Perhaps you already have some coaching experience and want to upgrade your qualifications to be an accredited Masters Club Coach. 

Our coaches are a club’s greatest asset. They are often the reason swimmers join a Masters club.

Whatever your background, becoming a Club Coach can be a rewarding personal experience and a valuable contribution to the swimming community.

The Masters Swimming Australia (MSA) Club Coach Accreditation Program provides trainees with the basic coaching knowledge and skills of swimming to enable them to be effective Masters coaches. The course has an integrated learning structure which allows for flexible transition from theory to practice through self-paced online learning and assessment and practical pool deck experience and mentoring.

This course is accredited with Sport Australia in line with National Sporting Organisation Quality Assurance guidelines.

 

A MSA Club Coach will be able to:

• Recognise and promote the benefits of swimming for adults.
• Provide a safe environment for all adult swimmers regardless of age, ability or gender.
• Apply the basic training principles to the development of an adult swimmer.
• Provide an environment and approach conducive for adult swimmers to learn new skills.
• Observe and evaluate the adult swimmer’s technique and performance.
• Plan, prepare, conduct and evaluate training sessions that cater for the varying needs of adult swimmers.
• Understand, implement, monitor and adapt a seasonal plan for adult swimmers of varying levels.
• Guide adult swimmers to self-manage their development by sourcing additional information to improve their swimming performance.
• Communicate effectively the details of MSA rules, programs and events, to adult swimmers.
• Apply self-reflection methods to coaching performance

There are different pathways to become an accredited Masters Swimming Club Coach. Your previous coaching qualifications and experience will determine which pathway you will be in, with each requiring you to undertake different steps in the process of accreditation, as detailed below.

Pathway A: I have never coached before.

Pathway B: I have coached adult swimmers before.

Pathway C: I have coached age-group swimmers before but not adults.

Pathway D: I hold a Swimming Australia Development Coach licence, OR SWIM Australia™ Foundation Coach (SAFC) OR AUSTSWIM Teacher of Competitive Strokes (TCS) but have not coached adults.

Pathway E: I hold a Swimming Australia Development Coach licence, OR SWIM Australia™ Foundation Coach (SAFC) OR AUSTSWIM Teacher of Competitive Strokes (TCS) and have coached adults.

RCC: I have significant coaching qualifications and experience to apply for Recognition of Current Competency (RCC).

	Pathways to Club Coach Accreditation
	A	B	C	D	E	RCC
Coach Code of Behaviour Agreement	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Hours observing an adult squad	5hrs	5hrs	5hrs	5hrs	✘	✘
Masters Development Course (through Swimming Australia – $95)	✔	✔	✔	✘	✘	if required
Online Club Coach Workshop	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Practical Poolside Assessment	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	if required
Verification of 30 hrs coaching	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	if required
RCC application	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘	✔
CPR Course	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔

Course Costs for Masters Club Coach Accreditation

Pathways A,B and C – $270 total, as two separate payments:
Payment 1 = $175 Enrolment – to MSA; and
Payment 2 = $95 for access to the Masters Development Course – to Swimming Australia

Pathways D and E $175 Enrolment + evidence of current Swimming Australia Development Course OR SWIM Australia™ Foundation Coach (SAFC) OR AUSTSWIM Teacher of Competitive Strokes (TCS) qualification.

Pathway Recognition of Current Competency – $175 Enrolment + $95 ONLY if required when RCC application is assessed.

MSA encourages all clubs to fully reimburse coach trainees once they have completed their training, so please discuss this with your club.

Code of Behaviour Agreement 

Coaches are required to agree to the MSA Code of Behaviour Individual Agreement Form for registration in the Masters Club Coach Accreditation Program.

Time: Agreement will be placed in your TO DO list in the Dita platform upon registration.

Verification of Hours Observing an Adult Squad

Depending on your entry pathway, you may need to observe an adult swim squad and demonstrate a basic understanding of coaching principles and practice in an adult swimming environment.

These hours can be used towards your 30hrs of pool deck experience required below

Time: 5 hours

Masters Development Course

The Masters Development Course is hosted on the Swimming Australia Learning portal and requires a separate registration, payment of $95 and login. It is a requirement for full accreditation and is accessible directly from within the Masters Club Coach course on registration.

