S3-E4 - COACH - CHANGE THE SPORT - LEAD THE WAY!

S3-E4 - COACH - CHANGE THE SPORT - LEAD THE WAY!

Author: Glenn Mills & Wayne Goldsmith September 11, 2026 Duration: 1:16:00

Coaches can help reverse competitive swimming participation declines by making the sport more flexible, engaging, and sustainable for athletes, families, and coaches.


Participation Trends

•Glenn and Wayne discussed declining competitive swimming participation, especially among ages 11–12 and 15–16, while learn-to-swim, wellness, fitness, and masters participation are growing.

•Contributing pressures include competing sports, screens and gaming, busy parents, traffic, limited pool space, coach shortages, demanding schedules, and lengthy competition formats.

•The issues are global and also appear in hockey, rugby, soccer, and other sports; COVID-19 accelerated trends that were already underway.


Coaching Priorities

•Coaches should prioritize joy, relationships, belonging, and lifelong benefits alongside performance. Helping a swimmer overcome fear of water or experience a small breakthrough can be as meaningful as improving an elite athlete by three-tenths of a second.•Hard work and high standards remain important, but coaches can deliver them through encouragement, creativity, relevant communication, and engaging challenges rather than yelling or creating a negative environment.

•Programs should acknowledge athletes as whole people with school, jobs, family responsibilities, friendships, and other interests. Flexible attendance and competition options may improve retention.


Questions Ahead

•How can clubs redesign practices with dryland, varied groupings, and more engaging activities?

•How can competitions reduce waiting, simplify participation, and provide a better family experience?

•What will coaches change this season to improve athlete and personal well-being while sustaining performance?

•How should swimming respond to the influence of social media, gaming, and screens?


A future episode will examine this with a guest who holds a PhD in social media and children.


Glenn Mills and Wayne Goldsmith have spent their lives in and around the pool, and in their The Third 50 podcast, they dive into the conversations that happen after the stopwatch is put away. Named for the most grueling leg of a 200-meter race, this series explores what it truly takes to push through when everything hurts and the finish line still feels far away. Each episode feels like a candid chat between two seasoned experts, moving fluidly between the granular details of stroke technique and the broader, essential themes of athlete wellness and mental resilience. You’ll hear them unpack coaching philosophies, analyze the psychological demands of competition, and share stories that reveal the human side of high-performance swimming. It’s more than just tips for faster times; it’s about building the toughness required for that critical third fifty in a race and, by extension, in sport and life. Tune in for a thoughtful, grounded perspective that only decades of direct experience can provide, making this podcast a unique resource for swimmers, coaches, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of physical mastery and mental fortitude.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 24

The Third 50
Podcast Episodes
The Third 50 - S1 E3 - Developing the Technical Eye [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:45
Welcome to The Third 50! This is the third episode in season one and it's an incredibly important topic - Developing the Technical Eye! Every coach needs to develop their "Technical Eye" - their ability to look at a swim…
The Third 50 - Ep 2 Season 1: Underwater Dolphins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:01
Welcome to The Third 50! In this Second Episode, Wayne and Glenn discuss the importance of underwater kicking! Under-water kicking - "Dolphins" are vital - they are essential for fast swimming. The question is - how can…