Balance has been described as the ultimate goal, an artform, and a dream. But as a swim coach, you can help make it a reality–for both your athletes and yourself. Over the course of the season, if not the year, most swimmers spend countless hours in the pool, training for meets and competitions. But what about their schoolwork? Some may be struggling to keep their academic performance afloat; others might argue it’s not as important; you know better.
We’ve got some tips to help them successfully juggle their academic and athletic commitments along with a few strategies for helping you strike a balance in your work too.
- Set realistic goals: Let’s start with the big picture. It’s important for student-swimmers to set attainable, realistic objectives for themselves, both in the pool and in the classroom. Don’t expect them to be able to easily maintain a perfect GPA while also swimming at an elite level. Encourage them to focus on their strengths and even put their academic and athletic goals on paper, keeping them in focus and front of mind.
- Create a schedule and stick to it: Once the goals are set, schedule management is next in line. This means planning out when they will study, when they will practice, and when they will have time for other extracurriculars, socializing, and (importantly) relaxing. It helps if they feel empowered to say no to social activities or other commitments if they feel they don’t have the time. But until they take a hard look at their actual schedule, they might not even know that they lack any time in the first place.
- Ask for help when needed: For most student-athletes, resources are probably everywhere; they just have to ask for them. These could include tutoring, study groups, and time management workshops. Make sure your student-athletes know that they can seek out help when they need it, whether it’s talking to their coaches, their parents, or a tutor. Odds are there’s so much for your swimmers to take advantage of–if they only have the initiative and encouragement to ask.
You should ask for help too!
Nothing wrong with taking your own advice or taking advantage of the best management around. Captyn is helping swim coaches streamline and optimize their daily processes, freeing up time for coaches to focus on, well, coaching and helping their student-athletes holistically succeed.
Here are just a few of the things Capyn can assist with:
Scheduling: Create and manage practice schedules, streamline registration, track attendance, and send out payment reminders for any gear or fees.
Communication: Communicate with athletes, parents, and other staff members through email or text messages (individual or bulk).
Recordkeeping: Track anything from payments to athlete progress to meet results to allergies to t-shirt sizes.
Captyn can transform the way you stay organized and succeed, so you can focus on helping your swimmers do the same. Ultimately, to stay ahead of the curve (and ahead of the competition), it’s important to be flexible, stay supportive, and celebrate successes. Let’s optimize life together. Experience the time-saving benefits of Captyn by scheduling your demo today.
