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- Help people develop swimming skills and techniques
- You'll need swimming ability, perseverance and patience
- You could become a swim co-ordinator or lead swimming teacher
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Teaching or coaching one-to-one or in groups
- Planning and delivering sessions
- Demonstrating swimming techniques and correcting faults
- Identifying ways to improve performance
- Making sure safety standards are followed
- Checking life-saving equipment is in working order
- Organising and supervising assistants and helpers
- Offering basic first aid
- You'll also support your swimmers by attending events and competitions
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work evenings and weekends, especially during competitions. If you're coaching swimmers at a high level, you'll usually work long hours. You'll often need to travel to competitions and may need to spend time away from home. You'll work in schools, health centres, private health clubs and swimming clubs.
You'll need
This role requires excellent swimming ability, perseverance and patience, organisational skills, the ability to encourage people and put them at ease.
You'll need to pass enhanced background checks, as you may be working with children and vulnerable adults, and be over 16 years of age.
You can qualify as a swimming teacher by doing Level 1 and Level 2 teaching qualifications awarded by Swim England or the Swimming Teachers' Association (STA). These qualifications will allow you to teach non-swimmers, improvers and people looking to learn advanced swimming skills.
Alternatively, you can do an intermediate apprenticeship in coaching swimming. You can also complete a leisure team member intermediate apprenticeship.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience you could become a swim co-ordinator or lead swimming teacher, checking the quality of swimming teachers. You could work as the head coach of a sports club, or senior coach with a regional or national team. You could also move into sports development or youth work.