January 14, 2025 • 35 mins
Taarna talks about what it takes to be a competitive swimming coach, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "It's been a long journey, but like over the last five years, I can see how far the club's come. And my swimmers are, they're teenagers now, like when I first become head coach they were like nine. And now they're teenagers and, becoming really good swimmers, really good competitive swimmers. And yeah, to see them growing and how well they're doing, not only at swimming, but, in school and outside and other sports and that. I just know that I'm helping to make and create, successful people."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
Welcome to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, and intoday's episode we're talking with Taarna
Cam about competition swim coaching.
Taarna started swimming at about five.
Went straight into pool management as soonas she could, then went on to swimming
(00:30):
teaching and thankfully has found herselfnow being a competition swimming coach.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat, Taarna.
Hi, Paul.
Thanks for having me.
It's a pleasure.
Great to have you here.
Taarna, competition swimmingcoaching, what's that all about?
competition swimming coaching is a Sixto seven day a week job that involves
(00:54):
taking people and turning them intocompetitive racers for swimming.
So, competitive races.
Where do they race?
So, we can race locally,in Perth, or nationally.
You can even go internationally.
for me, my coaching relies aroundyoung kids that swim in Bunbury, the
(01:14):
southwest, in Perth, and then nationally.
that's where they currentlydo their, competitions?
Yes.
The competitions, who runs those?
Swimming Australia, so SwimmingAustralia are our main body.
And then each state has their own, branch.
So we come under Swimming WA, and thenour Swimming Club, Australind Swimming
(01:36):
Club, they'll come under Swimming WA.
that's the governing body And what doesa, a swimming competition look like?
A swimming competition lookslike, arriving at around 7.
30 in the morning, to get seats,stretching, warm up from eight o'clock
in the morning, and then at about quarterto nine, we'll start getting ready.
The kids all marshaled to race, so they'llget put in their seats for their lanes
(01:59):
and, yeah, then we go from there, racing.
All
And what are the races?
There's different types ofraces, different distances,
how does that all play out?
Different, races, so you can do poolswimming, sprinting would be 50,
100 metre racing, even 200 metres isconsidered a sprint these days, middle
distance 400 and then longer distance8, 1500, also is open water swimming.
(02:25):
and that can be from 500 metres up to10 k's or, whatever you want, really.
Let's swim to South Africa.
yeah, there, let's swim to Roto.
And different strokes as well?
Yep, different strokes.
So, we have freestyle, which is, themain stroke, and then you have your
form strokes, which is breaststroke,butterfly, backstroke, and then
(02:45):
individual medley, which is each stroke.
All four strokes.
Yeah,
all four strokes put together.
Yep, not at the same time,because you can't be on your
back and your stomach at the
same time.
Yeah, each lap you switch.
And how many people are gettinginvolved in these competitions?
Many.
It depends on where the meet is.
next weekend we're going to CountryChamps for all the country clubs in WA
(03:08):
and there should be maybe 350 competitors.
that's just, to give you an idea.
It could be anything, butgenerally it'd be two, three
hundred swimmers at an event.
So there's quite a few distances,four different strokes, and then
a whole heap of competitors.
How does that play out as a competition?
Like how do they workout who gets the gold?
(03:29):
So they'll have categories.
So it depends on whichsort of mate you're at.
It's generally an age group.
So say like nine year olds wouldmeddle together, ten year olds,
or it could be 10 and under.
12 to 14.
Yeah, 14 to 16.
It just, yeah, depends on which,which meet you're at and what
they've decided for their program.
And how do they deal with, 30 peoplewanting to go for the same competition?
(03:52):
Oh, everything's time based.
So when you're racing, you get seeded intoyour heats and it will all be on time.
so that way that each heat shouldbe fairly across the board.
A nice even spread.
Yeah,
nice even spread.
Yep, that's exactlywhat I was looking for.
Okay, so then you have a series ofheats and then more heats or semis or?
(04:13):
At most of our events, it'll be atimed final, so one, just one race.
However, state championships andnational comps, there'll be heats
in the morning and then you'll gothrough to the top eight or the
top ten and they'll race finals.
so for a smaller competition, butmaybe a regional competition, you
(04:33):
swim once and your time is your time.
Yep, that's
it.
If you're the quickest, you're it.
Yep, that's exactly it.
And then at a state championshipyou do heats, qualify to go into
the next round, and then swim again,usually for the medal I'd imagine?
Yes.
Yeah?
Yes.
Okay, cool.
So there's, depending on the competitionthere's different ways that will play out.
Yeah, there, that's it.
(04:55):
And, whereabouts do you train?
we train at LeschenaultLeisure Centre in Australind.
That's a, little 25 meter pool.
And, yeah, we train outof there six days a week.
And, how does that go for you?
it's quite challenging actually, becausethe pools, when it was designed, they've
made a six lane pool into eight lanes.
(05:16):
So our lanes are verythin, for what we need.
So yeah, it can make it quite hard becauseI have really quite big teenage swimmers.
So their wingspan is startingto become too big to be doing
butterfly down the lane.
So I've got to think outside thebox and, work different ways to, to
program it so that we can swim freely.
(05:37):
and.
It gets busy as well, so we don'thave as much lane space as I'd
like, but we just make it work.
You just gotta make it work.
And, it's been there for a little while?
yeah.
From the 90s.
From what I can, I'm trying togo back to see the history of
the club, because it was first ofall, it was called Leschenault.
Swimming club.
So that was like late 80s, 90s.
(05:59):
and then it become Golden West Dolphins.
And that was quite hard forpeople to understand where we
were situated because no one knowswhere Golden West Dolphins was.
So yeah, we changed the name to AustralindSwimming Club, maybe eight years ago.
But you've maintainedthat dolphin in your logo.
Yeah,
we've maintained that.
So that's a good connection still to thattime when nobody knew where you came from.
(06:22):
Yeah, and we kept the colours as well,the same, and yeah, just, and the dolphin.
But, it's been a lot better for the clubbecause people know where Australind is.
yes, it's quite easy to find, isn't it?
And, how much of theyear do you do swimming?
we train nearly 11 months of the year.
Maybe 10 and a half, when Ithink about the, maybe the small
little breaks that we have.
(06:42):
our season is brokenup into three sections.
So we have, over winter we have,it's called short course, where
you race in a 25 metre pool.
and then we go to long course,which is 50 metre racing.
And that will go fromOctober through to December.
And then January through toApril is our last block, and
that leads us up to Nationals.
(07:04):
And then we'll have a month out of thewater, just to refresh and yeah, give
us time to program for the next season.
but yeah, everyone needs to have abreak and just, step back from the pool.
cause it's a lot, it's a long time.
Yeah, we'll get into a little bit abouthow much time gets spent, Taarna, what
does it take you to be a swimming coach?
The most important thing for me ishaving, my family, my supportive family.
(07:28):
because, six days a week I'm at the pool,morning, early mornings and late nights.
So, I'm very lucky that my husbandsupports me the way he does.
he's always helping with dinner andthe kids and, he makes me coffee in
the morning and he makes sure thatI've got ice in my water bottle and
yeah, just having that support hasbeen amazing because it is a lot.
(07:49):
Yeah, so for me, the supportivefamily is like number one.
you've got to be passionate aswell, like you've really got to
have that desire to want to helpother people to be better swimmers.
got to be organized, punctual, everythingthat you're trying to put into your
swimmers you have to also replicate.
