Sometimes the simplest things are the most difficult.
Technology in swimming definitely falls in this category. There are tools available out there that make coaching more impactful, communication easier, and low and behold, running a meet simple. Yet we don’t change.
The first issue is that swim coaches typically aren’t comfortable with technology. We like routine. We like the comfort that what has worked for us in the past will continue to work for us in the future. We like being experts in swimming.
A second issue is it takes time and some bumps along the way to implement new technology. Even if we can admit it’s going to make things better in the end, it’s easy to fall back on “we don’t have time for that”. After all, we are busy doing what we always have been doing.
The third issue is technology costs money. As swim coaches, we are not necessarily masters of finance. We quickly gravitate to an up front cost and the fact that we are not a sport often flush with cash as a reason to dismiss, rather than doing a cost-benefit analysis that incorporates the long term and perhaps highlights value.
Mix all these together and we have stopwatches, poor communication, and use a desktop application based on Microsoft Access to run our meets and house our data….still.
Minnesota Swim and Vibe wants to help coaches and programs get comfortable exploring new technology to help their programs. We will highlight what is out there, connect teams with others that have used it, and if we are really smart, dive into some of these technologies as larger groups and not just individual programs to drive down up front costs. Bulk discounts are real people.
It’s OK to be scared, it’s not OK for the sport to remain decades behind in technology because of that.