Swimming Australia is the National Sporting Organisation (NSO) responsible for sporting outcomes for Masters Swimming Australia.

The Masters Development Course covers promoting participation in swimming and how to plan, prepare, conduct, monitor, evaluate and adapt training programs to enable swimmers to compete at various levels. It is self-paced interactive modules, including case studies, practical scenarios and a quiz.

Time: Allow approximately 8 hours.

Unit	Topic	Competency
Module 1	Understanding Your Swimmers	Coaches will learn the different reasons swimmers are engaged in the sport and how to cater for each individual in their charge.
Module 2	Coach and SwimmerSelf-Awareness	Coaches will understand their roles and responsibilities as a coach; develop an awareness of effective coaching styles; create their own personal coaching philosophy and learn how to evaluate their own performance as a coach.
Module 3	Swimmer Engagement	Coaches will learn specific coaching approaches, techniques, tips and teaching and learning methods when working with swimmers across a range of abilities and developmental stages.
Modules 4,5,6,7,8	Foundations of Swimming: Freestyle, Butterfly, Breaststroke, Backstroke & Common Errors	Coaches will know how to coach swimmers in efficient stroke development of the four competitive strokes, starts, turns and finishes. Coaches will also know how to identify and correct common errors in technique.
Module 9	Skills and Fitness for Competition	Coaches will have the skills and knowledge to prepare their swimmers for training and competition, with a focus on physical aspects of development, monitoring performance and progressions and tailoring training to suit swimmers developmental needs.
Module 10	Program Design and Management	Coaches will know how to set goals and prepare training plans for swimmers across a range of physical developmental stages, technical abilities, swimming aspirations and psycho-social needs and demands.

Masters Swimming Australia Online Club Coach Workshop

The Masters Online Club Coach Workshop is self-paced structured learning modules, experience based self-reflection and mentor coach assessment.

The Workshop covers Coaching Philosophy, Inclusive Coaching and Goals, Planning, Training Principles and Session Structure, Stroke Fundamentals, Faults and Corrective Drills and Adaptive Swimming.

 Time: Allow approximately 8-12 hours.    

Module 1 – Coaching Philosophy, Inclusive Coaching and Goals.
Unit	Topic	Competency
Topic 1	Being a Coach	Trainee can identify and document their own coaching philosophy, individual strengths as well as strategies for improvement and methods of self-reflection.
Topic 2	The Role of the Masters Coach	Trainee has the ability to organise, observe, analyse, communicate, improve and evaluate performance.
Topic 3	Coaching Adult Swimmers	Trainee understands the motivations and barriers for adults joining Masters and the differences with age-group swimmers.
Topic 4	Inclusive Coaching	Trainee understands how to modify a session for those who have restrictions in their current ability and adapts coaching practices to ensure participation for all.
Topic 5	Being SMART with Goals	Trainee demonstrates an understanding of swimmers individual motivators and how to use the SMART framework to manage their response to training in a positive and encouraging way.
Topic 6	Goals Case Study	Trainee can document a swimmers background, goals, risks and challenges as an individual case study.
Module Two – Planning, Training Principles and Session Structure.
Topic 7	Planning for the Year	Trainee understands the concept of periodisation and the principles of training.
Topic 8	Training Phases	Trainee understands that an effective training period or phase allows a swimmer to benefit from adaptations the body makes as a result of training.
Topic 9	Training Cycles	Trainee understands the benefit of training cycles so the body has time to work in intervals, respond to the training stimulus, improve through muscle adaptation and recover effectively.
Topic 10	Understanding Training Effort	Trainee understands how to measure response to training and how this affects individual training effort.
Topic 11	Session Planning	Trainee develops a focused session plan, bringing all elements of the training together in line with the goals of the annual plan.
Topic 12	Elements of a Session Plan	Trainee demonstrates an understanding of the elements of warmup, drills, main-set and cooldown.
Topic 13	Training Equipment	Trainee demonstrates an understanding of the use of a particular piece of equipment at any given point in the training program.
Topic 14	Rest Intervals	Trainee understands how the effort required of each set is achieved by the use of rest intervals.
Topic 15	Writing a Session Plan	Trainee can write a simple session plan for a specific squad based on the planning framework and using all the elements of session planning.
Module 3 – Stroke Fundamentals, Faults and Corrective Drills and Adaptive Swimming
Topic 16	Fundamental Principles of All Strokes	Trainee can identify the basic stroke dynamics that are fundamental to each of the four strokes in adult swimmers.
Topic 17, 18, 19, 20	Fundamentals of Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly &Common Errors and Drills	Trainee can coach freestyle stroke fundamentals and build a program that incorporates drills for both simple stroke correction and stroke development in adult swimmers.
Topic 21	Adaptive Swimming in Masters	Trainee understands how to modify the way a stroke or skill is performed to allow swimmers with an injury or limited range of movement to continue to perform the skill to the best of their ability.

