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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I get why this topic comes up every year—it can look messy from the outside. But I do think it’s worth being careful about assuming intent or favoritism without seeing the full picture.

In many cases (mine included), parents don’t get involved to get their kids hired—they get involved because their kids are already deeply invested in the team. Those kids often grow up volunteering, helping at practices, assisting younger swimmers, and building relationships with coaches over several years. By the time they apply for a coaching role, they may genuinely be some of the strongest candidates—not because of who their parents are, but because of their experience, commitment, and familiarity with the program.

It’s also important to recognize that a lot of the hiring process happens behind the scenes. Unless you’ve stepped into those roles, you may not realize how many safeguards are already in place to keep things fair. Many teams use structured scoring systems or rubrics—evaluating things like leadership, reliability, communication, and interaction with younger swimmers—and once candidates are scored, decisions are often made in a way that’s effectively blind to who their parents are. Add in conflict-of-interest practices (like people stepping out of decisions involving their own kids), and there’s usually more intentionality than it might appear from the outside.

On the swimming piece—yes, by the time someone is a teen applying to coach, they should be legal in all four strokes. They don’t need to be fast, but being able to swim all four is a pretty basic expectation and usually reflects a level of engagement with the sport. That said, coaching ability is about much more than speed—some of the best teen coaches are the ones who connect with kids, bring energy, and show up consistently.

I’ll also add—having been on the other side of this—it can be tough when your child does earn a role and people assume it was handed to them. Sometimes the “favored” kid is actually just the one who’s been putting in the work for years.

Totally fair to want a fair and transparent process. But I’d focus less on who someone’s parent is and more on whether the team has a thoughtful, consistent approach to evaluating and selecting coaches.[/quote]

It sounds like your team puts a lot of thought and effort into this with some objective tools and measures- like scoring systems and rubrics! That’s wonderful. Did your team or league develop those? Are you able to share them or describe them for the good of everyone?

I understand your points and agree. I also agree speed isn’t the top attribute in a coach, but swimmers should at least be legal in all 4-5 strokes and compete. Leadership, team spirit, and being good with children are also important.  The problem is when parents are just deciding about other children- it often is not fair and is full of bias, favoritism, and politics. [/quote]

At a high level, ours is basically split into two parts:

1. Application / Background
This is where we look at things like:

Being legal in all four strokes (more of a baseline expectation)
Past volunteer involvement with the team
Overall team engagement—showing up to pep rallies, helping at events, being present and invested (not just socializing with friends)
General reliability and history with the program

2. Interview
This is often the biggest differentiator. We treat it like a real job, and score things like:

Did they show up on time and prepared?
Did they present themselves in a professional/put-together way?
Did they come with ideas or thoughtful answers (we ask some of the same questions every year—like what they’d improve or how they’d help younger swimmers)
Did they ask questions and engage in the conversation?
How they communicate and carry themselves

Someone who comes in unprepared or without any thought to those questions usually stands out—and not in a good way.[/quote]

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