Courtesy: Dr. Joe Peeden
Like many coaches, I have found myself walking the pool deck thinking, “We’ll see at the meet if they got it.” Inevitably, some swimmers would repeat the same bad turn or flawed stroke in competition, and I would kick myself for not catching or addressing the issue in practice. Over time, I have realized that waiting until race day to see if our training “worked” is simply too late. Just as I check students’ understanding daily and before their assessment, a coach should constantly check and guide swimmers during practice. The moments where learning happens are those where we, as coaches, pause a set to give a quick pointer, adjust a drill on the fly, or, as a swimmer to describe how something felt to them. Those are formative assessments in action, and I view them as one of the most powerful tools on the pool deck.
Formative Assessment: Guiding Improvement in Real Time
In simplest terms, formative assessment is an ongoing process of gauging athletes’ progress as they train and using that insight to inform your coaching practices on that day and the following days. In the classroom, teachers often boil this skill down to three overarching questions: Where are we going? Where are we now? How do we close the gap? On the deck, this means having a clear goal for a skill or set, honestly observing how your swimmers are doing in relation to that goal, and then making the right adjustments to bridge the potential gap. It’s the opposite of just sticking to a workout because that is what the paper dictates. Instead, you’re continuously tuning the session based on feedback, both the swimmer’s performance and your own input.
What does this look like in practice? Imagine you’re running a set of 8×50 with a focus on the swimmers’ underwaters off each wall. The goal is tight, streamline dolphin kicks past 10m. After the first two reps, you notice half the group is coming up short or having their form slip a few kicks off the wall. This is your chance to pause and check where they are now. Maybe you give them a quick cue reminder, maybe you modify the plan to restart and place fins on those struggling. Then you watch the next rep. If they improve, great! You can continue on with your set and consider raising the challenge back up as they become more comfortable with the skill. If not, you tweak again (perhaps a shorter underwater goal but done with better kicks). This feedback loop of plan, observe, adjust is formative assessment in a nutshell. You’re not waiting until the end of practice or even that set to discover problems; you’re addressing them in real time so that each lap is designed to improve athletes’ capacity.
Even these small mid-practice changes can yield big payoffs. When I see a skill is not clicking, I add in an impromptu drill break or shuffle lane assignments to help those swimmers who are missing the goal for smaller group instruction. Think of it like a GPS recalculating the route as you drive, when a swimmer is off course from the goal, formative coaching lets you course-correct now rather than letting them drive miles in the wrong direction. The result is athletes spending more practice time doing things right over just doing them. This allows immediate clarity on what to fix, and you prevent bad habits from cementing.
How can you start incorporating more formative assessment?
- Mid-Set Checkpoints: Build natural pauses or quick check-ins during sets. Giving these brief pit stops let you address issues before the set is over, keeping swimmers mindful of the focus point throughout the set and letting them know that you are an active participant in the practice, not just an observer.
- On-the-Fly Adjustments: Don’t be afraid to modify a set or drill in the moment. If the group is struggling with a pace or skill, shorten the distance, add equipment, or give a rest break to reinforce technique. Conversely, if they are nailing it, you can increase the challenge. The key is to respond to what you’re seeing right now as it relates to the goal of the set/practice. As one friend of mine said, “read the room and coach the practice you have, not just the one you wrote.”
- Feedback Loops with Athletes: Formative assessment isn’t just top-down; get the swimmers involved in the process. Asking questions about how a skill felt, what they were focusing on, or what they thought was the best part of the set, are all valid. Additionally, their answers can give you insight into their perspective and allows them to begin learning to assess themselves. Another idea is pairing swimmers to watch each other for a few reps (with some prior instruction on what to look for) and share constructive criticism. These techniques create a constant loop of observation and feedback in your practice, without relying on you to see every second of every swimmer’s effort.
By weaving these strategies into workouts, you turn practice into a two-way street: athletes aren’t just doing work, they’re learning from each length, with your guidance. You’re essentially gathering observational data (stroke counts, split times, technique observations) and using these data points to steer the workout. This keeps training effective and engaging, because swimmers see that you’re actively helping them improve as they go rather than just waiting to critique them at the end, or at all.