I always am trying to learn more,and stay current with what's
(08:12):
happening in the swimming world.
not be stale and, do the same things.
I'm always trying to make itmore exciting for the kids.
swimming up and down a blackline can be very boring.
So yeah, I'd like to try andchange things up as well.
So yeah, just innovativeas well in, in my coaching.
it's not only about what youget them to do, but it's almost
(08:33):
about what you get them to thinkabout while they're doing it.
Yeah, that's it.
You mentioned, about being organized.
What does that look like?
So for me, I have to program for ourwhole club and we have six squads
so I need to have some sort ofvision for where we're heading to
and how we're going to get there.
(08:54):
So, I always make sure at the startof the season that I've planned
out how I want it to evolve.
and then making sure that myprograms are in place earlier
than, say just before the session.
Like I have to be organised thatway the other coaches know
what they're doing as well.
because they'll have a look at thesession and then if they've got questions
they can come see me beforehand.
(09:15):
So yeah, I can't just rock up and wing it.
I probably could, but it doesn'tlead to success if you're just
rocking up and winging it.
Yeah, you've got to have somesort of vision of where you want
to be heading with your swimmers.
And being competitive swimming, there'ssome element of you're aiming for
success from the start, aren't you?
Yeah,
absolutely.
(09:35):
Yep.
So, like at the start of October, Iknow that our pinnacle event is December
States and we need to be in primeposition to race well in December.
then we have a, our second biggestrace is in January, which is next week.
And we can't rest.
So while everyone's on Christmasholidays, we're still at the pool,
(09:57):
as much as the pool will allow us,because they do break for holidays.
But yeah, we, so even today, likewe were, Back in the pool again.
So once we've got through that comp,then we can have a little rest for
a week, but then we have to moveforward and start building again all
the way up to April for nationals.
And where are the nationals being run?
(10:18):
Brisbane.
And you've got some, potentialswimmers to head that way?
I do.
Yeah.
I have, I've got, three at the moment.
Yeah, that, yeah, with National Times.
Wow.
That's pretty impressive.
From a, relatively small regionalclub in Western Australia.
That's hitting above your weight.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We've been working really hard.
that was the kids goals.
They wanted to get to nationals.
So yeah, we've beenworking hard to get there.
(10:40):
It sounds like some of themare definitely on the way.
Yeah, they are.
They are.
You mentioned you've got coachesthat also coach the squads.
How do you keep track of all of that?
So I try and work with each ofthe squads at least once a week
and that way it just, I just findthat it helps with my programming.
(11:01):
That if I can see what's happening inthe groups with the swimmers, like I can
notice straight away that, oh, maybe thatbutterfly technique's not looking good.
We need to implement some kick or justdifferent, technique I just find that
if I work with the kids and I can seewhat's wrong with their technique,
I'm able to fix it, as opposed toif I'm just working on my group, I
(11:24):
can't see what everyone else is doing.
So I like to keep my finger on what'shappening in it with all the kids, because
I'm trying to develop the whole club.
It's not just about the top end.
So for me, I like to see what's happeningin, with my juniors because they're going
to be, they're the future of my club.
So it's important that I have an idea ofwhat's happening the whole way through.
. It's important to me thatI can see what's happening.
(11:47):
Yeah, because it's easy just to,just see what's in front of you,
as opposed to the whole club.
That whole club perspective,that's super important.
Yeah, it is.
It is to me, because I knowthat one day those little kids
are going to be my future.
at the moment, I've got kids that,teenagers that are 17 and, they're going
off to uni soon, which is fantastic.
And when they go, they're goingto be ready to join a new club and
(12:09):
hopefully take their swimming further.
But yeah, I'm still going to be herein Australind and I have to have.
more swimmers coming through.
so you need to keep an eye on them asthey come through so that they all get
what they need to make it all happen.
Absolutely.
Yep.
Cause you've got themfour strokes and yeah.
And like I'm a, IM coach, so Ilike to work on four strokes.
(12:30):
you'll find some programs mightbe a distance swimming program
or, more freestyle based.
Whereas I'm, I like to work four strokes.
Yeah.
And have IM swimmers.
IM is individual medley.
Individual medley, yes.
Excellent.
All right.
I know that much.
We've had a good look at what ittakes Taarna to be a swimming coach.
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at what it means.
(13:01):
We've had a look at what it takes.
Now let's have a look at what it means.
Taarna, what does it mean to you,your family, or the community that
you're able to be a swimming coach?
to me, this is probably thehappiest I've ever been.
Like, I absolutely lovebeing a swimming coach.
It takes me away from my family and,and they're really proud of me and what
(13:24):
I've achieved with my swimming coaching.
so I'm lucky that I've got that support,but yeah, you just got to have that love
and passion to be able to, coach otherpeople's children day in and day out.
Yeah, so it does, it means a lot tome, to be a successful coach as well.
I've been lucky, I've been awardeda few awards, for coaching.
(13:45):
So, it just reiterates to methat I'm doing good things.
I've won Bunbury.
coach of the year, this year.
I've been awarded a Appreciation Awardby the Shire of Harvey for my work
as a swimming coach within our Shire.
and I also won Development Coachof the Year for Swimming WA, so
that was pretty exciting as well.
Absolutely, they're wonderful recognition.
(14:07):
Yeah, they are.
And my wife Caroline swims and shesees you coaching from time to time
when, when that, when she gets there.
And she can see just how well yourcoaching is received by the kids as
well and how positively impactful it is.
Yeah, it's been a long journey, but likeover the last five years, I can see how
(14:29):
far the club's come and my, Swimmersare, they're teenagers now, like when
I first become head coach they werelike nine and now they're teenagers
and, becoming really good swimmers,really good competitive swimmers.
And yeah, to see them growingand how well they're doing, not
only at swimming, in school andoutside and other sports and that.
(14:51):
I just know that I'm helping tomake and create, successful people.
a lot of sports are quite interesting,but swimming in particular, you're
there early, you're there late.
what does that do to the kidsthat makes it so valuable to them?
Oh, they just become so disciplined.
I've had many swimmers thatbecause we get up early.
we arrive at the pool at five15 in the morning and, they
(15:14):
become easily employable.
because they're punctual.
They turn up on time.
Yeah.
they, they really become successfulbecause they've got that.
discipline.
that's what I'm instilling in these kids.
Yeah, discipline.
What does it mean to you thatyou're also a successful coach?
I'm not one to talk about my successes.
(15:34):
So, for me, we just went toSenior States in December.
And, one thing that I realised wasthat, It was the first time that I had
all my swimmers making finals, and thenwe also managed to get a timekeeping
seat because I had so many swimmers infinals and that to me is just massive
(15:56):
amounts of growth, from when we first,yeah, from when I first took over, I had
.two swimmers at States, made one final.
And then, yeah, this yearwe, I had them all in finals.
And, yeah, I just sat backand I was just quietly happy.
When I look at where we were andwhere we are now, it's like, Oh, wow.
(16:17):
Cause you don't actually see it.
You've got to go back in time.
And I just, I'd read a couple ofposts, that come up in my memories,
and it was like, oh, we have grown,and we have, we, we are successful.
we're thriving.
Yeah, we're a thriving country club.
And, I'm looking forward to nextweekend, because I really strive
to be the best country club.
(16:38):
So we'll see how we go.
