What Coaching a Swim Team Has Taught Me

 

What Coaching a Swim Team Has Taught Me About Health (Body, Mind, and Soul)

When I agreed to coach a middle and high school swim team, I mostly imagined clipboards, wet towels, and yelling things like, “Kick, kick, kick!” from the side of the pool.

What I did not expect was that coaching would become one of the most stretching, sanctifying, heart-exposing lessons in health I’ve ever experienced—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

I’ve learned a lot about swim strokes, breathing patterns, and why goggles always mysteriously disappear. But more than that, coaching has quietly discipled me in what it means to care for whole people—especially young ones who are still figuring out who they are and how to stay afloat in life.

Here are four things coaching has taught me about health.

1. Health Is About Showing Up—Even When It’s Hard

Let’s be honest: there have been parts of coaching I haven’t liked.

There have been awkward conversations, difficult situations, misunderstandings, and moments where I’ve driven home thinking, “Wow, I could have handled that better.” Leadership—especially as an introvert—does not come naturally to me. I’d much rather observe quietly from the corner than step forward and take charge.

But here’s the thing: kids need good leaders. They need consistency. They need adults who show up, even when it’s uncomfortable or draining.

Physical health works the same way. You don’t get stronger by swimming once and calling it good. You show up again and again—tired, sore, unmotivated—and somehow, over time, strength builds.

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
—Galatians 6:9

Mental and emotional health require the same perseverance. Sometimes health looks like faithfulness, not perfection. It’s showing up to practice. It’s showing up to prayer. It’s showing up for people—even when you feel like hiding behind a towel.

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2. Listening Is a Form of Care

One of the biggest lessons coaching has taught me is this: kids don’t always need answers—they need to be heard.

Their problems don’t always make sense to us adults. A missed text, a look in the hallway, a friend sitting with someone else at lunch—these things can feel small from the outside. But to them? They’re crushing.

And if I’m honest, we adults forget how hard being young actually is.

Or… is it that the same issues just move from the halls of school into adulthood? We still struggle with comparison. Rejection. Wanting to belong. Feeling unseen. The setting changes, but the ache doesn’t.

Mental health begins with feeling safe enough to speak.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”
—James 1:19

As a coach, sometimes the healthiest thing I can do is stop talking. Put the clipboard down. Make eye contact. Listen without fixing. That kind of presence—calm, steady, non-rushed—is healing in ways no pep talk ever could be.

3. Bodies and Minds Are Deeply Connected

Swim practice makes this painfully obvious.

If a swimmer is exhausted, under-fueled, or stressed, it shows in the water. Sloppy strokes. Missed breaths. Frustration that bubbles up fast.

Our bodies and minds are not separate compartments. When one struggles, the other follows.

The same is true for us as adults. When we neglect sleep, movement, or nourishment, our patience wears thin. Our anxiety rises. Our joy feels harder to access.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit… Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
—1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Honoring God with our bodies isn’t about perfection or punishment. It’s about stewardship. Rest. Rhythm. Care.

Sometimes health looks like pushing through a hard set. Other times it looks like recognizing when someone needs a break—physically or emotionally—and giving them permission to breathe.

4. Leadership Doesn’t Mean Having It All Together

Leading as an introvert has been one of the hardest parts of coaching for me. I don’t naturally command a room. I second-guess myself. I feel deeply and process slowly.

But coaching has shown me that leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice—it’s about being a steady one.

Kids don’t need perfect leaders. They need present ones. They need adults who model humility, consistency, and care for both physical and mental health.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles.”
—Isaiah 40:31

Strength doesn’t always look like confidence. Sometimes it looks like faithfulness. Sometimes it looks like showing up to the pool again, trusting that God is working even when you feel inadequate.

Final Thoughts from the Pool Deck

Coaching has reminded me that health is holistic. It’s bodies in motion. Minds under pressure. Hearts longing to be seen.

It’s learning to breathe in the water—and in life.
It’s realizing that growth is rarely graceful at first.
It’s remembering that whether we’re 14 or 44, we all need someone in our corner saying, “I see you. Keep going.”

And maybe that’s the real lesson coaching has taught me:
We never outgrow the need for encouragement, care, and grace.

Not in the pool.
Not in leadership.
Not in life.

And thank God—He’s still coaching us, lap by lap.

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A Final Lap: Taking Scripture Into the Water

One of the most personal outcomes of coaching—and thinking so much about physical, mental, and spiritual health—has been a renewed desire to hide God’s Word in my heart.

Scripture memory has become a goal of mine, not in a “check the box” way, but in a carry it with me into real life way. Especially into the pool.

There’s something about the steady rhythm of swimming—stroke, breath, turn—that creates space to meditate. I find myself repeating verses in my head as I swim laps, letting God’s Word settle into my mind and body at the same time. It’s become prayer in motion.

That desire is what led me to create my book, Dive Into the Word: A SWIM Scripture Study.

It’s a simple, practical tool designed to help with Scripture memorization and meditation—whether you’re a swimmer or just someone who wants God’s Word to stick a little deeper. Each week focuses on seven Bible verses, and we slow them down using the SWIM method:

• S — Scripture: reading and writing the verse

• W — Wisdom: breaking down what it means and why it matters

• I — Identity: how this truth shapes who we are in Christ

• M — Meditation & Prayer: carrying the verse with us into daily life

Just like training in the pool, memorizing Scripture doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built lap by lap, repetition by repetition. But over time, those verses become strength you can draw on when life feels overwhelming—whether you’re standing on a pool deck, sitting in car line, or swimming through a hard season.

For me, Scripture has become breath. And my hope is that Dive Into the Word helps others experience that same kind of steady, sustaining health—for body, mind, and soul.

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