What skill would you like to learn?
After a full weekend at Loughborough with Swim England’s Senior Coach Programme, my notebook is overflowing with notes and half-formed diagrams; my phone with shots of the presentations. The slides will follow soon as PDFs, but already one question sticks: what skill do I most want to develop from here?
For me, it’s learning how to write S.M.A.R.T. session plans.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Simple on paper, but challenging in the real world when faced with the variety of swimmers I coach:
PC1 (9-12 yrs): just stepping up, butterfly still a mountain to climb, and every metre of planning counts.
C2 (14–16 yrs): technically skilled, county-level athletes training in A1/A2, needing the right aerobic progression.
P2 (12–14 yrs): county and regional swimmers, some already edging toward national level, training up to 13 hours a week plus land work.
I’ve done the hard graft of Macro, Meso and Micro planning – the annual cycle, the three-term structure, the week-by-week design. The next step is to translate that into whiteboard-ready sessions that are both challenging and clear.
I want my plans to be more than distances and intervals. I want them to be:
Purposeful (linked to the right point in the season).
Measurable (so athletes and I know when they’ve hit the target).
Progressive (building from week to week without overloading).
Personalised (flexing for the RS4, AS6, FS5, or ES4 in front of me).
That’s the skill I want to master: to craft SMART plans that not only fill the two-hour session, but also give every swimmer a clear sense of why they are doing what they’re doing, and how it moves them closer to their goals.
Part 1 – SMART Planning for PC1 (10–12 yrs)
Title: Making Every Metre Count: SMART Session Plans for PC1
Hook:
In PC1, an hour in the pool goes quickly. Between briefing, skills focus, and fun challenges, we rarely swim more than 1,500m. That’s why every metre must have meaning.
Content Flow:
Specific → Skill targets like butterfly drills or starts/turns.
Measurable → Holding technique over 4 × 25m fly kick, or 50m timed challenges.
Achievable → Sessions capped at ~1,200–1,500m to match age and attention span.
Relevant → Focus on County time readiness within 3 months.
Time-bound → One-hour sessions split into warm-up, skill block, main set, fun challenge, swim down.
Closing Line:
SMART planning here means giving young swimmers confidence that butterfly is possible and that County times are within reach.
Part 2 – SMART Planning for C2 (14–16 yrs)
Title: Training Smart: Building Aerobic Engines in C2
Hook: C2 swimmers are pushing toward county-level as teenagers, technically skilled and training in aerobic zones A1 and A2. Their sets need structure, discipline, and progression.
Content Flow:
Specific → Aerobic development through disciplined A1/A2 sets.
Measurable → Intervals and HR checks to ensure the right training zone .
Achievable →2-4km per 1-2 hour session, with careful balance of endurance and skills.
Relevant → Targeting County progression, with pathways toward Regional standard.
Time-bound → Structured around their 4 weekly sessions (Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun).
Closing Line: SMART planning for C2 means delivering sets that are tough but purposeful — the right workload at the right stage of the season.
Part 3 – SMART Planning for P2 (12–14 yrs)
Title: From County to National: SMART Planning for P2
Hook: P2 swimmers train 13+ hours a week. They include County finalists, Regional qualifiers, and even a couple aiming for Nationals. SMART planning here means managing detail, progression, and individualisation.
Content Flow:
Specific → Sets designed for A2 → AT progression and stroke specialisms .
Measurable → Whiteboard clarity: e.g., 50 × 100m threshold test set.
Achievable → Balancing challenge with consistency (holding form under fatigue).
Relevant → Linked to their Macro plan, competition calendar , and individual targets (RS4, AS6, FS5, ES4).
Time-bound → Two-hour sessions across three evenings + Saturday morning, with early mornings for aerobic volume.
Closing Line: SMART planning at this level transforms busy sessions into clear pathways: from holding A2 pace on a Thursday EMT to racing at Arena League or chasing Regional qualifying times.
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