Yeah, the proof is inthe pudding, so to speak.
Yeah, it is.
And the results with how you gonext weekend a key indicator.
it's only one indicator,two of your success.
Yeah.
Because you've already mentioned some ofthe other indicators in the kids lives.
Yeah.
You had an interesting story beforewe got onto the interview about
(17:01):
the swimmers that you had thatwere very successful at the states
Oh, I do.
So, I've got some amazing swimmers.
one of them, is a S19, which is autism,multi class swimmer, and he broke three
Australian records for S19 swimming.
One was the 15 year old 100 back.
(17:23):
And the other was the open 100 back.
And he also broke a 50 fly.
So yeah, Australian Records is amazing.
That's amazing.
Yeah, it is.
And then
you had some more success as well.
That's only the start of it, isn't it?
Oh yeah,
we won some medals.
Lexi, she's 17.
she made four Open Finalsfor the first time.
(17:44):
She's never made an Open Final before.
And she ended up winning asilver and a bronze medal.
So that was, yeah, thatwas super exciting for her.
Seeing that effort pay off.
Yeah, it's amazing.
Yeah, they have, they've beenworking really hard and they deserve
all their, all the successes.
how does your role benefitthe Swimmers in the community.
(18:05):
So not only are we working with ourswimmers in the pool, but we're also
working with them outside of the pool.
We tend to do a lot of work onour strength and conditioning.
And The kids go to a program ata gym, ARC, and do their strength
conditioning and core work there.
then also we're always working onpsychology, making them confident.
(18:29):
Confident, working on nerves,yeah, just getting them to become
confident in what they're doing.
Because we can go to a swimming comp andyou get all nervous behind the blocks
and you second guess yourself and it'slike, no, you know what you're doing.
So we're trying to instill thatconfidence and resilience into them.
(18:51):
And over time you can just see themgrow from, anxious behind the blocks to
these, strong independent and confidentyoung people that are not scared to get
up against the big boys next to them.
you might only be little,but it doesn't matter.
you can race anyone.
If you've got good technique and you'vegot the desire, yeah, you can do anything.
(19:13):
And that has so many positivebenefits for their mental health
down the track, doesn't it?
It does.
It does.
Yeah.
Just so many good thingscome from swimming.
Yeah, you're able to.
Have small goals that you achieve everyday, the first one is getting in the
water, but after that, you've done somany sets, you've completed your hours
of training, you've actually done it.
(19:34):
Swum the program that you've been given,so every day you're getting positive
confirmation of achieving some goal,even if sometimes they're set by the
coach, rather than you individually.
Yeah.
But you have achieved it, and it'samazing to be able to achieve.
Because we do a lot of goal setting,with the kids, and, and it can be
from, small goals to outrageous goals.
(19:57):
but we'll have something for training,something short term, something, end
of season and then something long term.
And yeah, we just work, chip awayat working towards their goals
and they can tick them off andthey're so proud of themselves
when they see how far they've come.
I also do a lot of sets in trainingthat, and I'll take photos of them.
(20:18):
I'll record their results and, thentwo months down the track I'll pull
it back up and we'll do the sameset again and we can compare and
yeah, they can see that all the workthey're doing is, showing progress.
and that's one of the most importantthings with competitive swimming
is, that you actually do race.
sometimes people wantto use it as a fitness.
(20:40):
tool, which is great because you'regoing to get super fit if you're doing
competitive training for swimming, butit just, yeah, sometimes you need to be
doing the racing as well just to showyou what you're actually training for.
It gives you that extra little bitof push on a particular day that you
can really, step out of yourself and
yeah, the results, oh, theresults are everything.
(21:02):
and, look, you're not always going to getamazing results, something might happen.
but, it's just get back in the pool,get back to training and we go again.
So sometimes thingsdon't always go to plan.
And, like when I was talking about thepsychology, we talk a lot about, nutrition
as well, and looking after our bodies.
(21:23):
And I often refer to our bodies as cars.
are you fueling your car to be a Ferrarior are we fueling it to be a Mini Moke?
And, yeah, I had one swimmer who, wasn'tlooking after themselves as well as what
they should have been, and nutritionwas out the window, we weren't eating,
(21:43):
two boiled eggs, isn't gonna cut itwhen we're, we're doing four or five K
sets, like, it's just not gonna cut it.
And yeah, they swam really bad, butit was how he turned himself around.
I just had to say, look, I'mdisappointed, in what he did.
You've done.
You haven't looked after yourself.
and proof is in your results.
(22:05):
And that was it straight away.
Water, nutrition was back on pointand we turned everything around.
We made finals again forthe next two days at States.
PB's for every race.
Like we did really well.
So yeah, sometimesthings don't go to plan.
but it's yeah, how we, we learn from itand then make the changes, which counts.
(22:25):
And it's a part of the.
The all around swimmingcoach role, isn't it?
Oh, it is.
Oh, it never ends.
I am, I'm their psychologist.
I know when they're feeling sick.
I can just tell by lookingat them if they're off.
I spend so much time with them.
yeah, I can turn into a counsellor forrelationships, advice for mum and dad.
(22:47):
There's so many things that gointo being a swimming coach.
Help with homework.
Yeah, there's so many things.
It's amazing and so many, so manydifferent meanings and positive meanings.
Yeah.
For both you and for the swimmers.
Yeah, but I've becomequite close with them.
I never really realised howclose until something happens
(23:11):
and then, and they look to me.
I have a, an old swimmer that, Whenshe bought her first car, she sent
me this picture to show me, look whatI've done, and I was so proud of her.
cause she'd worked really hard tobuy her first car, and I love that
she thought of me, to, to show, causeI, yeah, I was just so proud of her.
Yeah, it's lovely that you don't realisethat sort of impact that you make on
(23:33):
people, until something like that happens.
Yeah, and
there's an opportunity to show it, butyou also have to be ready to accept it.
Yeah, that's right.
you do a lot of work with the children andyou mentioned briefly the parents earlier.
What sort of work doyou do with the parents?
Parents, they play a massive part.
I often call it's like a triangle.
(23:54):
So we have the coach, the parent, and theswimmer, and The parents are so important
because they're the ones that aregetting the swimmer to training on time.
I have to rely on them toenter their swimmers in races.
they're the ones that are fundingit all because swimming's not
cheap, it's very expensive.
nutrition.
(24:15):
They're the ones that have to buy thefood and a lot of the time they'll be
with their kids in the stands and theyare the ones that have to nag them to
eat and to be on top of what they'reputting into their mouths, because,
they buy the food, but I rely on themheavily to help with that, It's expensive
to be a swimmer, so a racing suit forteenagers, can be up to 1, 000 for girls.
(24:39):
boys could be 500.
goggles, 60.
A race is, states it's 20 a race.
at nationals it's 50 a race.
so there's a, it's a very expensivesport and when you're doing, say,
eight races a meet, yeah, it adds up.
So yeah, parents are Vitallyimportant, yeah, in the triangle
(25:01):
of being a competitive swimmer.
So you're not only a coachfor the kids, but you're a
coach for the parents as well.
I
often am sharing a lot of information,A lot of it revolves around nutrition.
It's just so important because we'reswimming so many kilometers a week and
yeah, I'm often looking to make surethat they're fueling their bodies enough.
Just don't want them to run intoany issues from not fueling enough.
