Swim Coach Retention
Three Coaches. Three Wins. Improve Your Situation.
Though my Substack publications have been mostly based on coach education, I want everyone to know that I am heavily involved in improving coach retention across the United States.
Last week was incredibly rewarding. I had three amazing zoom sessions with coaches. A head coach used salary scatterplots from our 2025 Coach Compensation Survey to negotiate a better rate on his contract extension. Another used the same data to lock in his first long-term deal. A third used it to normalize private lessons and clinics as additional income for her staff. Three Zoom calls, three coaches, three wins, all in one week.
The timing couldn’t be better. In the coming weeks, coaches will walk one of four paths.
Some will be let go. Some will run it back with their current club. Some will chase a sustainable career by jumping to a new club. Some will leave the profession altogether.
The dominoes start falling shortly after champs. When the dust settles, there will be individual wins, but the profession will still take a hit.
This piece is meant to arm coaches with information for their negotiations.
I sense momentum building. The importance of coach retention is being studied, realized, acknowledged and talked about with increasing fervor. Expect that conversation to keep heating up.
This data from the 2025 Coach Compensation Survey is powerful, but despite my best efforts, it hasn’t been widely seen. I’m sharing it below along with the email from ISCA supporting it.
Please review the survey data, use it to your advantage, and pass it to any coach you think would benefit. If you are able to use it to your benefit, I’d love to hear from you!
The data is being used to improve conditions for coaches. What happens next is where I come in. I strive to improve coach retention by working with coaches and team administrators to implement custom benefit packages designed specifically for swim coaches. Work-life balance may never fully tip in coaches’ favor, but health insurance, retirement plans, life insurance, disability insurance, and stronger contract terms can make the job stickier.
Reach out if you want to discuss how you or your team could move forward with improving coach retention.
2025 Swimpler Coach Compensation Survey Results
doug@swimpler.com