Developing your skills as a coach

Intrerested in becoming a club coach? Want to take your coaching to the next step? As a coach, you inspire and deliver success at every level. If you would like to consider coaching, come and speak to a member of our coaching team before doing anything else. They will give you advice, get you on poolside helping, and take you through your coaching journey.

 

How to become a qualified coach

All coaching courses are done through the Institute of Swimming (the education arm of SwimEngland). Head to the Institute of Swimming website to learn more, find and book a course.

There are three tiered qualifications:

1) Assistant Coach

2) Swimming Coach

3) Senior Swimming Coach

 

 

Assistant Coach Qualification

Coach training is  from the Institute of Swimming (the Education and Training department of SwimEngland), who help you make aquatic sports more enjoyable for more people.  The course will equip you with the knowledge and tools to actively support a Swim England Swimming Coach.

Latest training

They have combined our expertise with Aquatics GB and Swim England to develop an exciting coaching programme. Exclusive to Institute of Swimming. Leading coaches in their fields developed the framework for each discipline. This means all content is specific. The coach training programme contains the most relevant and up to date training techniques. Continual reviews keep it fresh.

Defined pathways to success

This programme gives you the tools to apply this knowledge to coaching athletes at all levels; improving their performance while keeping them committed to the sport. Each discipline has its own pathway taking you from Assistant Coach, Coach to Senior Coach.

 

 

Swimming Coach Qualification

After becoming an Assistant Swimming Coach, the next qualification builds on the Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach certificate, developing your knowledge and skills ahead of becoming an independent swimming coach.

This course builds on the Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach certificate, developing your knowledge, skills and abilities ahead of becoming an independent swimming coach or fulfilling a Head Coach role within a club setting aligned with Swim England club membership categories.

Who is the course designed for?

Anyone who has a Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach certificate who wants to become an independent coach or fulfilling a Head Coach role within a club setting.

Course content

The course is delivered through a mixture of e-learning, zoom classroom activities and practical poolside learning. You will participate in training sessions, coaching swimmers at county standard and above, to gain hands-on practical experience.

You will learn about:

  • Roles and responsibilities of a Swimming Coach
  • Understand the legal requirements of coaching swimming
  • Impact of the Athlete Development Support Pathway in competitive swimming
  • Physical literacy in swimming
  • Scientific principles of competitive swimming
  • Competitive swimming skills
  • Types of training used to develop swimmers
  • Planning, delivery and evaluation of a series of sessions
  • Effective management in training and competition
  • Communication skills within the swimming coaching environment
  • Motivational techniques
  • Developing swimming skills and competitive swimming strokes
  • Evaluating swimmer progress
  • Reflecting and evaluating on own performance
  • Planning for professional development

Prerequisites

You must be at least 18 years of age and hold the Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach, ASA Level 1 Award (QCF) in Coaching Swimming or equivalent Swim England/ASA qualification.

To complete the course you need:

  • To have been coaching regularly over the last three months and be linked to a swimming club with access to 3 sessions per week so you can complete your off-course assessment.
  • Have access to swimmers that sit within two different stages of the Athlete Development Support Pathway (ADSP) i.e training to train and above, over the course of a 6 week mesocycle.
  • To be working with a coaching assistant and have knowledge and experience of current coaching best practices.
  • Have access to a computer or tablet to complete the online learning elements of the course.

Training Format

Blended Learning

This course allows you to make the most of learning online and will cover the course theory through interactive e-learning and live zoom webinars. E-learning allows you to work through the content at your own pace while the zoom webinars will be with the rest of your course cohort and from the comfort of your own home. Once you get to the venue, you’ll have pool-based practical work, session delivery and assessment to complete.

 

 

Senior Swimming Coach Qualification

This qualification develops the skills to plan, deliver and evaluate long-term competitive coaching programmes. 

Great coaches shape and enrich the lives of those participating in our aquatic sports. They are the life-blood of our clubs and sports programmes; providing guidance, support and encouragement in order to help people to achieve their personal goals and aspirations.

Great coaching is central to our Swim England vision, Championing a healthy and successful nation through swimming and the mission to Improve the health and success of the nation by enabling access to aquatics for all.

Swim England Senior Coach Programme

The Senior Coach programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to be able to create and deliver a holistic, individualised development programmes which optimise the potential of aspiring athletes, at both youth and senior level.

This year-long programme is delivered through a blend of online learning and face to face workshops. You will also be assigned a mentor who will provide bespoke in situ support throughout the duration of the course.

In order to achieve this certificate, you will be also expected to complete a series of assessment tasks to ensure that effective learning and development has taken place.

The full programme cost is over £2,000.

Who is the course designed for?

The Swim England Senior Swimming Coach programme is for Swim England Swimming Coaches leading a squad of swimmers throughout their programme. Please see the prerequisites below.

Prerequisites

Before starting your application please make sure you meet the following pre-requisite criteria;

  • Be at least 19 years of age at the start of the course.
  • Hold a valid enhanced DBS and Safeguarding certificate as per SwimMark criteria.
  • Hold a Swim England Swimming Coach Certificate (or equivalent).
  • Have a minimum of 12 months experience as a qualified swimming coach.
  • Listed on the Swim England Club Personnel Record (Teaching and Coaching Register).
  • Coach at a SwimMark or Stronger Affiliation accredited club.
  • Currently coaching for at least 10 hours per week, spanning a minimum of 5 sessions, with the same group of swimmers and can guarantee this will continue into the season.
  • Be the lead coach for a squad of swimmers throughout the programme duration and working with swimmers who are competing at regional level or above.  *You will need to provide evidence that you have coached at least five swimmers to regional or national standard and evidence that you will continue to coach at this level for the duration of the programme. Swimmers must be aged 13 years and over.

Please do not apply if you do not meet the above pre-requisites. 

Applicants must commit to attending all sessions including the induction day and all 4 learning days, as well as completing the programme within 12 months.

Application Priority Criteria

Due to the high volume of applicants we receive, in addition to the criteria above priority will be given to coaches as follows:

  • Coaches who are the Head Coach of their club.
  • Coaches who can demonstrate their proactive approach to engaging with opportunities for ongoing learning; for example Talent Pathway coaching roles, Swim England Regional/ National conferences etc.

*Consideration will also be given to the geographical landscape in order to ensure that we have adequate coverage of swimming and para-swimming programmes that can offer a performance environment that can effectively cater for the needs of our aspiring athletes.

*The quality of the application in general will be taken into account and background checks will be carried out as part of the screening process.