You might know Dean Boxall from his viral celebrations. Some even hate
him for that. But what you might not know is that this celebration
might be the key to his swimmers' success: Dean Boxall's swimmers won 10 out of the 25
total medals that Australia captured in the swimming world championships of 2023. The 4
swimmers who broke the world record in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay were all coached by Boxall.
We have talked about how and why the 4 x 100 Australian female relay is so dominant in a
previous video. That video received more than 100 thousand views and even caught
the attention of the @AustralianOlympicTeam. Of course, the swimmers deserve the majority
of the credit. They are the ones suffering the physical and physiological pain. But I think
we don't talk enough about the great coaches that also make this possible.
Some people think coaches have hidden knowledge that they hoard like dragons.
They think this secret knowledge helps them mold world-class athletes. If only we had access to
those magic workouts, those magical numbers that mathematically create Olympic champions, we too
could create amazing swimmers. In our experience, dealing and talking to hundreds of coaches around
the world, we have noticed that the best coaches have two things in common. Unfortunately, the
coaches in the countries with the least successful swimmers, like our country of Mexico, do not
have those two things. I'm hoping this video can make a difference.
It is true that some coaches have better knowledge, but none of them have all the
knowledge. And this is where a big problem originates in the less successful countries.
We have noticed that coaches here don't want to help other coaches. They see them as competition
and as a threat. The best coaches we have met have all shared their most valuable lessons with
us and other coaches for free, not expecting anything back. This helps the generous coach
in many ways. One is that by explaining their methods, it helps them clarify and scrutinize
the ideas. Another is that it exposes the idea to another coach that might challenge that method and
expose potential weaknesses. This creates a giant web of conversations where the best ideas are
tried and only the best ideas survive. These ideas are alive and can take up to 10 to 20 years to
be formally studied and put into books. But only the people that share them and the ones humble
enough to ask for help receive those ideas early. More important than the latest findings and ideas
are the coaches that care deeply about their swimmers. Some might be strict and use methods
of "tough love". While others are more gentle and encouraging. But when they care, it shows.
In an interview, Ariarne Titmus described her coach's method. She said that Boxall
doesn't have just one style of being a coach. He figures out what style works for each swimmer and
adjusts his feedback accordingly. She said Boxall knows her better than she knows herself. She says
she swims better when she is not getting compliments. She needs to be annoyed to
push herself and Boxall knows how to do that. She says he is different with every athlete.
Other coaches that have worked with him say he brings life and passion to the pool deck.
Emotional intelligence is more important than the latest training methods and hacks. But it
is important to share both. Like I said before, we want to help coaches by sharing our best
ideas and listening to their findings too. We don't know what that will look like yet, but if
you are an interested coach, send us an email to info@skillswimming.com
to explore how we can help each other. The favorites to win this relay are again the
Australians. But who are you cheering for? If you want to get an idea of our swimming
method, click on this video next. See you there! Swim fast!