(25:25):
Because once reds, they call itreds, once that sets in, it's
very hard to, see it coming.
It's just suddenly that yourswimmers start breaking down and,
yeah, they'll be sick a lot, Yeah,they're exhausted actually and they
won't be progressing and a lot of ithas to do with how they're eating.
So yeah, the parents have got asuper important job because I'm often
(25:50):
sharing information about food and howmuch are you eating and this is how
many calories we burnt tonight and we'regoing to make sure that we're fed enough
and that we're eating again at fiveo'clock in the morning before we train
again and yeah, they have a big job.
And do they do good?
Oh, they do amazing.
They do amazing.
Yeah, they, very supportive.
(26:12):
they volunteer around our club forour committees, timekeeping duties,
keeping the kids fed, having themarrive on time to meets and training.
Yeah, they are, they do an amazing job.
There are so many positive meaningsthat come from being a swimming coach.
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at how you do it.
(26:39):
We've had a look at what it means.
Now we'll have a look at how you do it.
Taarna, how do you become acompetitive swimming coach?
So to become a swimmingcoach, you generally will
start off by finding a club.
So you could be a parent in aclub that's decided, oh you know
what, I wouldn't mind helping out.
(26:59):
Because generally that's how youstart out, like volunteering.
Swimming clubs always need coaches.
You might have had a swimming background.
Not everyone has a swimming background.
You might just generally be interested.
So once you've approached yourhead coach or your committee.
They'll start having a look intocoaching courses and in WA and
(27:20):
in Australia, we start off with afoundations course and it's very basic.
They'll take you through thebasics of each stroke, and how to,
Coach it.
Yeah, to pretty much teach it.
yeah, it's very basic course.
and then you'll shadowa coach on pool deck.
So shadowing's just walking up and downthe side of the pool with the coach and
(27:43):
listening to them coach and watching whatthey do, having a look at their programs.
after the course, A little bit, it'snot a lot, but there'll be a couple of
programs that you might have to writeup with the help of your head coach,
and maybe a little bit of theory.
And then once you've done all that,send it off to Swimming Australia and
it gets marked, you're good to go.
(28:04):
But only at a lower level of coaching.
To then move on to the higher levelsof coaching, we have a development
course, and then that starts to getmore, into the nitty gritty of coaching.
So you'll learn how to use a stopwatch,more how to program for a season.
how to write sets for, daily sessions.
(28:27):
you'll spend more time shadowing coachesand listening and watching and, you may
even get a go at coaching the higherlevels, but it will all be supervised.
And then once you've done that for ayear, Then you've got the opportunity
to go on to an advanced coach andthat's a, university course now.
(28:48):
They do it through the Universityof Victoria and that's a year and
a hundred hours of shadowing ahigher level coach on pool deck.
you'll definitely get into the nittygritties of being a swimming coach.
psychology, the strength andconditioning side of swimming.
You'll work on talent identification,
(29:11):
technique, more programming, and they'llgo into the programming side For a really
high level competitive swimming club.
So yeah, it gets quite intensewhen you go to the advanced.
The next one after that is the pinnacle,like where it's, I think it's three
years to do the next level and thatwould be for Olympic level coach.
(29:33):
that's pretty intense.
There's not a lot of them around.
Yeah, there isn't.
It's a lot.
and that's where I would have to go to.
And as much as I love my swimmingcoaching, I'm not in that position
in Australind to be that level coach.
So I've looked at it, but Idon't know if I'd follow that
unless I was living in the city.
(29:54):
Yeah, it's a big commitment,three years for a course.
it's a degree level course, threeyears of university style study.
It is.
And yeah, you have to havethat level of swimmer as well.
And you've got to be able toshadow that level coach as well.
So you definitely have to be inthe city to be able to do that.
And yeah, being in Australiajust wouldn't work.
(30:15):
It's, Quite a commute.
Yeah, two hours is a long way.
What's your journey beenlike becoming a swim coach?
Oh, I've had a different journey,not a straightforward journey.
at the very beginning we talked abouthow I was a swimmer and then I become
a pool manager and at the time I was17 and the local swimming club needed
a coach for their little tadpole group.
(30:38):
So I'd done my swimming teacher course.
So I used to help out with that and then.
I also helped out with the adulttriathlon group that our swimming pool
used to run a session for once or twicea week, so I used to help out with that.
But it wasn't really until I had myown children and They were ready to
join swimming club and the second theyjoined I just knew that I wanted to
(31:02):
be involved and they needed coachesso I just jumped like two feet in
and since then I've not looked back.
I've absolutely lovedbeing a swimming coach.
It's definitely my passion.
enough to take me away from poolmanaging and from swimming teaching.
I just wholly and solely,yeah, love swimming.
Never imagined that I'd be a head coach,but over time I just, yeah, I just
(31:27):
learnt more and shadowed and love it.
Absolutely love it.
So yeah, that's how I'vegotten to where I am.
it's so good to have agood news story like that.
yeah, it's been great, I'm happy, and I'mhappy doing what I do, which is great.
what's up next for your swimmers?
So next weekend we'reoff to Country Champs.
(31:47):
so all the country clubs in WA will allmeet in Perth, and that's one of our
biggest meets for our club as a whole.
March, we have country pennants,and that's in Mandurah, which is
fantastic because it's an hour downthe road and we can just drive, and
that I'm really looking forward toI'd love to win A grade pennant.
That's, that would be my ultimate.
(32:09):
That's one of my goals, my own personalgoals, is to win the A grade pennant.
you have to have a fullcontingent of a team.
So you need to be able to fill,all the ages and the relays.
So, I'm hoping that this year we,we can fill them, but fill them
well, enough to yeah, to win enoughpoints to win the A grade pennant.
And then in April, we are offto Nationals, and Nationals is
(32:34):
in Brisbane, so that's exciting.
So that'll be my first actual timegoing to Nationals as a, coach.
last year my swimmers went and I hadother coaches help out so I'm pretty
excited for my first nationals as a coach.
And then I completely forgot, wehave coming up at the end of January
our very first swim meet in Collie.
So Collie run the Collie Openevery year and this year they
(32:57):
were just looking for some help.
So our swimming pool's toosmall to hold swimming meet.
And their swimming pool'sperfect for a swim meet, but
they haven't got the numbers.
So yeah, our club's going to combinewith them and we're going to have the
very first Collie Australind open.
So that's really exciting.
fantastic.
And it sounds like each club bringsa different strength to the game.
(33:17):
Yeah, well, Colly have always hadtheir meat and we've never had
the opportunity to run a meat.
So, whilst we've got the numbersto help out, they've got the
experience on how to run a meat.
So yeah, that'll be exciting as well.
Sounds like a great collaboration
we're happy to help them.
they are only a little club and theyonly run say six months of the year.
(33:38):
And, yeah, we work with them often.
So yeah, it's nice to be ableto help our friends out and
they're helping us out as well.
So yeah, we'll be ableto do some fundraising.
if there's a link for the fundraising,I should put it in the show notes.
Oh, yeah.
I'll send one through.
Well, thank you very much, Taarna,for being a guest on Forrest.Chat.
And all our Forrest.Chatlisteners wish you all the best
(33:59):
with your future endeavors,
which are
super exciting and coming up really soon.
I know.
It's going to be a big year.
You've been listening to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavor in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, and intoday's episode, we talked with Taarna Cam
(34:19):
about being a competitive swimming coach.
