Fun Vs. Discipline, an interesting balance

One thing that I struggle with as a coach to 9-10 year old swimmers is how to balance the important stroke work in the pool while also keeping the sport fun for them.  Swimming takes a lot of discipline and while a 10 year old doesn’t need to be as disciplined as a 17 year old, I believe that they do need to begin to understand that it takes a lot of hard work to be a successful swimmer.  On the other hand, too much hard work at 10 can lead to being burned out by 17. 

The person who I share coaching duties with is much more discipline oriented than I am.  This is interesting to me because last season I coached with a woman who felt that keeping swimming fun for the kids was the most important thing.  I absolutely think that the kids should be able to have fun in the pool—sometimes.  My thought is that fun should be earned and not expected.  If there is one way to make sure we won’t do a relay at the end of practice, it’s to ask me if we can do a relay. 

Hopefully, in swimming and in life, these kids will learn that hard work is rewarded.  Ideally, the hard work that leads to a game of sharks and minnows will also lead to best times at their next meet.