Head Coach Rockfish Swimming

Rockfish Swimming, located in Leonardtown, MD, is searching for a part time head coach to lead our year-round competitive swim team.  Our swimmers, ages 7-18, cover a wide spectrum of skills and abilities. The ideal candidate would be an experienced swim coach who can provide consistency, leadership and positivity to the Rockfish Swimming program. The Head Coach should understand the importance of their role in influencing the culture of the team and in expanding the horizons of the swimmers and their families beyond the local St. Mary’s County swimming community. The coach should be interested in finding ways to develop their skills and the skills of the assistant coaches so that the swimmers can progress toward their highest potentials.   

 General Role and Responsibilities of the Head Coach:

• Represent Rockfish Swimming professionally and positively within the Maryland swim community and local community by maintaining good relationships and communication with colleagues, current members, potential members, sponsors, media and on social media,
• Through leadership, encourage a positive, safe, inclusive, challenging and supportive team environment that attracts new members and retains current members.
• Foster a team environment that promotes sportsmanship and unity by upholding and enforcing team rules, regulations, board policies and team coaching philosophy throughout the program.
• Maintain memberships and certifications required by USA Swimming, MD Swimming and other governing bodies as required 
• Recognize the value of expanding your professional knowledge base. Encourage assistant coaches to continue to grow professionally through providing information about professional development opportunities.
• Maintain regular communication with coaching staff regarding scheduling, entry deadlines, meet and practice coverage, delegation of duties.
• Provide input to the board in regard to the development and implementation of the annual budget. Conduct and manage club activities within the parameters of the budget. 
• Work collaboratively with the board to develop and implement a prospective coach recruitment process. This would include input on coaching descriptions.
• Work collaboratively with the team board by attending monthly board meetings. The coach should be prepared to provide general progress reports regarding athlete performance and staffing statuses.

 Head Coach day-to-day team operation responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• On deck coaching hours that could range between 5 to 20 hours a week, depending on the group or groups coached.
• With input from the board and assistant coaches, develop and/or make changes to the practice schedule, as needed. This should be monitored monthly in accordance with the contracting agency (Recs and Parks, SMCM etc)
• Assessment and assignment of swimmers to training groups. This duty could be delegated to assistant coaches in accordance with the age of the swimmer.
• Monitoring training programs and swimmer progress across all group levels with the focus on age/ability appropriate skill development, stroke technique, endurance and mental health.
• As needed, provide mentoring to assistant coaches in the way of education, problem-solving support and tacit knowledge.
• With input from assistant coaches, provide a meet schedule for the short course, long course, and championship seasons.
• Encourage meet attendance for all levels of swimmers.
• Ensure all swim meets and practices have adequate coaching coverage.
• Send in meet entries in a timely manner.
• Provide families with meet specific information a few days prior to the first day of the meet.
• Attend Maryland Swimming meetings in Baltimore and share the news from the meeting with coaches and the board.
• Has authority to discipline swimmers in accordance with the Rockfish Swimming Discipline Policy.

 Minimum Qualifications:

• Current USA Swimming coach member in good standing with all required USA Swimming certifications.
• 5+ years coaching experience demonstrating a record of successful leadership with a range of ability levels in stroke technique, race strategy, age-appropriate dryland training techniques and training methodologies. Should have a strong understanding of best practices for overall training and swimmer development across all age and ability groups. 
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and events simultaneously.
• Proficient in use of Active Swim Manager, Microsoft Office and Goggle Suite software.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) to effectively communicate with athletes, parents, staff, and the broader community.
• Ability to demonstrate reliability, availability, and ethical behavior including punctuality, confidentiality, professionalism, positive and constructive feedback.
• Ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, pay attention to detail and accuracy as well as follow through on tasks.
• Knowledge, compliance and commitment to Safe Sport and USA Swimming regulations.

 Preferred Qualifications: 

• 5 years+ experience as Head Coach of age group swimmers.
• Experience as a competitive swimmer, preferably at a collegiate level

 Work Hours:

The Head Coach position requires the presence at evening practices and weekend meets (usually 1 or 2 meets per month). Rockfish participates in local, state and regional meets that may require weekday attendance.

Salary Starts at $30.00 per hour. Rate may be increased based on candidate's experience. Swim meets are $100/session stipend (not hourly rate).