SWIMMING GOLD

6:01

5 a.m. In A Swimming Household.

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/02/05

By Wayne GoldsmithThis is without doubt my favorite story to tell when I do Club visits, swimming parents workshops and coaching clinics: The 5 a.m. In A Swimming Household story.Please share this with every swimming parent you know.It is a funny story - but in my experience - having done hundreds of swimming club visits all over the world - it’s also very very true.The bottom line - the key message to all swimming parents is this: STOP HELPING YOUR KIDS.What I mean by that is continue to love them

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7:09

If They Swim 4, You Walk 5.

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/02/02

By Wayne GoldsmithI’ve been to over 1000 swimming pools.Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji Islands, USA, South Korea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, England, The Isle of Man, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Greece and Italy - and a few more places I’ve probably forgotten.And the “default” version of coaching swimming is the same in 90% of the places I visit: Coaches standing at the end of the pool yelling numbers

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5:23

25 Years Later

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/30

Coaching is moments that matter.I was coaching a 14 year old.He looked sad and flat and tired and I asked him how he was going.He said, “I’m ok. I just wish I was more talented like Steve. He doesn’t train much and yet he keeps kicking my butt in races. It’s not fair.”.I replied, “From where I’m standing, when I see you I see a tough young man, who never gives up, who always tries his best, who encourages his team mates, who turns up even when he’s tired and who works harder than any athlete I’ve

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7:43

Toad Eggs and Olympic Gold

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/26

I was in Zimbabwe doing a swimming clinic in 1996 for WORLD AQUATICS - FINA as it was.The hosts took me to a local swimming program. Run down pool, no lane ropes, no backstroke flags, no starting blocks. Cold water. The sides of the pool had green scum on them. One of the kids told me they were toad eggs and they had to be careful not to swallow them. Coach - a very good guy - was a butcher - very limited high level swimming coaching knowledge but a very decent, hard working, dedicated coach.Overall

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7:29

Heart Before Heart Rate

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/22

By Wayne Goldsmithir Alex Ferguson would stop training to talk one-on-one with players. In that moment, they were the only person who mattered.Laurie Lawrence told me: “Don’t put heart rate before heart.” If you see a moment to inspire an athlete — grab it. They can always do more reps later.Phil King, Olympic gold medal coach, put it this way: think about the impact of missing coaching opportunities.Three coaches. Same message.Physiology matters. Periodization matters. But none of it matters more

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7:56

Pacers or Racers?

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/19

There are two types of swimmers: Pacers and Racers.Alex Popov — multiple Olympic Gold medalist, world record holder — told me this years ago. It stuck.Pacers train to hit a time. They race to a plan, trying to control the controllables.Racers learn competitive skills that equip them to meet any challenge. They change pace, adjust technique, adapt to whatever the race demands.If you’re training athletes to WIN when it matters, train them to be Racers.Which are you coaching?Wayne Goldsmith This is a

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7:38

Want to Motivate Your Swimmers?

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/15

One of the most common questions I get from coaches: “How do I motivate my swimmers to work harder?”My response: “You can’t. Don’t try.”You can’t motivate anyone to do something they don’t already want to do. It’s not your job to make them do it — it’s your job to create an environment where they can be all they choose to be.In this video, I’ll show you how to connect with, engage with and inspire the hearts and minds of every swimmer you coach.Wayne GoldsmithIf you found this useful, hit subscribe

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6:16

Training Zones - Keep it Simple.

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/11

By Wayne GoldsmithOne of the most confusing parts of learning about swimming coaching is training zones. When you attend your first ever swimming coaching course or when you open a swimming coaching textbook for the first time, you’ll see a table full of words like “alactic” and “aerobic” and “anaerobic” and percentages, sample heart rates and effort ratings.Often there will be six, seven or even more different training zones listed on those tables and the course presenter will tell you that it’s

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7:05

Making Kick Practice "Sexy"

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/07

By Wayne GoldsmithEvery swimming coach will tell you that kicking is important and that they include kicking practice in all their practice sessions.Every swimming coach will also tell you that it’s difficult to inspire kids to complete kicking practice with a high level of engagement, intensity, accuracy and precision.I was talking with an elite coach over a coffee and he asked me an interesting question “How do you make kicking practice (in his words)“sexy”? TO BE VERY CLEAR - in this context

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6:16

The Secret to Making Your Workouts Work

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/05

By Wayne GoldsmithOne of the most common questions I get asked by coaches is how to inspire swimmers to complete their workouts with the precision, accuracy and attention to detail that the coach feels is important - i.e. don’t count the laps, make the laps count.My answer is YOU DON’T AND YOU CAN’T.What I mean by that is, you are wasting your time if you believe you can stand at the end of the pool yelling at your team and make them / force them / motivate them to do the workout exceptionally well

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5:31

Aerobic Base - Blah Blah Blah....

