Episode #111

We're taking a hard, objective look at a systemic crisis unfolding right now in the swim coaching profession.

Across the sport, highly dedicated professionals are walking away from the pool deck. And it's not because they've lost their passion. It's because the structure of the job itself has become entirely unsustainable.

We're going to examine the strict realities of compensation, governance, and long-term stability that are forcing talented coaches to leave. More importantly, we'll outline the concrete steps required to actually fix it.

To really understand the data we're about to review, we have to start with the human element.

Just listen to this quote.

It describes the absolute breaking point of Doug Cornish, a dedicated swim coach who was supposed to be driving four hours to a meet in West Virginia. Instead, he broke down crying in his driveway. His family was so accustomed to his constant absences that they barely even looked up when he said goodbye.

The heavy personal toll of a profession that relentlessly demands your weekends, your evenings, and your family time had finally caught up with him.

Now on paper, Doug was incredibly successful. During the pandemic, his program built a pole, expanded operations, and even won the Adolph Kiefer Safety Commendation Award. He served children with autism, children in foster care, and hundreds of local students. His impact on the community was absolutely massive.

But here's the stark reality.

Professional accomplishment did not equal personal security. The work completely consumed his life, yet he had no life insurance, no retirement plan, and very little professional stability. He realized that simply loving the sport wasn't enough anymore to justify those immense sacrifices.

When Doug eventually left coaching for a career in financial planning, his peers started reaching out. And they didn't just want financial advice. They wanted to know how he managed to escape.

Recognizing this widespread desperation, Doug went on to build a landmark coach compensation survey.

Surveying the profession.

Let's move from Doug's personal experience into the hard, undeniable data he gathered directly from over 800 coaching professionals.

38% of responding coaches report operating without an official current contract. they are out there on the pool deck working under informal arrangements or completely expired agreements.

This is a very dangerous situation.

Without a written agreement, a coach has absolutely no protection when a board changes, when a new administration takes over, or when their daily duties inevitably expand. It creates a deeply unhealthy dynamic for the coach, the team, and honestly the sport as a whole.

Adding to that, 310 of the professionals who responded to the survey were not offered any health insurance by their clubs.

We are talking about full-time professionals, individuals trusted with the health, safety, and development of young athletes who are themselves denied the most basic employment protections.

And that financial insecurity extends well beyond immediate healthcare. 355 coaches reported being completely denied access to a retirement plan. Another 51 had access to a plan but received zero employer contribution.

When an organization offers no retirement benefits, they are sending a very clear message. They are not investing in that coach's long-term future, which leaves the coach with virtually no financial incentive to stick around and grow with the program.

Then there's the hidden income killer.

80% of coaches do not receive annual cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs.

Without these adjustments, a coach's static salary actually loses financial ground every single year because of inflation. To put that into perspective, a coach earning $50,000 at the start of the pandemic would need to earn roughly $64,000 today just to maintain the exact same purchasing power.

A frozen salary is effectively a pay cut. culture, and financial stewardship.

So what is actually driving this systemic failure?

It really boils down to two main factors, a generational rejection of the sport's entrenched grind culture and fundamentally flawed financial management by parent-led boards.

Historically, coaching has always operated under this culture of intense sacrifice, pounding out massive yardage and surrendering every single weekend. But younger coaches and modern parents are flatly refusing this model.

They want their work to fit within their lives, not control their lives. They are no longer willing to sacrifice their own families simply because previous generations of coaches accepted those grueling conditions as normal.

Society is moving on, but the infrastructure of the sport has failed to adapt. And this brilliantly illustrates the other root cause, financial stewardship.

Look at this comparison of two identical clubs over a 10-year period.

Club A responsibly built a $360,000 operating reserve. Club B, on the other hand, lost $40,000.

A lot of parent boards deeply misunderstand their nonprofit status.

They mistakenly believe it's somehow illegal or wrong to generate a surplus. But by refusing to build operational reserves, these boards ensure their clubs never have the financial capacity to offer their coaches basic things like health insurance or retirement benefits.

Looking back at the raw survey numbers, nearly 70% of the respondents in this category, that's 348 coaches, are restricted to single-year agreements. They are essentially forced to re-interview for their livelihood every 12 months.

That makes it nearly impossible to plan a stable family life or build a secure financial future.

Which brings us to a point of undeniable intellectual dishonesty happening in these organizations. Boards routinely demand that coaches execute long-term athletic visions. They expect them to guide a swimmer from novice to elite, which takes four or more years.

Yet these exact same boards will only commit to one year of professional security for that coach.

You simply cannot demand long-term vision from someone while only providing them with short-term commitment.

10 Ways to Value Coaches

Recognizing the problem is just the first step. Let's move directly to an actionable blueprint designed to replace this amateur infrastructure with real, professional standards.

This is exactly how clubs can actively improve retention and truly value their coaches.

This first grouping of solutions builds a foundation of financial stability.

First, standardizing 3-5-year agreements immediately aligns the coach's security with the board's long-term athletic goals.

Next, mandating a 2-3% annual cost-of-living adjustment stops inflation from quietly eroding the coach's salary.

And finally, ensuring 100% coverage for meet travel eliminates the frankly absurd practice of coaches paying out-of-pocket just to do their own jobs.

The next logical grouping focuses on core life benefits.

Providing health, dental, and vision insurance alongside retirement plans with an employer match is exactly what fundamentally shifts coaching from a temporary gig into a sustainable career.

Furthermore, offering four to six weeks of paid parental leave is absolutely critical if we want to stop forcing talented coaches into early exits the moment they decide to start a family of their own.

Finally, clubs have to respect a coach's time and earning potential.

Those 40-hour weekend meets must be compensated with direct pay or proportionate paid time off.

Clubs should also allow and protect supplemental income, like private lessons, utilizing a fair 80-20 revenue split.

And one last practical step – offering dual￾purpose life insurance.

It is a highly cost-effective tool that protects both the coach's family from unexpected tragedy and the club itself from sudden operational loss.

A profession worth entering.

The bottom line is that it's time for change.

The days of relying on passion to subsidize poor employment practices are over.

Dedication to the sport does not pay the mortgage, and a love for swimming does not replace health insurance when a professional falls ill.

Swimming can no longer demand total professional sacrifice while offering amateur infrastructure in return.

Take a hard look at the structures, the contracts, and the financial stewardship of your own local clubs.

Good coaches are desperately needed right now, but they will only stay if the profession offers them genuine security.

Does your organization give coaches a future worth staying for?

Make sure you take these insights back to your boards and begin the hard work of building a truly sustainable profession.

You're invited to check out a course and a lesson at read.swimiska.org. And it recaptures an interview we had with Doug Cornish, Barry Healy, and myself, Mark Roderickus.

So, check it out. CYA, it's a funny name for a course, but it's to advance our professional standing as coaches.

And it's very appropriate for swimming coaches, but I think, sadly, it's applying to many other coaches in the Olympic movement as well.