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.

We work with Swim England to provide subsidised coaching courses for their clubs. These courses are arranged in partnership with  Swim England’s regional teams. If you can not see a course in your area, please contact your local regional team to express your interest.

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.