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Culture, in its broadest sense, encapsulates the collective way of life, encompassing the behaviors, beliefs, values, and practices shared within a community. When we zoom into the microcosm of a swimming program, culture similarly represents the amalgam of outlooks, attitudes, values, morals, goals, and traditions that bind the team together.
Over my years of experience with leading swim clubs such as Carmel Swim Club, SwimMAC Carolina, Fort Collins Area Swim Team, and T2 Aquatics, a recurring question from coaches has been the secret to a team’s success. While success is inherently subjective, for the sake of discussion, let’s anchor it in the tangible benchmarks set by USA Swimming’s Virtual Club Championship, Club Excellence, Speedo Sectional, Junior National, National, and International competitions.
Each club I’ve been involved with started from different places, possessing unique strengths and facing distinct challenges. The term “culture” often emerged as a blanket term, overshadowing the nuanced, less conspicuous factors that are crucial during less prosperous times. Culture, an intrinsic aspect of any organization, plays a pivotal role in day-to-day operations, even if it sometimes devolves into mere rhetoric. This rhetoric, glorifying past achievements without a genuine understanding of the complexities involved in building and sustaining a thriving program, can be a harbinger of decline. Statements like “This is how we do it” and “This is how we’ve always done it” are often signs of stagnation.
Contrary to the fashionable, surface-level “culture building” exercises touted in popular business literature, I argue that success in competitive swimming hinges on three foundational pillars:
Firstly, expertise is non-negotiable. A coaching staff’s ability to guide athletes to success is contingent upon their knowledge and proficiency in the sport’s pedagogy, physiology, psychology, and history. Without this foundation, a program’s achievements will be limited, regardless of outlier success stories.
Secondly, the importance of a systematic approach cannot be overstated. It’s not enough to simply have a system; it must be grounded in proven methodologies, informed by both empirical evidence and iterative refinement. As Michael Gerber eloquently put it, “Systems run programs and people run systems.” This principle underscores the necessity of a structured, evidence-based framework for implementing coaching expertise and addressing areas for improvement.
Lastly, the power of relationships underlines the human aspect of competitive sports. The bonds formed between coaches, athletes, staff, and parents act as the grease that smooths the inevitable friction of youth sports, facilitating the realization of high-performance goals. If people are the lifeblood of the system, then fostering genuine, deep connections becomes paramount. We aspire to nurture individuals who are not only physically adept but also emotionally and intellectually enriched, capable of igniting passion and purpose in others.
In conclusion, the concept of culture, while lucrative and appealing in entrepreneurial and self-help circles, often falls short of delivering on its promises when detached from the concrete realities of a program’s daily operations. Authentic success is cultivated through relentless dedication to enhancing expertise, refining systems, and deepening relationships. Culture, therefore, should not be seen as an external embellishment but as an essential, integrated element of a program’s essence—ingrained within every practice, decision, and interaction.