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OCTOBER 2015
STREAMLINES for Coaches

Online coaching applications are now open. See below for more information and lots of other good stuff and useful resources. 

Swimming for Life,
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming
Congratulations, Marty Hendrick
2015 Speedo/USMS Coach of the Year 
SpeedoUSMS Coach of the Year 2015 Marty Hendrick
Each year USMS and partner Speedo honor a coach who exemplifies the highest standards in Masters coaching, including growth and development of Masters swimming with an all-inclusive approach, one that welcomes swimmers of all levels and abilities. This year's Speedo USMS Coach of the Year is Marty Hendrick (Swim Fort Lauderdale). 

Hendrick is a passionate coach who has led the Swim Fort Lauderdale club, which received the Club of the Year award in 2015, for the past 10 years. He encourages all of his swimmers to compete in events, but also leaves the door open for swimmers who aren't competitive. He told the Florida Swim Network in August that, "SFTL offers a welcoming environment where each member is a part of a team... we are a family!" That family really stuck together this year and reaped the rewards--60 STFL swimmers competed at the 2015 USMS Summer National Championship, and the club won the meet.

You can read more about Hendrick and his rise to Masters coaching success online here.

Know a great coach? Nominate him or her for the 2016 Speedo/USMS Coach of the Year award. Details are posted on our awards page
Online Coaching Applications Now Available
Want to reach a bigger audience with your workouts?
Online workouts
The U.S. Masters Swimming Online Coaching program provides regular, themed practices from qualified coaches to interested swimmers through the USMS website. The practice program runs for the full calendar year. If you're interested in applying, please send your CV, a sample workout, and the type of workouts you'd like to write for 2016 to the Coaches Committee.
 
Applicants should have a clearly defined and stated program theme in one of seven areas:
  • Basic Training
  • Triathlon Training
  • High Intensity
  • Open Water
  • Stroke and IM
  • Expectant Mothers and Limited Mobility
  • High Volume
Your workouts should provide appropriate content for swimmers of varied skills and should include a glossary to clarify technical terms. Your program must include at least four practices per week, which must be posted at least weekly, directly on the USMS website in the dedicated area of the USMS Discussion Forums (not linked to an external website). Selected coaches will receive a stipend for their time. 
 
Still interested? Contact the Coaches Committee today!

Paddle-on-Head Drill
Coach Laurie Hug uses paddles creatively to improve swimmers' body position
FINIS Agility Paddles
Last year at the USA Triathlon Art & Science of Coaching Symposium, the High Performance Director for USA Pentathlon, Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas (aka Dr. G.), presented his favorite freestyle drill. It soon became my favorite as well. I call it "Paddle-On-Head Drill" but I have seen it referred to as the "Top Hat Drill" elsewhere, too. It helps swimmers maintain a straight head and body position during freestyle.

Continue reading >>>

Improve Coordination and Balance
Chris Ritter coaches swimmers with single-leg squat progressions for improved performance
Peter H. Bick image backstroke swimmer
Coordination and balance are signs of strength and are tied to vitality and overall quality of life, not just athletic performance. Working on coordination and balance is an important part of strength-training regimens, especially for adult athletes as they experience age-related muscle loss. 

Continue reading >>>

Convention 2015
Congratulations to Kerry O'Brien Coaching Award recipients
Convention
Another annual meeting has concluded and a lot of important work was done in the House of Delegates. Big congratulations are in order for this year's Kerry O'Brien Coaches Award winners who are building our membership in communities throughout the country:
If you missed the convention or couldn't make a particular committee meeting, you can catch up on everything by accessing the minutes online. Many thanks to the volunteers who spent their time and enthusiasm helping U.S. Masters Swimming grow and move forward. For more information on award recipients and newly elected officers, check out the press release. Special congratulations to our new president, Patty Miller, who takes over for outgoing two-term president Nadine Day. 

Nominations for 2016 awards are now open. See our awards information page for details on how to nominate someone and deadlines for nominations. 
Club Registrations Now Open
Club contacts and coaches: Make sure your club is listed
silver-keyboard.jpg, typing
Every club contact will receive an email with a renewal link in the first week of October that will allow the club to renew its membership online with a credit card.
 
It's important to have your club registered before November 1 because on that date, individual members can begin registering or renewing with USMS for the 2016 membership year. If your club is not registered, it will not appear in the pull-down lists and your members will not be able to register with you.
 
If your club cannot renew online, please contact your local registrar. Don't know who that is? Check out our online map

The Discounts are Coming!
Members renewing early will get money-saving discounts
Goggle Dog
Starting on November 1, we will once again be offering our Early Registration Discounts for members renewing or joining USMS between November 1 and December 31. This year's discounts will include: 
  • Aqua Sphere - 20%
  • FINIS - 25%
  • Speedo* - 30%
  • TRISWIM - 40%
  • TYR* - 30%
  • Swimoutlet* - 15%
*Restrictions apply. See next month's issue of STREAMLINES for more information.

3000/6000 ePostals Now Open
Coaches: Use these events for team-building and fitness
The 3000 and 6000 ePostal events kicked off on September 15. These two National Championship events can be completed in any 25-yard or 25-meter pool, making it convenient for your whole club to participate together. Many coaches dedicate a workout session or two specifically for swimmers looking to take part and have found it's a great way to build team spirit as swimmers count and cheer for each other. Full details are posted online and swimmers have until Nov. 15 to complete their swims. Submit your results by Nov. 25 and have fun swimming!