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(34:43):
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Until then, enjoy making it happen.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, and intoday's episode we're talking with Taarna
Cam about competition swim coaching.
Taarna started swimming at about five.
Went straight into pool management as soonas she could, then went on to swimming
(00:30):
teaching and thankfully has found herselfnow being a competition swimming coach.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat, Taarna.
Hi, Paul.
Thanks for having me.
It's a pleasure.
Great to have you here.
Taarna, competition swimmingcoaching, what's that all about?
competition swimming coaching is a Sixto seven day a week job that involves
(00:54):
taking people and turning them intocompetitive racers for swimming.
So, competitive races.
Where do they race?
So, we can race locally,in Perth, or nationally.
You can even go internationally.
for me, my coaching relies aroundyoung kids that swim in Bunbury, the
(01:14):
southwest, in Perth, and then nationally.
that's where they currentlydo their, competitions?
Yes.
The competitions, who runs those?
Swimming Australia, so SwimmingAustralia are our main body.
And then each state has their own, branch.
So we come under Swimming WA, and thenour Swimming Club, Australind Swimming
(01:36):
Club, they'll come under Swimming WA.
that's the governing body And what doesa, a swimming competition look like?
A swimming competition lookslike, arriving at around 7.
30 in the morning, to get seats,stretching, warm up from eight o'clock
in the morning, and then at about quarterto nine, we'll start getting ready.
The kids all marshaled to race, so they'llget put in their seats for their lanes
(01:59):
and, yeah, then we go from there, racing.
All
And what are the races?
There's different types ofraces, different distances,
how does that all play out?
Different, races, so you can do poolswimming, sprinting would be 50,
100 metre racing, even 200 metres isconsidered a sprint these days, middle
distance 400 and then longer distance8, 1500, also is open water swimming.
(02:25):
and that can be from 500 metres up to10 k's or, whatever you want, really.
Let's swim to South Africa.
yeah, there, let's swim to Roto.
And different strokes as well?
Yep, different strokes.
So, we have freestyle, which is, themain stroke, and then you have your
form strokes, which is breaststroke,butterfly, backstroke, and then
(02:45):
individual medley, which is each stroke.
All four strokes.
Yeah,
all four strokes put together.
Yep, not at the same time,because you can't be on your
back and your stomach at the
same time.
Yeah, each lap you switch.
And how many people are gettinginvolved in these competitions?
Many.
It depends on where the meet is.
next weekend we're going to CountryChamps for all the country clubs in WA
(03:08):
and there should be maybe 350 competitors.
that's just, to give you an idea.
It could be anything, butgenerally it'd be two, three
hundred swimmers at an event.
So there's quite a few distances,four different strokes, and then
a whole heap of competitors.
How does that play out as a competition?
Like how do they workout who gets the gold?
(03:29):
So they'll have categories.
So it depends on whichsort of mate you're at.
It's generally an age group.
So say like nine year olds wouldmeddle together, ten year olds,
or it could be 10 and under.
12 to 14.
Yeah, 14 to 16.
It just, yeah, depends on which,which meet you're at and what
they've decided for their program.
And how do they deal with, 30 peoplewanting to go for the same competition?
(03:52):
Oh, everything's time based.
So when you're racing, you get seeded intoyour heats and it will all be on time.
so that way that each heat shouldbe fairly across the board.
A nice even spread.
Yeah,
nice even spread.
Yep, that's exactlywhat I was looking for.
Okay, so then you have a series ofheats and then more heats or semis or?
(04:13):
At most of our events, it'll be atimed final, so one, just one race.
However, state championships andnational comps, there'll be heats
in the morning and then you'll gothrough to the top eight or the
top ten and they'll race finals.
so for a smaller competition, butmaybe a regional competition, you
(04:33):
swim once and your time is your time.
Yep, that's
it.
If you're the quickest, you're it.
Yep, that's exactly it.
And then at a state championshipyou do heats, qualify to go into
the next round, and then swim again,usually for the medal I'd imagine?
Yes.
Yeah?
Yes.
Okay, cool.
So there's, depending on the competitionthere's different ways that will play out.
Yeah, there, that's it.
(04:55):
And, whereabouts do you train?
we train at LeschenaultLeisure Centre in Australind.
That's a, little 25 meter pool.
And, yeah, we train outof there six days a week.
And, how does that go for you?
it's quite challenging actually, becausethe pools, when it was designed, they've
made a six lane pool into eight lanes.
(05:16):
So our lanes are verythin, for what we need.
So yeah, it can make it quite hard becauseI have really quite big teenage swimmers.
So their wingspan is startingto become too big to be doing
butterfly down the lane.
So I've got to think outside thebox and, work different ways to, to
program it so that we can swim freely.
(05:37):
and.
It gets busy as well, so we don'thave as much lane space as I'd
like, but we just make it work.
You just gotta make it work.
And, it's been there for a little while?
yeah.
From the 90s.
From what I can, I'm trying togo back to see the history of
the club, because it was first ofall, it was called Leschenault.
Swimming club.
So that was like late 80s, 90s.
(05:59):
and then it become Golden West Dolphins.
And that was quite hard forpeople to understand where we
were situated because no one knowswhere Golden West Dolphins was.
So yeah, we changed the name to AustralindSwimming Club, maybe eight years ago.
But you've maintainedthat dolphin in your logo.
Yeah,
we've maintained that.
So that's a good connection still to thattime when nobody knew where you came from.
(06:22):
Yeah, and we kept the colours as well,the same, and yeah, just, and the dolphin.
But, it's been a lot better for the clubbecause people know where Australind is.
yes, it's quite easy to find, isn't it?
And, how much of theyear do you do swimming?
we train nearly 11 months of the year.
Maybe 10 and a half, when Ithink about the, maybe the small
little breaks that we have.
(06:42):
our season is brokenup into three sections.
So we have, over winter we have,it's called short course, where
you race in a 25 metre pool.
and then we go to long course,which is 50 metre racing.
And that will go fromOctober through to December.
And then January through toApril is our last block, and
that leads us up to Nationals.
(07:04):
And then we'll have a month out of thewater, just to refresh and yeah, give
us time to program for the next season.
but yeah, everyone needs to have abreak and just, step back from the pool.
cause it's a lot, it's a long time.
Yeah, we'll get into a little bit abouthow much time gets spent, Taarna, what
does it take you to be a swimming coach?
The most important thing for me ishaving, my family, my supportive family.
(07:28):
because, six days a week I'm at the pool,morning, early mornings and late nights.
So, I'm very lucky that my husbandsupports me the way he does.
he's always helping with dinner andthe kids and, he makes me coffee in
the morning and he makes sure thatI've got ice in my water bottle and
yeah, just having that support hasbeen amazing because it is a lot.
(07:49):
Yeah, so for me, the supportivefamily is like number one.
you've got to be passionate aswell, like you've really got to
have that desire to want to helpother people to be better swimmers.
got to be organized, punctual, everythingthat you're trying to put into your
swimmers you have to also replicate.
I always am trying to learn more,and stay current with what's
(08:12):
happening in the swimming world.
not be stale and, do the same things.
I'm always trying to make itmore exciting for the kids.
swimming up and down a blackline can be very boring.
So yeah, I'd like to try andchange things up as well.
So yeah, just innovativeas well in, in my coaching.
it's not only about what youget them to do, but it's almost
(08:33):
about what you get them to thinkabout while they're doing it.
