Blog
The latest news and coaching tips from Gold Class Swimming.
Take Your Coaching to Another Level
Over the next four months we are going to provide all swimming coaches with some gold. Not real gold, but golden ideas to assist swim coaches to better understand two key aspects of coaching which many coaches find difficult to understand. They will be explained in...
Lessons from the Philosophy of Water
You may know this feeling: you wake up to multiple unread notifications on your mobile phone. Your calendar is already packed with meetings, sometimes double- or triple-booked. You feel engaged, you feel busy. In fact, you feel productive. But at the end of it all,...
Sport Psychology
In our latest Swim Parent POD, sport psychologist Megan Davis explained the ins and outs of sport psychology and how what we say to our children can greatly affect them in a positive or negative manner. Today we share a few excerpts from the most recent POD where...
Swim Parent Support
Gold Class Swimming are well known for their swim clinics throughout Australia. With hundreds of swimmers each year participating in them, lead coach Leigh Nugent came to the realisation that while the swimmers and coaches were well supported, a majority of parents...
Parent Patience Required as Pools Re-Open
For a majority of parents and swimmers, the pending re-opening of swimming pools around Australia and in many other countries is a big step back to re-gaining some normality in their life. The announcements that pools can re-open under strict guidelines have started....
Supporting Parents of Competitive Swimmers
The sport of swimming is facing a major disruption around the world due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). With swimming pools closed and social distancing restrictions in place preventing squad training and other social interactions that swim clubs usually provide,...
Kicking Above Water
Over time I have noticed that there is an overwhelming amount of young swimmers who I have witnessed in training kicking above the water. Their feet are spending more timing out of the water than in the water and this is particularly evident when they are on their...
The Essential Elements of Backstroke
What are the essential elements of backstroke? There are some key concepts that all backstroke swimmers should adhere to. Listed below are the essential elements of backstroke. If you would like to see these points discussed in a video format that you can watch over...
Do Your Swimmers Have a Routine
Over the past few months I have been able to get to competitions and observe a variety of athletes from age group through to senior experienced swimmers. A key observation is that the athletes that seem to prepare for their races with routine and walk behind the...
Selecting Appropriate Competitions
Over recent weeks I have been coaching some young children with varying levels of ability, fitness, skill accomplishment and experience and it’s prompted me to write on this topic. In addition to this I have attended a number of competitions which were pitched at...
The Use of Fins
Fins are a very useful piece of equipment for both the developing and the accomplished swimmer. Fins can be used in a variety of ways – provide increased propulsion – provide assistance in an effort to improve stroke technique. – overload the legs when used for high...
Basic Mechanics of Freestyle Kick & Backstroke Kick
The technique for freestyle kick and backstroke kick is based on very similar mechanical principals for each of these strokes. Key points: • The legs are extended. • Significant plantar flexion of the feet is an advantage in generating propulsion. • The leg swings...
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