What Rule is THAT?!
Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair, answers your questions
The Coach Asks: Is it possible to swim a medley relay and submit that same time from the medley relay for the freestyle relay without swimming the free relay event (since in freestyle a swimmer can do any stroke)?
 
Answer: No, the time from a medley relay cannot also be submitted as a time for the freestyle relay. The swimmers would have to enter and compete legally in a freestyle relay in order to get an official time for the free relay. On the flip side, if the swimmers do the medley relay during the freestyle relay event, that time would only be considered as a freestyle relay time, not a medley relay time. 103.18.2 addresses both scenarios, "An official time for an event or stroke can be achieved only in that event or stroke, or in an initial distance of such event or stroke (e.g., backstroke time must be achieved in a backstroke event or a butterfly time can be achieved in an individual medley event). Regardless of the stroke(s) used, times achieved in freestyle events can be recorded only as freestyle times."

All rule references are from the 2015 USMS Rule Book. For any questions about competition rules in Part 1, contact Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair.

Questions from Coaches
Bill Brenner, Education Director, answers your questions
Q: I attended this year's USMS convention in Kansas City, Mo. During the coaches committee meeting, you asked the Masters coaches to encourage their LMSCs to sponsor an official stroke development clinic. How can I help bring a clinic to my LMSC?

A: Stroke development clinics are a very popular resource for Masters swimmers and coaches. USMS Education Services conducts the 2- to 3-hour clinic in conjunction with the Masters Coach Certification courses. Exit surveys from the Coach Certification courses have indicated a large demand from coaches for more on-deck educational opportunities. Masters swimmers, particularly those who swim without an experienced coach, attend the stroke clinic looking for help improving technique, learning a new stroke, increasing stroke efficiency, and speed.

The USMS Masters Coach Certification Course is typically held on a Saturday. At the request of the LMSC, USMS Education Services will provide instructors to conduct the stroke clinic the following day. Any designated USMS certified Masters coach who would like to be on deck for the clinic may do so free of charge. If the coach would rather participate from in the water, he is required to pay the same nominal fee the swimmers in the clinic are charged.

The LMSC must fulfill two requirements:
  1. The LMSC must be willing to offer some level of scholarship assistance for the coaches registered within the LMSC to attend the USMS Masters Coach Certification Course offered that weekend.
  2. The LMSC is responsible for securing the pool for the stroke clinic and pay for the pool rental, if necessary. Pool time is sometimes donated by a local club or workout group in many LMSCs.
Benefits of the stroke development clinic include:
  • Continuing education for Masters coaches
  • Teaching Masters coaches how to conduct a stroke clinic
  • Networking opportunity for coaches to meet other local Masters coaches
  • Recruiting and retaining members
  • Adding value to USMS/LMSC membership
  • Introducing Masters coaches and swimmers to new training techniques
  • Inviting lap swimmers to experience the social benefits of Masters swimming and the benefit of having a coach on deck
  • Improving swimmers' technique and efficiency
  • Learning new drills
  • Learning how to use swim equipment properly and creatively
  • Hearing a different voice explain the "how" and the "why" of stroke correction and changes
Please contact your LMSC leadership and ask them to consider sponsoring a USMS stroke development clinic. Make your request as soon as possible so the LMSC may consider your request and budget accordingly. The Masters Coach Certification Course schedule is posted online. Any questions or concerns from your LMSC may be addressed to my office.

Working together, we can continue to improve the Masters swimming coaching profession and create enhanced benefits for our coaches and athletes.  

Questions about growing your club, managing club business, or becoming a better coach? Education Director Bill Brenner has answers.

Want to read past questions? Then check out Bill Brenner's "Questions from Coaches" blog, and see if he's already found solutions to your coaching quandaries.

Coach Certification Schedule
Upcoming Coach Certification Classes
Want to become a better coach? Then get certified and up-to-speed on the latest coaching techniques. Our Education Department offers certification classes for coaches who want to become Level 1, 2, or 3 certified in various cities all over the country.

See the full list of class dates and locations on our Coach Certification Schedule page



ALTS Instructor Certification Schedule
Upcoming ALTS Instructor Certification Classes
Our innovative, one-day Adult Learn-to-Swim Instructor Certification Course begins with several hours of classroom training in how to approach the various types of adult nonswimmers you might come across while offering lessons. After talking theory in the classroom, all attendees have an opportunity to practice what they've just learned in the pool. At the conclusion of the class, you'll be a certified USMS ALTS instructor, ready to help people who come to you for swimming lessons.
 
More information about the course is available online along with a schedule of upcoming classes around the country. Please check the schedule frequently, as we're constantly adding new dates and locations.

Quick Links and Resources for Coaches

 

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About U.S. Masters Swimming
U.S. Masters Swimming, founded in 1970, is a membership-operated national governing body that promotes health, wellness, fitness, and competition for adults through swimming. It does so by partnering with more than 1,500 adult swim programs across the country; promoting information via the bimonthly member magazine, SWIMMER, monthly e-newsletters, STREAMLINES, and website, usms.org; and by sanctioning and promoting pool, open water, and virtual events and competitions. Nearly 60,000 adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming.
About STREAMLINES for Coaches
U.S. Masters Swimming encourages all U.S. Masters Swimming coaches to subscribe to STREAMLINES for Coaches. However, if you'd rather not receive this update, please do not click the "SafeUnsubscribe" link, as that will remove you from all other USMS National Office mailings. Rather, click on the "Update Profile/Email Address" link to manage your subscriptions to U.S. Masters Swimming electronic communications.
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