Yeah, that's it.
You mentioned, about being organized.
What does that look like?
So for me, I have to program for ourwhole club and we have six squads
so I need to have some sort ofvision for where we're heading to
and how we're going to get there.
(08:54):
So, I always make sure at the startof the season that I've planned
out how I want it to evolve.
and then making sure that myprograms are in place earlier
than, say just before the session.
Like I have to be organised thatway the other coaches know
what they're doing as well.
because they'll have a look at thesession and then if they've got questions
they can come see me beforehand.
(09:15):
So yeah, I can't just rock up and wing it.
I probably could, but it doesn'tlead to success if you're just
rocking up and winging it.
Yeah, you've got to have somesort of vision of where you want
to be heading with your swimmers.
And being competitive swimming, there'ssome element of you're aiming for
success from the start, aren't you?
Yeah,
absolutely.
(09:35):
Yep.
So, like at the start of October, Iknow that our pinnacle event is December
States and we need to be in primeposition to race well in December.
then we have a, our second biggestrace is in January, which is next week.
And we can't rest.
So while everyone's on Christmasholidays, we're still at the pool,
(09:57):
as much as the pool will allow us,because they do break for holidays.
But yeah, we, so even today, likewe were, Back in the pool again.
So once we've got through that comp,then we can have a little rest for
a week, but then we have to moveforward and start building again all
the way up to April for nationals.
And where are the nationals being run?
(10:18):
Brisbane.
And you've got some, potentialswimmers to head that way?
I do.
Yeah.
I have, I've got, three at the moment.
Yeah, that, yeah, with National Times.
Wow.
That's pretty impressive.
From a, relatively small regionalclub in Western Australia.
That's hitting above your weight.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We've been working really hard.
that was the kids goals.
They wanted to get to nationals.
So yeah, we've beenworking hard to get there.
(10:40):
It sounds like some of themare definitely on the way.
Yeah, they are.
They are.
You mentioned you've got coachesthat also coach the squads.
How do you keep track of all of that?
So I try and work with each ofthe squads at least once a week
and that way it just, I just findthat it helps with my programming.
(11:01):
That if I can see what's happening inthe groups with the swimmers, like I can
notice straight away that, oh, maybe thatbutterfly technique's not looking good.
We need to implement some kick or justdifferent, technique I just find that
if I work with the kids and I can seewhat's wrong with their technique,
I'm able to fix it, as opposed toif I'm just working on my group, I
(11:24):
can't see what everyone else is doing.
So I like to keep my finger on what'shappening in it with all the kids, because
I'm trying to develop the whole club.
It's not just about the top end.
So for me, I like to see what's happeningin, with my juniors because they're going
to be, they're the future of my club.
So it's important that I have an idea ofwhat's happening the whole way through.
. It's important to me thatI can see what's happening.
(11:47):
Yeah, because it's easy just to,just see what's in front of you,
as opposed to the whole club.
That whole club perspective,that's super important.
Yeah, it is.
It is to me, because I knowthat one day those little kids
are going to be my future.
at the moment, I've got kids that,teenagers that are 17 and, they're going
off to uni soon, which is fantastic.
And when they go, they're goingto be ready to join a new club and
(12:09):
hopefully take their swimming further.
But yeah, I'm still going to be herein Australind and I have to have.
more swimmers coming through.
so you need to keep an eye on them asthey come through so that they all get
what they need to make it all happen.
Absolutely.
Yep.
Cause you've got themfour strokes and yeah.
And like I'm a, IM coach, so Ilike to work on four strokes.
(12:30):
you'll find some programs mightbe a distance swimming program
or, more freestyle based.
Whereas I'm, I like to work four strokes.
Yeah.
And have IM swimmers.
IM is individual medley.
Individual medley, yes.
Excellent.
All right.
I know that much.
We've had a good look at what ittakes Taarna to be a swimming coach.
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at what it means.
(13:01):
We've had a look at what it takes.
Now let's have a look at what it means.
Taarna, what does it mean to you,your family, or the community that
you're able to be a swimming coach?
to me, this is probably thehappiest I've ever been.
Like, I absolutely lovebeing a swimming coach.
It takes me away from my family and,and they're really proud of me and what
(13:24):
I've achieved with my swimming coaching.
so I'm lucky that I've got that support,but yeah, you just got to have that love
and passion to be able to, coach otherpeople's children day in and day out.
Yeah, so it does, it means a lot tome, to be a successful coach as well.
I've been lucky, I've been awardeda few awards, for coaching.
(13:45):
So, it just reiterates to methat I'm doing good things.
I've won Bunbury.
coach of the year, this year.
I've been awarded a Appreciation Awardby the Shire of Harvey for my work
as a swimming coach within our Shire.
and I also won Development Coachof the Year for Swimming WA, so
that was pretty exciting as well.
Absolutely, they're wonderful recognition.
(14:07):
Yeah, they are.
And my wife Caroline swims and shesees you coaching from time to time
when, when that, when she gets there.
And she can see just how well yourcoaching is received by the kids as
well and how positively impactful it is.
Yeah, it's been a long journey, but likeover the last five years, I can see how
(14:29):
far the club's come and my, Swimmersare, they're teenagers now, like when
I first become head coach they werelike nine and now they're teenagers
and, becoming really good swimmers,really good competitive swimmers.
And yeah, to see them growingand how well they're doing, not
only at swimming, in school andoutside and other sports and that.
(14:51):
I just know that I'm helping tomake and create, successful people.
a lot of sports are quite interesting,but swimming in particular, you're
there early, you're there late.
what does that do to the kidsthat makes it so valuable to them?
Oh, they just become so disciplined.
I've had many swimmers thatbecause we get up early.
we arrive at the pool at five15 in the morning and, they
(15:14):
become easily employable.
because they're punctual.
They turn up on time.
Yeah.
they, they really become successfulbecause they've got that.
discipline.
that's what I'm instilling in these kids.
Yeah, discipline.
What does it mean to you thatyou're also a successful coach?
I'm not one to talk about my successes.
(15:34):
So, for me, we just went toSenior States in December.
And, one thing that I realised wasthat, It was the first time that I had
all my swimmers making finals, and thenwe also managed to get a timekeeping
seat because I had so many swimmers infinals and that to me is just massive
(15:56):
amounts of growth, from when we first,yeah, from when I first took over, I had
.two swimmers at States, made one final.
And then, yeah, this yearwe, I had them all in finals.
And, yeah, I just sat backand I was just quietly happy.
When I look at where we were andwhere we are now, it's like, Oh, wow.
(16:17):
Cause you don't actually see it.
You've got to go back in time.
And I just, I'd read a couple ofposts, that come up in my memories,
and it was like, oh, we have grown,and we have, we, we are successful.
we're thriving.
Yeah, we're a thriving country club.
And, I'm looking forward to nextweekend, because I really strive
to be the best country club.
(16:38):
So we'll see how we go.
Yeah, the proof is inthe pudding, so to speak.
Yeah, it is.
And the results with how you gonext weekend a key indicator.
it's only one indicator,two of your success.
Yeah.
Because you've already mentioned some ofthe other indicators in the kids lives.
Yeah.
You had an interesting story beforewe got onto the interview about
(17:01):
the swimmers that you had thatwere very successful at the states
Oh, I do.
