{"id":520582,"date":"2024-09-08T01:39:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T08:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=520582"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:19:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T22:19:01","slug":"the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/","title":{"rendered":"The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Three minutes into the coach\u2019s monologue on butterfly technique, ninth grader Sam raised his hand and asked, &#8220;why?\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought I was a good coach,\u201d says his Middle Atlantic mentor. \u201cI had state-championship teams, high school All-Americans, but that question changed my approach to coaching forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not alone. When she was an assistant at Indiana University, <strong>Pam Swander<\/strong>, then coaching a mid-distance group, was one day sent a world class breaststroker. She told him, \u201dWe are going to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy should I do that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt won\u2019t hurt you,\u201d Swander said. \u201cI will never say those words again. He was expecting something that was going to make him better. On that day, I had not given ample thought to what one of the best breaststrokers in the country needed. It was a changing point in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These days Swander is head coach at Carolina Aquatics. While preparing workouts, she now considers &#8220;why am I doing this warmup? What\u2019s the point of it? What will they get out of it? What do I want them to get out of it? What\u2019s the main set, etc.?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Multi-time NISCA president and 20-year boys coach at New Trier Township High School, <strong>Mark Onstott<\/strong>, observes: \u201cPerhaps Sam never had a reason to ask why. Everyone has their \u2018why\u2019 at a different time. During explanations, not every kid asks \u2018what does he mean? Why are we doing this?\u2019 So what I try to do is explain things in many different ways and answer questions such as \u2018why.\u2019 So it\u2019s an ongoing process. Some kids are not ready physically, physiologically or mentally ready to ask \u2018why\u2019 and some may only understand the \u2018why\u2019 in a broad sense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As an example to the question, \u201cWhy are we doing 20 x 20 underwaters?,\u201d Onstott may reply: \u201cWe are working on underwater dolphin kick trying to replicate what you are going to feel coming off the wall on the last turn of 200. That explanation is not given every time,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it is given multiple times when it seems appropriate. Of course, any \u2018reasonable\u2019 questions are answered and help shape the future explanation of sets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>At YOTA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am better at answering \u2018why\u2019 now than I was when I started,\u201d says <strong>Jamie Bloom<\/strong>, head senior coach at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/jamie-bloom-to-join-the-yota-swim-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YMCA of Triangle Area<\/a> in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>A former assistant at the University of Tennessee and USA Swimming team manager, she says: \u201cWe do a lot of drills and skills. We break them down into why we are doing them, what it\u2019s going to do for you, where you should direct your attention, how this will help you progress, make you more technically sound and hopefully a faster swimmer. Now with the Internet, YouTube and all the videos, there is so much information that kids and parents can get, you have to be prepared to answer \u2018why?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year, we started with Swim Strong Dryland. The kids like the program because universally they say \u2018they explain everything to us.\u2019 And kids love that. Kids want to know why they are doing what they are doing. There are days the last thing you want to be doing is looking at a line in the bottom of the pool and not have a purpose. One of our leaders has a goal for his group. It is to have a purpose every time swimmers get in the water. His group comes together at the end of practice, talks about the workout, gives a shout out and randomly asks a swimmer \u2018what was your purpose today?\u2019 It\u2019s really giving swimmers pause to think what they are doing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Deeper Take on Why<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy? by itself, in its simplest, purest and most honest form, is a statement of curiosity,\u201d says <strong>Tim Sirois<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/niscaonline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NISCA<\/a> President, mathematics teacher and boys and girls swimming coach at Highland Park, (Ill.) High School. \u201cIn the classroom, there are so many different levels of \u2018why,\u2019 and the levels are based on the depth of a student\u2019s understanding. More advanced students ask higher levels of \u2018why?\u2019 When the classroom culture is as it should be, with students respectfully listening to the conversation surrounding the \u2018why,\u2019 everyone benefits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same applies to the pool. We talk a lot about swimming IQ, which is different from swimming ability. I\u2019ve had some very high-level swimmers who didn\u2019t have high swimming IQs. They have benefitted from listening to a newer swimmer or someone who wasn\u2019t as fast asking all sorts of questions about swim-related topics. Those include season planning (i.e. why we were doing certain types of training early or late in the season), why a practice was structured the way it was, why a certain race strategy may be best for them, etc.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always viewed the question \u2018why\u2019 as a statement of trust between a swimmer and myself. It gives them a better understanding of what I\u2019m looking for as a coach, whether it is in a practice or a meet. It gives them a better understanding of how to get to the next level. It also gives me a better understanding of what they are trying to learn and where the mind is going into a practice or meet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYears ago, I had a freshman swimmer who asked a million questions his first few months. He was extremely invested in improving and understanding how he could race and train better. As a student his senior year he brought the same curiosity to the classroom. All of his \u2018why\u2019 questions closed the gap between him and the more experienced swimmers he trained with. He really never had a bad workout in four years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question \u2018why\u2019 at meets comes in different forms. \u2018Why are they so fast?