Effective Feedback: Making it Specific, Timely, and Actionable
Formative assessment and feedback go hand-in-hand. Not all feedback is created equal, though, it is only useful if it sticks with the athlete and drives improvement. The best feedback
tends to be specific, timely, consistent, and actionable.
- Specific: Aim to comment on exactly what the swimmer did, rather than using vague praise or criticism. A swimmer should know from your words what to repeat or change. A specific remark pinpoints the skill they nailed or failed, whereas a plain “nice work” might leave them guessing. Specificity reinforces the correct habits and makes your praise credible.
- Timely: Give feedback as soon as you reasonably can, while the swim is fresh in their mind. If a swimmer finishes a 50 and something was off, tell them on the wall right after or even during the set if it’s quick enough. Don’t stockpile all your comments for after practice or days later. The closer the feedback is to the performance, the more immediate the connection. Timely feedback prevents mistakes from repeating endlessly and shows swimmers that each effort matters.
- Consistent: Finally, effective feedback isn’t a one-time thing. Feedback should be a regular and reliable aspect of your coaching. Consistency means you provide feedback each practice and follow up on previous pointers. When swimmers hear guidance from you on a consistent basis, they know you’re paying attention and invested in their improvement. Consistency builds trust. Regular feedback shows athletes that improvement is an open dialogue, not a one-off comment. Over time, this consistency also helps them internalise standards, the swimmers will start to anticipate what you’re looking for each practice or race.
- Actionable: Feedback should include a clear suggestion or solution that the athlete can implement. Telling a swimmer “Your butterfly timing is off, fix it,” doesn’t give them a roadmap to improve. Instead, offer something they can do to improve: “Try starting your kick a bit sooner, I want to see how your stroke changes and feels.” Actional tips empower swimmers to make changes; it turns your feedback from just an observation into a stepping stone for progress.
By focusing on making your feedback specific, timely, consistent, and actionable, you create an environment where swimmers know what is expected and how to get there. You transform feedback from something they might dread into something they can value as a normal and helpful part of each practice. Effective feedback is encouraging in tone (even when correcting errors) because it’s always oriented toward the swimmer’s development. The goal is to uplift performance, not to punish. When done right, feedback becomes a motivator in itself: swimmers see that improvement is possible every single day, not just when everything clicks right during a meet.
Bringing it All Together: A Learning-Focused Approach
At the end of the day, the learning-focused coach produces not only faster swimmers but also more resilient and confident ones. Formative assessment is all about making practice a learning experience rather than just a yardage accumulation exercise. When you continuously tailor your coaching to how athletes are responding, you send a message to your team: every practice is an opportunity to get better, and you’re there to help make it happen. This approach turns the pool into a classroom in the best sense. Athletes come to understand that mistakes are part of the process, because each mistake gets spotted and addressed, not swept under the rug until next. They learn to expect feedback and how to use it constructively. Most importantly, they start giving themselves feedback, too, thinking critically about their own strokes and strategies.
So, as you head to the pool deck this week, I encourage you to try one new “feedback habit”. Embrace the idea that coaching is teaching, and practice as an opportunity for continuous assessment and improvement. When you coach with a focus on learning, you will still get the big results, but you will also cultivate athletes who are engaged, thoughtful, and more confident in their own abilities.
ABOUT DR. JOE PEEDEN
Joseph Peeden is a swim coach and educator with nearly two decades of experience developing athletes and students. He currently serves as the Head Coach for Webb School of Knoxville, a Senior Coach for Tennessee Aquatics, Associate Head Coach for Knoxville Racquet Club, Knoxville Director for Grown-up Swimming, President of KISL, and Vice President of TISCA. Peeden teaches 6th-grade science at Webb and holds a doctorate in Instructional Leadership. He is passionate about bridging coaching and classroom strategies to support the whole athlete in and out of the pool.
