SWIM COACHING
Swim with more confidence, better technique and a clearer understanding of what you’re doing
Swimming can be one of the most frustrating parts of triathlon.
You can be fit and strong on land, yet get in the water and feel as though you’re working far harder than everyone around you. You might know something isn’t quite right with your stroke but have no idea what you’re actually doing — or what you need to change.
And then there’s open water, where suddenly you’ve got sighting, wetsuits, other swimmers, deep water and no nice black line along the bottom of the pool.
Good swim coaching — whether you’re training for a triathlon or simply want to become a better swimmer — isn’t about giving you more lengths to swim. It’s about helping you understand what’s holding you back and giving you the skills to improve it.
I provide swim coaching for triathletes and other swimmers in Reading and Berkshire, including pool-based technique coaching and open water coaching.
At Tribirdsport, there are three ways I can help.
6-Week Swim Technique CourseDon’t just practise your stroke. Learn how to improve it.Explore +–
A six-week small-group course with me and Georgia, taking you progressively through the key elements of an effective freestyle stroke.
We’ll film your swimming at the beginning of the course. Rather than carrying out a full individual stroke analysis, we’ll use that footage to identify one to three key areas for you to focus on as you work through the course.
Across the six weeks we’ll work through:
- Week 1: Breathing & Relaxation
- Week 2: Posture, Head Position & Kick
- Week 3: Balance, Alignment & Hand Position
- Week 4: Rotation, Recovery & Entry
- Week 5: Catch & Pull-Through
- Week 6: Timing, Rhythm & Bringing It Together
Each week builds on the last, but the changes don’t happen from one coached session alone. You’ll need to practise between sessions, using what you’ve learned to develop the feel and repetition needed for those changes to become part of your swimming.
On the final week we’ll film you again so we can compare where you started with where you finish — and help you understand what has changed and what you should continue working on afterwards.
This isn’t about trying to rebuild your entire stroke overnight. It’s about understanding your swimming, making purposeful changes and learning how the different parts of your stroke work together.
Swim Video AnalysisSee what you’re actually doing in the water.Explore +–
What swimming feels like you’re doing and what you’re actually doing aren’t always the same thing.
A full Swim Video Analysis gives us the opportunity to look individually at your stroke above and below the water and understand what’s happening across the whole stroke.
I’ll film your swimming and carry out a detailed review of the footage, then record a voice-over analysis walking you through what I’m seeing, what may be affecting your swimming and which areas I think are most worth prioritising.
You’ll receive:
- Your swimming footage
- A full recorded video analysis with voice-over
- A written summary of the key areas to work on
- A swim session designed to help you start putting those changes into practice
Video analysis needs to be booked in advance and is subject to pool and coaching availability.
Open Water CoachingFeel more comfortable and capable away from the pool.Explore +–
Open water swimming isn’t simply pool swimming without the walls.
Whether you’re getting into a lake for the first time, preparing for your first triathlon or want to become a more confident and effective open-water swimmer, we’ll work on the skills you actually need.
Depending on your experience, that might include getting comfortable in open water, breathing, sighting, swimming straighter, wetsuit confidence, starts, turns, drafting or putting those skills together for race day.
The aim isn’t simply to get you around the lake.
It’s to help you understand what to do when open water doesn’t feel quite as predictable as the pool.
Open water coaching takes place at H2O in Burghfield, near Reading, Berkshire, and is arranged around suitable open-water conditions and availability.
NOT SURE WHICH OPTION YOU NEED?
Not sure where to start?
If you know your swimming needs some attention, get in touch and tell me what’s going on. I’ll help you work out which option makes the most sense.