So, I've got some amazing swimmers.
one of them, is a S19, which is autism,multi class swimmer, and he broke three
Australian records for S19 swimming.
One was the 15 year old 100 back.
(17:23):
And the other was the open 100 back.
And he also broke a 50 fly.
So yeah, Australian Records is amazing.
That's amazing.
Yeah, it is.
And then
you had some more success as well.
That's only the start of it, isn't it?
Oh yeah,
we won some medals.
Lexi, she's 17.
she made four Open Finalsfor the first time.
(17:44):
She's never made an Open Final before.
And she ended up winning asilver and a bronze medal.
So that was, yeah, thatwas super exciting for her.
Seeing that effort pay off.
Yeah, it's amazing.
Yeah, they have, they've beenworking really hard and they deserve
all their, all the successes.
how does your role benefitthe Swimmers in the community.
(18:05):
So not only are we working with ourswimmers in the pool, but we're also
working with them outside of the pool.
We tend to do a lot of work onour strength and conditioning.
And The kids go to a program ata gym, ARC, and do their strength
conditioning and core work there.
then also we're always working onpsychology, making them confident.
(18:29):
Confident, working on nerves,yeah, just getting them to become
confident in what they're doing.
Because we can go to a swimming comp andyou get all nervous behind the blocks
and you second guess yourself and it'slike, no, you know what you're doing.
So we're trying to instill thatconfidence and resilience into them.
(18:51):
And over time you can just see themgrow from, anxious behind the blocks to
these, strong independent and confidentyoung people that are not scared to get
up against the big boys next to them.
you might only be little,but it doesn't matter.
you can race anyone.
If you've got good technique and you'vegot the desire, yeah, you can do anything.
(19:13):
And that has so many positivebenefits for their mental health
down the track, doesn't it?
It does.
It does.
Yeah.
Just so many good thingscome from swimming.
Yeah, you're able to.
Have small goals that you achieve everyday, the first one is getting in the
water, but after that, you've done somany sets, you've completed your hours
of training, you've actually done it.
(19:34):
Swum the program that you've been given,so every day you're getting positive
confirmation of achieving some goal,even if sometimes they're set by the
coach, rather than you individually.
Yeah.
But you have achieved it, and it'samazing to be able to achieve.
Because we do a lot of goal setting,with the kids, and, and it can be
from, small goals to outrageous goals.
(19:57):
but we'll have something for training,something short term, something, end
of season and then something long term.
And yeah, we just work, chip awayat working towards their goals
and they can tick them off andthey're so proud of themselves
when they see how far they've come.
I also do a lot of sets in trainingthat, and I'll take photos of them.
(20:18):
I'll record their results and, thentwo months down the track I'll pull
it back up and we'll do the sameset again and we can compare and
yeah, they can see that all the workthey're doing is, showing progress.
and that's one of the most importantthings with competitive swimming
is, that you actually do race.
sometimes people wantto use it as a fitness.
(20:40):
tool, which is great because you'regoing to get super fit if you're doing
competitive training for swimming, butit just, yeah, sometimes you need to be
doing the racing as well just to showyou what you're actually training for.
It gives you that extra little bitof push on a particular day that you
can really, step out of yourself and
yeah, the results, oh, theresults are everything.
(21:02):
and, look, you're not always going to getamazing results, something might happen.
but, it's just get back in the pool,get back to training and we go again.
So sometimes thingsdon't always go to plan.
And, like when I was talking about thepsychology, we talk a lot about, nutrition
as well, and looking after our bodies.
(21:23):
And I often refer to our bodies as cars.
are you fueling your car to be a Ferrarior are we fueling it to be a Mini Moke?
And, yeah, I had one swimmer who, wasn'tlooking after themselves as well as what
they should have been, and nutritionwas out the window, we weren't eating,
(21:43):
two boiled eggs, isn't gonna cut itwhen we're, we're doing four or five K
sets, like, it's just not gonna cut it.
And yeah, they swam really bad, butit was how he turned himself around.
I just had to say, look, I'mdisappointed, in what he did.
You've done.
You haven't looked after yourself.
and proof is in your results.
(22:05):
And that was it straight away.
Water, nutrition was back on pointand we turned everything around.
We made finals again forthe next two days at States.
PB's for every race.
Like we did really well.
So yeah, sometimesthings don't go to plan.
but it's yeah, how we, we learn from itand then make the changes, which counts.
(22:25):
And it's a part of the.
The all around swimmingcoach role, isn't it?
Oh, it is.
Oh, it never ends.
I am, I'm their psychologist.
I know when they're feeling sick.
I can just tell by lookingat them if they're off.
I spend so much time with them.
yeah, I can turn into a counsellor forrelationships, advice for mum and dad.
(22:47):
There's so many things that gointo being a swimming coach.
Help with homework.
Yeah, there's so many things.
It's amazing and so many, so manydifferent meanings and positive meanings.
Yeah.
For both you and for the swimmers.
Yeah, but I've becomequite close with them.
I never really realised howclose until something happens
(23:11):
and then, and they look to me.
I have a, an old swimmer that, Whenshe bought her first car, she sent
me this picture to show me, look whatI've done, and I was so proud of her.
cause she'd worked really hard tobuy her first car, and I love that
she thought of me, to, to show, causeI, yeah, I was just so proud of her.
Yeah, it's lovely that you don't realisethat sort of impact that you make on
(23:33):
people, until something like that happens.
Yeah, and
there's an opportunity to show it, butyou also have to be ready to accept it.
Yeah, that's right.
you do a lot of work with the children andyou mentioned briefly the parents earlier.
What sort of work doyou do with the parents?
Parents, they play a massive part.
I often call it's like a triangle.
(23:54):
So we have the coach, the parent, and theswimmer, and The parents are so important
because they're the ones that aregetting the swimmer to training on time.
I have to rely on them toenter their swimmers in races.
they're the ones that are fundingit all because swimming's not
cheap, it's very expensive.
nutrition.
(24:15):
They're the ones that have to buy thefood and a lot of the time they'll be
with their kids in the stands and theyare the ones that have to nag them to
eat and to be on top of what they'reputting into their mouths, because,
they buy the food, but I rely on themheavily to help with that, It's expensive
to be a swimmer, so a racing suit forteenagers, can be up to 1, 000 for girls.
(24:39):
boys could be 500.
goggles, 60.
A race is, states it's 20 a race.
at nationals it's 50 a race.
so there's a, it's a very expensivesport and when you're doing, say,
eight races a meet, yeah, it adds up.
So yeah, parents are Vitallyimportant, yeah, in the triangle
(25:01):
of being a competitive swimmer.
So you're not only a coachfor the kids, but you're a
coach for the parents as well.
I
often am sharing a lot of information,A lot of it revolves around nutrition.
It's just so important because we'reswimming so many kilometers a week and
yeah, I'm often looking to make surethat they're fueling their bodies enough.
Just don't want them to run intoany issues from not fueling enough.
(25:25):
Because once reds, they call itreds, once that sets in, it's
very hard to, see it coming.
It's just suddenly that yourswimmers start breaking down and,
yeah, they'll be sick a lot, Yeah,they're exhausted actually and they
won't be progressing and a lot of ithas to do with how they're eating.
So yeah, the parents have got asuper important job because I'm often
(25:50):
sharing information about food and howmuch are you eating and this is how
many calories we burnt tonight and we'regoing to make sure that we're fed enough
and that we're eating again at fiveo'clock in the morning before we train
again and yeah, they have a big job.