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/03

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.One of the most common issues I get asked to comment on is Aerobic Base development in young swimmers. To be honest - I don’t remember ever meeting any coach or any sports scientist who’s got a definitive answer on how much to do at what age at what intensity for how long. Lots of people think they know but most of it is based on their own

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4:55

Welcome to Swimming Gold 2026

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2026/01/02

Welcome to 2026 and welcome to Swimming Gold.This year I’ve made a commitment to do a lot more video. There’s a lot of Ai generated text out there - and a lot of it is rubbish. So in response, I’ve decided it’s time for me to record videos most days and strive to help more coaches, more teachers, more swimmers and more swimming parents around the world.I believe our sport is at a cross-roads. There’s no way to spin it: in many places around the world, the number of kids in organized, competitive

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1:52

THE WARM-UP THAT WASTES TIME

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/30

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Three Important Things to Remember:* Traditional “400m easy” type warm-ups prepare swimmers for mediocrity, not excellence;* Your warm-up should activate the skills you're about to practice, not just the muscles;* Elite swimmers warm up their technique first, their fitness second.Many swimming sessions in the world starts the same way: "400 easy

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6:41

Coach - Take Care of You!

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/21

By Wayne Goldsmith.SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.If you’re a swimming coach - you probably love it.Sure there’s early mornings, difficult parents, long slow boring days at swim Meets and your feet that always seem to be cold and wet - but - for the most part - working with young athletes every day and helping them realize their potential while pursuing their dreams is a pretty good way to earn a

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1:04

Swimming is A Straight Line Sport

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/13

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You know how swimming coaches love repetition?Say this to yourself 100 times…“Swimming is a straight line sport”.“Swimming is a straight line sport”.“Swimming is a straight line sport”….you get the idea.In this sport, in training - and of course in competition, you dive and start straight, swim straight, turn straight, push off straight and finish

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5:34

Minimum Sessions - Setting Standards

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/12

By Wayne GoldsmithA lot of coaches get to a point in their coaching where they want to lift the standards of their teams, become more performance orientated and reach for higher and higher goals in the sport.A common scenario is where a Club coach decides that the team could achieve success at State or National level championships and to do that, the team needs to train harder more often. This leads to the coach considering the introduction of “minimum attendance rules” - e.g. to be in the National

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6:04

A Special Message for Swimming Parents

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/06

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This is a special video.I’ve recorded it for COACHES to play to, forward to and share with SWIMMING PARENTS.It’s a plea for parents / carers to work with their child’s coach: to form a partnership - a “team” - who are committed and dedicated to a single purpose: helping each and every child be all they choose to be.I do a lot of swimming coach

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4:24

Drills Drills and More Drills

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/08/04

Drills, drills, drills. Every swimming coach has a tool-box full of drills.Drills for arms and stroke technique.Drills for legs and kicking.Drills for timing.Drill for breathing.Drills for dives, for turns, for finishes, for underwater…….But here’s the thing: having more drills than your local hardware store doesn’t make you a better coach or improve the ability of your swimmers to perform at their best when and where it matters.In this video I talk about swimming drills and suggest ways for you to

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11:36

So You Want to be a Swimming Coach?

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/07/26

By Wayne GoldsmithThis is a subscriber only post.I often get asked “I am just starting out in swimming coaching. What are the most important things I need to do to be successful?”* Master the technology! Technology is rapidly becoming one of the most dominant elements in swimming coaching. Learn as much as possible - and as quickly as possible about video, performance analysis, Ai and social media - because….the kids you coach are already masters of technology and they have an expectation that you

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13:14

Coaching the Swimmer Standing in Front of You

SWIMMING GOLD ·

2025/07/24

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This is special just for my subscribers on Swimming Gold.Three Key Concepts* Anyone can write a workout, but success comes from coaching the actual swimmer standing in front of you, not the theoretical one in your plan* Age group swimmers have multiple "swimmanalities" - i.e. swimming personalities - they're different people every day based on

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