds efficiency and his view of the athlete/staff relationship.

After detailing his coaching philosophy – “based primarily on two words: consistency and trust” – Meloni went on to handle the perennial matters of method and restoration.

“I don’t believe there’s a perfect swimming technique that works for everyone,” he mentioned.

“Instead, I consider that every athlete should discover their very own method, one that enables them to minimise vitality loss and the resistance their physique encounters within the water, whereas sustaining most effectivity.

“Technique should subsequently be particular person and purposeful for the athlete. And above all, method can’t be separated from efficiency.

“Swimming nicely slowly is comparatively simple. The actual problem is sustaining technical high quality when velocity will increase, when fatigue units in, and when the physique is pushed near its restrict.

“It’s then that we perceive if the method we’ve developed is actually efficient. This is why I consider method and coaching should regularly coexist.

“The scenario is completely different for begins and turns. In these areas, I consider it’s important to hunt extraordinarily exact method, as a result of each element can have a big influence on the ultimate efficiency.

“Training the physique, however above all, constructing the athlete. For me, coaching isn’t simply concerning the physique.

“Training additionally means constructing self-discipline, resilience, endurance and self-confidence.

“It means studying not to surrender when there’s no motivation, once you’re drained, when a exercise doesn’t go in addition to you’d like, or when outcomes are gradual to reach.

“It’s exactly on these days, in my view, that an vital a part of the athlete is constructed. Because when all the things goes nicely, it’s simple to be motivated.

“True growth comes when you have to keep working even when motivation isn’t at its peak.”

Turning to the topic of restoration, Meloni added: “After the Covid interval I started to grasp much more how elementary restoration is to coaching.

“We can’t simply deal with how a lot to coach an athlete. We should additionally ask ourselves how a lot the athlete can soak up what we provide them.

“Recovery isn’t the time once you don’t practice. Recovery is coaching. It’s throughout restoration that the physique assimilates the work completed and that we are able to put together for the following load.

“That’s why today I consider recovery an integral part of training, just like the volume, intensity, technique, and quality of the work.”

He went on to sum up his coaching philosophy:

“My philosophy might be summed up in a number of ideas:

“Train with a aim.

“Progress with endurance.

“Work with high quality.

“Listen to your physique.

“Trust within the journey.

“And construct outcomes that may final over time.

“Because in elite swimming, I don’t consider our job ought to merely be to attain a consequence.

“I consider our job is to construct an athlete able to attaining that consequence and, above all, able to persevering with to enhance over time.

Look out on the EA website for the 2 last areas of research supplied by Meloni in Paris – concerning how he builds efficiency and his view of the athlete/staff relationship.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics