The Woodlands

February 23, 2016 2 Comments by rachelstrattonmills Team Visits

How did we like the facility:
R: A beautifully done 50 meter pool. With separate diving well. An immaculate football stadium for the local high school team right outside the pool doors. Ample parking and dryland space both inside and outside. What’s not to love?!
What we thought of the coach to swimmer ratio:
R: while we saw a very normal coach to swimmer ratio here, we did see coaches who weren’t afraid to pull the kids out of the water to explain a set or a technique. So, the coaching we saw was very hands-on and effective.
Was there a practical application of skills during practice:
R: I saw one coach draw a picture of a skill on the white board. Other coaches pulled individuals out of the water to give a more in-depth description of what to work on. And most of the sets we saw had a strong technical aspect to them. There is no wonder this team is so good year after year.
What we liked best about our visit:
R. The kids. What a wonderful group of young swimmers we met. Most of our interaction was with swimmers 10-13 and they were wonderful. Polite, well spoken and not afraid to look you in the eye and engage in conversation. I always love seeing children who have great self esteem and respect for those around them.
How is this team unique:
R. The Woodlands uses a few different pools each day to accommodate all of their swimmers. Instead of simply sending one or two groups to swim regularly at the satellite pools, they rotate all groups through the various pools weekly. This means that every swimmer on the team has a chance to swim at the main home pool. No one feels like their group is less important this way. Tim Bauer, the head coach, gets an opportunity to observe all the groups and all the swimmers regularly. It is different from anything we’ve seen yet and I think it’s brilliant.
Our Take-a-way:
R. Often the larger the team the harder it is to maintain team spirit and a team identity. But Woodlands have found a way to grown in size yet still have immense team spirit and drive toward team goals. I’m sure it isn’t easy to achieve this but I love seeing a successful team who holds team spirit and team pride in such high regard.

Categories: Team Visits