Opening the Teacher Toolbox: Scaffolding and Differentiation in Swim Coaching

Courtesy: Dr. Joe Peeden

In both classrooms and on pool decks, I’ve learned that the moment we assume everyone is going to “just get it” is usually the moment we start losing them. Swimmers, like students in the classroom, arrive with different backgrounds, learning styles, and confidence levels. A single set or explanation rarely reaches everyone the same way. Over time, I found myself adapting my coaching style the same way I had learned to adapt my teaching: by planning with intention, building skills in layers, and meeting each individual where they are. That shift in mindset, borrowed from my years in education, transformed how I approach swim coaching and helped me create a toolkit that I hope can be useful to others lucky enough to walk a pool deck as a coach.

Differentiation: Meeting Swimmers Where They Are

Differentiation is a cornerstone concept in education, and it essentially means tailoring your instruction to meet each learner’s individual needs. As Carol Ann Tomlinson, a leading expert on the subject, puts it, differentiation is “teaching with the child in mind”. In a classroom, that might involve adjusting a lesson so that a child who learns visually gets diagrams and pictures, while another who learns by doing gets a hands-on activity. In the pool, differentiated coaching is much the same idea: we adjust our approach based on each swimmer’s age, skill level, learning style, and readiness.

What does differentiation look like on deck?

It might mean modifying a set or drill so that each swimmer is appropriately challenged yet working toward the same goal. For example, imagine you’re teaching butterfly kick to a group of age group swimmers. Some athletes have a natural feel for it, while others will inevitably struggle. The question is, what do you do as a coach? Instead of giving a single drill for everyone, you will need to consider adapting your workout to the needs of the swimmers at the moment. Having your advanced swimmers run the set as written, while less experienced athletes use fins or a kickboard for less distance, are quick and easy tweaks to consider. In this situation, both groups are still working on developing a proper dolphin kick, but the level of support and difficulty is tailored to their needs. In education terms, you have “modified instruction to match the particular developmental level and skills of each student, while still bringing all of the students to the same learning objective”. In coaching terms, you’re meeting each swimmer where they are so they can all progress.

Differentiation can take many forms in swim coaching, and it doesn’t require overhauling your entire practice plan. Here are a few practical ways coaches can differentiate:

• Vary the distance or intervals: During a set, you might need to make changes on the fly to hit your athlete’s needs on that day. Adjusting the distance and intervals are easy ways to meet an athlete where they are and not just where you want.
• Use equipment strategically: Don’t hesitate to let athletes use gear as a temporary aid. If a swimmer is struggling with an aspect of their form, using equipment can give them the opportunity to reinforce good habits instead of just getting through the set.
• Adjust your communication: Some swimmers absorb information best by seeing, others by hearing, and others by doing. An effective teacher and coach delivers instruction in multiple modes. Even the most advanced swimmers will find times when the message being delivered is not done in a manner that is clear in that moment. By varying your style, you ensure that each athlete gets the feedback that clicks for them.

The important thing to remember is that differentiation does not mean lowering expectations. It is not about giving “easier” work to some and “harder” work to others in a way that caps either group’s growth. Instead, it is about providing different pathways to the same peak. All of your swimmers should be aiming for excellence, you are just allowing multiple routes of the mountain. In practice, this means the standards remain high for all, but the coach adjusts the journey. A swimmer using fins today isn’t off the hook from ever swimming without them; they’re using fins to master the feel of a proper kick or drill, so that they eventually can perform at the same standard as others more naturally gifted at that skill. Differentiation is the “deliberate act of modifying instruction…to match a student’s skills, with the goal of bringing all students to the same objective”. In our context, it is modifying coaching to bring all swimmers to the same skill mastery or performance goal.

When done well, differentiation keeps every athlete engaged. The advanced swimmer isn’t held back or bored, and the developing swimmer isn’t left behind or overwhelmed. Morale as a program can improve, too, because each athlete feels seen and supported. In essence, you’re addressing both the strong lane leader hungry for a challenge while also meeting the needs of the athlete in a state of struggle or difficulty. As coaches, we know swimmers have unique gifts and challenges, and embracing differentiation means coaching with the individual athlete in mind.

Scaffolding: Building Skills Step by Step

Hand-in-hand with differentiation comes scaffolding. Scaffolding is an educational term for a simple but powerful concept: providing temporary support to learners as they acquire a new skill, then gradually removing that support as they become independent. The metaphor comes from construction, you are “building” a swimmer’s ability, and scaffolding provides a framework for them to climb to new heights without falling. Once the structure (skill) can stand on its own, the scaffold comes off.

