Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach
The Swim England Assistant Swimming Coach certificate will give you the essential knowledge and skills needed to assist a qualified swimming coach in delivering planned training sessions.
Is this course right for me?
This is for anyone who wants to take the first step to become a swimming coach or interested in supporting a swimming coach in a club environment. No prior experience is required, as your tutor will guide and support you in gaining the knowledge and skills needed. You need to have turned 16 by the start date of this course.
If you are part of a Swim England affiliated club, you can access our member offer rate. Your club can arrange this for you through their account. If your club is unable to access its account, please contact us at iosadmin@swimming.org.
What can I expect during my course?
- eLearning – You will have eLearning to complete prior to your webinars. The estimated completion time is 12-15 hours.
- Webinars – Your tutor will go through the remaining theory topics and prepare you for your practical sessions
- Practical sessions – You will have the opportunity to assist at least two 1-hour training sessions to gain practical experience.
What will I learn?
During the course, your tutor will be covering the following topics:
- The role of the assistant coach
- The structure and governance in aquatics
- The Optimal Coach Development Framework (OCDF) and Optimal Athlete Development Framework (OADF)
- Basics of anatomy and physiology
- Competitive swimming skills and technical rules
- Swimming equipment
- Data collection
- Types of training used to develop swimmers
- How to deliver pre-planned coaching sessions
- How to carry out reflective practices of your coaching
How will I be assessed?
You will be assessed by your tutor throughout your course against the specification criteria, please note this certificate is delivered and assessed in English. You will also need to complete assessment tasks, some of which will be in your own time. These include, but are not limited to:
- Theoretical questions as part of your eLearning and six written theoretical questions
- A written session plan
- Practical assisting of at least two 1-hour training sessions
- A written evaluation
- A written individual development plan
Your tutor will provide you with deadlines for the assessment to be submitted and completed by. All deadlines must be met to meet the certificate standard.
What happens next?
Upon successfully meeting all assessment criteria, it will take six to eight weeks for your certificate to be issued. An electronic copy of your certificate will be emailed to you.
If at the end of the course, you have not successfully met the certificate standard your tutor will provide you with feedback and guidance. You will then go through our reassessment process and have 12 months from the start date of your chosen course to complete this. Please note, if you do have to go through our reassessment process there may be additional fees associated with this.
The next step in your swimming coach journey is to complete the Swim England Swimming Coach certificate. We recommend that you gain around three months of experience as an assistant swimming coach to best prepare you for this course.
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