\u2019 leads to a whole discussion of technique and training. That question arises when we have a dual meet and I\u2019ve juggled the lineup for competitive purposes. I had a swimmer who typically swims the 200\/500 in meets competing against a really fast 100 freestyler. She had less confidence in her sprinting ability but the entire team listened to my explanation of faith in other swimmers\u2019 abilities to handle the 500. It increased the trust teammates had in each other stepping up to the job at hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI ask swimmers \u2018why\u2019 in a lot of different forms, too, especially in post-race conversations. Why they swam a set differently in the second half compared to the first half. Then I listen to their reasons and how it impacted their experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis season our girls team started coming in about 15 minutes early to morning practice on days that follow meets. The meeting is team-led and I just sit back and listen. It requires each girl to identify what went well for them and what they can improve upon. What I\u2019ve observed is girls listening to one another and offering their own opinion of \u2018why\u2019 for each swimmer. Their willingness to initiate this is largely based on the open lines of communication and the trust they\u2019ve built with each other and with the coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Back to Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYears ago, I just spoke the workout and kids did it,\u201d says Bloom. \u201cIf they didn\u2019t get it the first time they did later because there was a pattern to it. Today I put it on paper for every lane and I put it on a white board. I also speak it. Now I am better at coaching to all different learning styles. I think coaches have gotten a lot better understanding that it is important to have a \u201cwhy.\u2019 Not just come to the pool and swim two hours and not think.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids need to know why,\u201d emphasizes Swander. \u201cIt has to make sense to those in front of you. The 11-12 year olds I coach want to be like Caeleb Dressel; his performances inspire them. They need to understand why they may not do the same type of practices yet but that the work they are doing now will set them up for future success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation Three minutes into the coach\u2019s monologue on butterfly technique, ninth grader Sam raised his hand and asked, &#8220;why?\u2019&#8221; \u201cI thought<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":210555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,17,122607],"tags":[28840,59641,57311,45834],"class_list":["post-520582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaches-education","category-commentary","category-swim-life","tag-coaching","tag-jamie-bloom","tag-mark-onstott","tag-pam-swander"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>The &#039;Why&#039; In Coaching: Importance Of Providing An Explanation<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When a swimmer asks &#039;why,&#039; those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The &#039;Why&#039; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When a swimmer asks &#039;why,&#039; those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Stott\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Stott\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Stott\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c00f7967bbeec48d9dcea8129ce836\"},\"headline\":\"The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\"},\"wordCount\":1373,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Coaching\",\"Jamie Bloom\",\"Mark Onstott\",\"Pam Swander\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Coaches Education\",\"Commentary\",\"Swim Life\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\",\"name\":\"The 'Why' In Coaching: Importance Of Providing An Explanation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"When a swimmer asks 'why,' those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1600,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c00f7967bbeec48d9dcea8129ce836\",\"name\":\"Michael Stott\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/nsl_avatars\/8411426d01057b686fcb5305cd099617-100x100.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/nsl_avatars\/8411426d01057b686fcb5305cd099617-100x100.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Stott\"},\"description\":\"Mike Stott has a Masters in Journalism from Ohio University and has written for Swimming World and its family of publications since 1993. He attended Olympic Games in 1972, 1976, 1996 and has covered Olympic Trials and numerous NCAA championships for Swimming World. He has interviewed swimmers and coaches from every Olympic Games since 1936. He is an ASCA Level 5 coach and his high school swim teams have won nine state championships. He has been involved in swim team administration for more than 35 years and been a Ben Franklin Award recipient as a part of Swimming World\u2019s editorial team. In 2017 he received an Outstanding Service award from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-stott\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The 'Why' In Coaching: Importance Of Providing An Explanation","description":"When a swimmer asks 'why,' those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The 'Why' In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation","og_description":"When a swimmer asks 'why,' those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Stott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Stott","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Stott","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c00f7967bbeec48d9dcea8129ce836"},"headline":"The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation","datePublished":"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/"},"wordCount":1373,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","keywords":["Coaching","Jamie Bloom","Mark Onstott","Pam Swander"],"articleSection":["Coaches Education","Commentary","Swim Life"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/","name":"The 'Why' In Coaching: Importance Of Providing An Explanation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-08T08:39:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-27T22:19:01+00:00","description":"When a swimmer asks 'why,' those in the coaching profession need to have answer to provide clarity to the reasons athletes are doing work.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","width":2400,"height":1600,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-why-in-coaching-the-importance-of-providing-an-explanation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The &#8216;Why&#8217; In Coaching: The Importance Of Providing An Explanation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c00f7967bbeec48d9dcea8129ce836","name":"Michael Stott","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/nsl_avatars\/8411426d01057b686fcb5305cd099617-100x100.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/nsl_avatars\/8411426d01057b686fcb5305cd099617-100x100.jpg","caption":"Michael Stott"},"description":"Mike Stott has a Masters in Journalism from Ohio University and has written for Swimming World and its family of publications since 1993. He attended Olympic Games in 1972, 1976, 1996 and has covered Olympic Trials and numerous NCAA championships for Swimming World. He has interviewed swimmers and coaches from every Olympic Games since 1936. He is an ASCA Level 5 coach and his high school swim teams have won nine state championships. He has been involved in swim team administration for more than 35 years and been a Ben Franklin Award recipient as a part of Swimming World\u2019s editorial team. In 2017 he received an Outstanding Service award from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-stott\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/katie-mclaughlin-bill-rose-2016-o-trials-8113.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-2bqu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520582"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":616052,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520582\/revisions\/616052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}