THE WORLD OF

SWIMMING
MICHAEL PIPER
AUSTRALIAN PLATINUM LICENCE COACH

INDONESIAN SWIMMING 21/11/20

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MICHAEL PIPER

My story:

 10 year swimming career at the Australian National level

 At 12 years of age placed 2nd at Australian National Age Championships (100m /
200m Butterfly)
 At 20 years of age placed third at the Australian Open Short Course Championships
(200m Butterfly)
 Trained with Australian Master Coaches Bill Sweetenham, Joe King and Laurie
Lawrence
 Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship Holder
 Trained at the number one swimming club in the US in 1988 (Mission
Bay Makos, Florida – with Coach Mark Schubert)
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MICHAEL PIPER
Coaching career:

 Commenced coaching in 1988

 My very own coach – Master Coach Mr. Joe King asked me
to become his assistant coach with his High Performance team
in Brisbane
 5 years being mentored by one of Australia’s most respected
coaches and working with Australian National Team swimmers
 I learnt so much from Mr King and from the wonderful
swimmers I was lucky enough to coach
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MICHAEL PIPER

The secret to my success as a coach?

 Learning every day (From my Head Coach, my swim team and from many
other Australian High Performance Coaches
 Accessing the best quality support staff (Sports Science / Medicine)
 Motivating my swimmers and encouraging them to “DREAM BIG”

And finally………….

 HARD WORK / DEDICATION / SACRIFICE / GOAL SETTING (DREAMT BIG)

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MICHAEL PIPER

1993 / 94 – My first year as a Head Coach

 Coached Rebecca Brown to a World Record 200m Breaststroke

 First coach selected onto the Australian Team for the 1994 Commonwealth
Games and World Championships
 Two swimmers ranked number 1 in the World (Rebecca Brown 200m
Breaststroke / Hayley Lewis 800m Freestyle)
 Hayley Lewis World Championship Silver Medal 800m Freestyle
 Australian Swim Coach of the Year
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MICHAEL PIPER
Coaching career:

 Over 32 years now

 Australian Platinum Licence Coach
 Coached 3 High Performance Clubs (2 in Australia / 1 in Spain)
 Australian / Spanish / Saudi Arabia National Team Coach
 Athlete and Coach Development with Swimming Australia, Swimming Victoria, Swimming
Queensland / QAS
 Coach education / accreditation FINA
 2019 Head Coach Nanjing Institute of Sport, China
 Coached:
 World Champions / World Record Holders / Olympic Medalist’s
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MICHAEL PIPER

Have you ever coached an athlete who’s performance has declined?

1994 (16)
 Simple answer – many!!! That’s sport – that’s life.
 Best example – Rebecca Brown

 1994 World Record Holder

 1998 Retired from swimming
 1999 Comeback after 18 months retirement
 1999 US Open Champion 200m Breaststroke 2000 (23)
 2000 World Short Course Champion 200m Breaststroke
 2000 Australian Olympic Team Member (Semi finalist 200m Breaststroke)
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MICHAEL PIPER

The swimmer / coach relationship:

 Obviously the relationship between a coach and swimmer

is very important
 Like any relationship is depends heavily on trust Michael Phelps and
Coach Bob Bowman
 Like any relationship you experience ‘highs’ and ‘lows’
 It is important to work through the difficult times – communication is key
 The coach and swimmer must have a belief in one another during these
challenging periods
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MICHAEL PIPER

The swimmer / coach relationship:

 Although splits in relationships are always a possibility, swimmers and parents

should avoid the thinking (”The Grass is always Greener on the Other Side”)
 Change is not always the best solution to problems
 In many cases when facing challenges, the swimmer / coach and parents need
to work closely together to come up with a longer-term solution rather than a
short term ‘band aid’ solution
 Once again – “COMMUICATION IS KEY”

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MICHAEL PIPER

The swimmer / coach relationship:

 It is inevitable that swimmers change coaches due to varying circumstances

 The important thing is:

 That the swimmer (and parents) and coach are completely transparent
during this transition
 All parties should be respectful of each others position
 Although difficult to achieve sometimes – aim to move forward in a
supportive and mature way
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MICHAEL PIPER

LATD (Long Term Athlete Development)

 No matter the athlete – the sport – LATD is the most important consideration
that a coach / swimmer and parent should consider
 No athlete becomes elite in 1 day / 1 week or even 1 year
 It takes many years of physical and mental development
 Most swimmers begin their training journey from the ages of 5 – 8 years and
normally do not reach an elite level until they are 18 years + (there are
exceptions)
 Developing a ‘Long Term Development Plan’ early on is extremely important
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MICHAEL PIPER

“Questions from the audience”