And do they do good?
Oh, they do amazing.
They do amazing.
Yeah, they, very supportive.
(26:12):
they volunteer around our club forour committees, timekeeping duties,
keeping the kids fed, having themarrive on time to meets and training.
Yeah, they are, they do an amazing job.
There are so many positive meaningsthat come from being a swimming coach.
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at how you do it.
(26:39):
We've had a look at what it means.
Now we'll have a look at how you do it.
Taarna, how do you become acompetitive swimming coach?
So to become a swimmingcoach, you generally will
start off by finding a club.
So you could be a parent in aclub that's decided, oh you know
what, I wouldn't mind helping out.
(26:59):
Because generally that's how youstart out, like volunteering.
Swimming clubs always need coaches.
You might have had a swimming background.
Not everyone has a swimming background.
You might just generally be interested.
So once you've approached yourhead coach or your committee.
They'll start having a look intocoaching courses and in WA and
(27:20):
in Australia, we start off with afoundations course and it's very basic.
They'll take you through thebasics of each stroke, and how to,
Coach it.
Yeah, to pretty much teach it.
yeah, it's very basic course.
and then you'll shadowa coach on pool deck.
So shadowing's just walking up and downthe side of the pool with the coach and
(27:43):
listening to them coach and watching whatthey do, having a look at their programs.
after the course, A little bit, it'snot a lot, but there'll be a couple of
programs that you might have to writeup with the help of your head coach,
and maybe a little bit of theory.
And then once you've done all that,send it off to Swimming Australia and
it gets marked, you're good to go.
(28:04):
But only at a lower level of coaching.
To then move on to the higher levelsof coaching, we have a development
course, and then that starts to getmore, into the nitty gritty of coaching.
So you'll learn how to use a stopwatch,more how to program for a season.
how to write sets for, daily sessions.
(28:27):
you'll spend more time shadowing coachesand listening and watching and, you may
even get a go at coaching the higherlevels, but it will all be supervised.
And then once you've done that for ayear, Then you've got the opportunity
to go on to an advanced coach andthat's a, university course now.
(28:48):
They do it through the Universityof Victoria and that's a year and
a hundred hours of shadowing ahigher level coach on pool deck.
you'll definitely get into the nittygritties of being a swimming coach.
psychology, the strength andconditioning side of swimming.
You'll work on talent identification,
(29:11):
technique, more programming, and they'llgo into the programming side For a really
high level competitive swimming club.
So yeah, it gets quite intensewhen you go to the advanced.
The next one after that is the pinnacle,like where it's, I think it's three
years to do the next level and thatwould be for Olympic level coach.
(29:33):
that's pretty intense.
There's not a lot of them around.
Yeah, there isn't.
It's a lot.
and that's where I would have to go to.
And as much as I love my swimmingcoaching, I'm not in that position
in Australind to be that level coach.
So I've looked at it, but Idon't know if I'd follow that
unless I was living in the city.
(29:54):
Yeah, it's a big commitment,three years for a course.
it's a degree level course, threeyears of university style study.
It is.
And yeah, you have to havethat level of swimmer as well.
And you've got to be able toshadow that level coach as well.
So you definitely have to be inthe city to be able to do that.
And yeah, being in Australiajust wouldn't work.
(30:15):
It's, Quite a commute.
Yeah, two hours is a long way.
What's your journey beenlike becoming a swim coach?
Oh, I've had a different journey,not a straightforward journey.
at the very beginning we talked abouthow I was a swimmer and then I become
a pool manager and at the time I was17 and the local swimming club needed
a coach for their little tadpole group.
(30:38):
So I'd done my swimming teacher course.
So I used to help out with that and then.
I also helped out with the adulttriathlon group that our swimming pool
used to run a session for once or twicea week, so I used to help out with that.
But it wasn't really until I had myown children and They were ready to
join swimming club and the second theyjoined I just knew that I wanted to
(31:02):
be involved and they needed coachesso I just jumped like two feet in
and since then I've not looked back.
I've absolutely lovedbeing a swimming coach.
It's definitely my passion.
enough to take me away from poolmanaging and from swimming teaching.
I just wholly and solely,yeah, love swimming.
Never imagined that I'd be a head coach,but over time I just, yeah, I just
(31:27):
learnt more and shadowed and love it.
Absolutely love it.
So yeah, that's how I'vegotten to where I am.
it's so good to have agood news story like that.
yeah, it's been great, I'm happy, and I'mhappy doing what I do, which is great.
what's up next for your swimmers?
So next weekend we'reoff to Country Champs.
(31:47):
so all the country clubs in WA will allmeet in Perth, and that's one of our
biggest meets for our club as a whole.
March, we have country pennants,and that's in Mandurah, which is
fantastic because it's an hour downthe road and we can just drive, and
that I'm really looking forward toI'd love to win A grade pennant.
That's, that would be my ultimate.
(32:09):
That's one of my goals, my own personalgoals, is to win the A grade pennant.
you have to have a fullcontingent of a team.
So you need to be able to fill,all the ages and the relays.
So, I'm hoping that this year we,we can fill them, but fill them
well, enough to yeah, to win enoughpoints to win the A grade pennant.
And then in April, we are offto Nationals, and Nationals is
(32:34):
in Brisbane, so that's exciting.
So that'll be my first actual timegoing to Nationals as a, coach.
last year my swimmers went and I hadother coaches help out so I'm pretty
excited for my first nationals as a coach.
And then I completely forgot, wehave coming up at the end of January
our very first swim meet in Collie.
So Collie run the Collie Openevery year and this year they
(32:57):
were just looking for some help.
So our swimming pool's toosmall to hold swimming meet.
And their swimming pool'sperfect for a swim meet, but
they haven't got the numbers.
So yeah, our club's going to combinewith them and we're going to have the
very first Collie Australind open.
So that's really exciting.
fantastic.
And it sounds like each club bringsa different strength to the game.
(33:17):
Yeah, well, Colly have always hadtheir meat and we've never had
the opportunity to run a meat.
So, whilst we've got the numbersto help out, they've got the
experience on how to run a meat.
So yeah, that'll be exciting as well.
Sounds like a great collaboration
we're happy to help them.
they are only a little club and theyonly run say six months of the year.
(33:38):
And, yeah, we work with them often.
So yeah, it's nice to be ableto help our friends out and
they're helping us out as well.
So yeah, we'll be ableto do some fundraising.
if there's a link for the fundraising,I should put it in the show notes.
Oh, yeah.
I'll send one through.
Well, thank you very much, Taarna,for being a guest on Forrest.Chat.
And all our Forrest.Chatlisteners wish you all the best
(33:59):
with your future endeavors,
which are
super exciting and coming up really soon.
I know.
It's going to be a big year.
You've been listening to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavor in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, and intoday's episode, we talked with Taarna Cam
(34:19):
about being a competitive swimming coach.
Remember, there are four ways toget involved with Forrest.Chat.
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When you sign up for the emails, youreceive advance notice of the episodes.
Listen to the episodes atForrest.Chat slash episodes.
If you do something interesting andwant to be a guest, book an interview
(34:43):
Forrest.Chat slash interview.
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at Forrest.Chat slash advert.
I'm looking forward to joiningyou with our next guest.
Until then, enjoy making it happen.
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