In practical terms, scaffolding in swim coaching means breaking down complex skills into smaller, manageable parts and guiding swimmers through them step by step. Rather than throwing a complete skill at an athlete and hoping it sticks, you progress through stages, offering help along the way. A classic scaffolding method in the classroom is the “I do, we do, you do” approach to learning. First, I do: the coach demonstrates or models the skill while the swimmers watch or listen. Next, We do: the swimmers practice the skill with support. This could be practicing a simplified version of the skill, or using equipment to act as a temporary crutch. Finally, You do: the swimmer tries the skill independently. This gradual release of responsibility covers the basics of scaffolding.

• Demonstration and Visualization (Coach does):
  • Begin by reviewing high-level video of elite track starts—ideally using race footage or frame-by-frame breakdowns. Focus the group’s attention on specific elements: forward weight shift, arm drive, hip explosion, and entry angle. Discuss not just what happens, but why each phase matters. You might also demo common mistakes and efficient corrections to build technical awareness.
• Guided Practice with Focused Drills (We do):
  • Break the start into advanced segments based on what your athletes need:
    • Weighted forward lean holds on the block to reinforce proper launch positioning.
    • Resistance band “snap jumps” to improve neuromuscular recruitment and leg drive.
    • Dive-entry drills using markers or targets to refine angle and streamline entry.
    • Mid-pool pop-up sprints that focus only on breakout distance and timing.
    • Provide real-time feedback, video replay, or sensor data (if available) to reinforce specific mechanics. You’re not just asking for reps—you’re guiding deliberate, data-informed rehearsal of the right pieces.
• Full Execution with Independent Cues (You do):
  • After isolating and refining each element, return to full race dives. Have each swimmer articulate their personal focus cue (e.g., “drive the chest,” “snap fast, land clean”). Step back and observe without over-coaching, give athletes space to apply what they’ve internalized. If needed, revisit components between reps.

By scaffolding the dive, you prevented the athlete from being overwhelmed by all the details at once. You also avoided developing bad habits through flailing attempts. Each step builds on the previous one, and with each success, the swimmer’s confidence will grow. This approach echoes a key idea from educational psychology: learners develop best when working skills just beyond their current ability, with guidance to bridge the gap. (In educator-speak, this is Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the “Zone of Proximal Development”, finding the sweet spot where a task is challenging but achievable with support.) The coach’s role in scaffolding is to provide that bridge, enough support to help the athlete grasp the skill, but not so much that you do it for them.

So, how do you go about scaffolding a practice?

To best scaffold a practice or skill, I suggest including:

• Skill progressions
• Use of training aids or equipment
• Guided discovery and purposeful feedback
• Incremental challenge increases

By employing scaffolding, you send the message to your swimmers: It’s okay to learn in steps. No one expects a group to nail a complicated skill in one go or practice, otherwise, our jobs as coaches would be as simple as printing a practice and letting the paper do the work. One of the great things I have observed is that scaffolding not only makes skills attainable but also improves skill retention. Since your athletes are given the opportunity to truly understand the components and have put them together gradually, the technique sticks better than if they had just mimicked it once. Simply, the athletes have learned why something works, not just how to do it.

Bringing it all Together: The Teacher Coach

Differentiation and scaffolding are distinct concepts, but in practice, they complement one another and increase effectiveness. Differentiation is about planning for the needs of different swimmers, and scaffolding is about building up each swimmer’s ability with strategic support. Used together, they create an environment where every athlete can grow. You might differentiate what or how you are teaching based on the swimmer, and scaffold the steps to mastery for each swimmer.

At the end of the day, coaching is teaching. When we, as coaches, open up the “teacher toolbox” and apply concepts like differentiation and scaffolding, we are acknowledging that our pool is also a place of learning. We are not just running workouts and sets; we are teaching skills, developing individuals, and fostering growth. By tailoring our instruction to the individual and structuring our skill development in stages, we create a learning environment where every swimmer has a chance to succeed and improve. We maintain high standards while offering the support to reach them.

As you go beyond reading this piece, keep in mind the basics of these two concepts: meet your swimmers where they are, scaffold them to where they need to go, and never stop learning yourself. In doing so, you will not only develop faster and more skilled swimmers, but you will also develop confident, motivated young people who know they can climb higher than they believed before. As any solid coach knows, that lesson and victory carry an athlete far beyond the number on a stopwatch.

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.