Practical Pool Assessment

This is a practical 30-60 min pool-deck session with a minimum of 4 adult swimmers of varying abilities where trainee coach is assessed on ability to modify and adapt the session plan, assess swimmers’ basic abilities and communicate clearly to make the session flow.

Time: Allow approximately 1-3 hours including preparation time.

Unit Assessed		Competency
Plan and conduct a swim session		Trainee can plan and conduct an appropriate and safe workout session.
Assess each swimmer’s ability		Trainee can appropriately assess an adult swimmer’s physical condition/capabilities and can provide relevant feedback on stroke faults to the swimmer.
Communicate effectively		Trainee can effectively communicate the session plan and outcomes with the group.
Modify to include all swimmers		Trainee can effectively modify the session plan to fit with the session timing, pool environment, lanes and equipment available for the assessment.
Respond to feedback, self-reflect & work effectively with others		Trainee can work effectively with others, self-reflect on session outcomes and respond appropriately to feedback.
Promoting fun, fitness and friendship		Trainee provides an enjoyable and inclusive session for all involved.

Coaching Hours on Pool-deck

Coaches are required to undertake supervised hours coaching adult swimmers, for a recommended minimum of 30 hours being conducted under the supervision or guidance of a Mentor Coach.

Any hours done observing an adult swim squad under supervisor of a mentor coach as part of this program can be counted in the 30hrs required.

Time: Allow between 2-6 months to gain 30 hours of pool deck experience, depending on your club sessions. Most Masters clubs welcome trainee coaches to assist them gain their 30hrs.

CPR Certificate

Masters Club Coaches are required to demonstrate they are competent in CPR and provide evidence of a current cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certificate from a Registered Training Provider.

Time: CPR certificates must be current at the time of application and renewed each 12 months.

Accreditation and Continuous Improvement

You have 12 months from when you enrol to complete the above course requirements to apply for accreditation as a Masters Club Coach. Once accredited you will need to undertake continuous improvement activities to enable re-accreditation.

 Time: Accreditation is valid for 3 years.

 

Masters Club Coach Online Accreditation (MSA-CCA-2021)

Masters Swimming Australia has partnered with Dita Solutions to deliver the MSA coach education all around Australia.

There are a number of pathways to become an accredited Masters Swimming Club Coach, or to update your skills, based on your previous coaching qualifications and experience.

All the courses have an integrated learning structure which allows for flexible transition from theory to practice through self-paced online learning and assessment and practical pool deck experience and mentoring.

The Masters Club Coach Accreditation provides trainees with the basic coaching knowledge and skills of swimming to enable them to be effective Masters coaches.

To enrol in the MSA Club Coach Online Course please click Buy Now below.

IMPORTANT: Once registered in the dita platform, your first task is to complete the “Coach Code of Behaviour” form in the ToDo list of your dita Player dashboard.

Login to dita Player, direct to your profile at:  https://msa.ditaplayer.com.au/dashboard/profile

Click on Licenses

From there, you can see your expiry date.

 

Your CPR competency expires every 12 months

Login to dita Player, direct to your dashboard at https://msa.ditaplayer.com.au/dashboard

Click on “Completed”

Type CPR in the Search box

Your CPR competency expires 12 months after the “Completed Date”

 

Yes, the Masters Club Coach course is accredited with Sport Australia in line with National Sporting Organisation Quality Assurance guidelines.

It is also an SCTA approved Professional Development activity and has been offered as part of the SCTA Conference each year.

All Coach Educators and Assessors are accredited with Masters Swimming Australia in line with the Australian Sports Commission Assessor Training program guidelines.

he cost depends on your entry pathway which is based on your previous skills and experience. These are all detailed in the table under the  Pathways to Accreditation  +  tab this page.

For Pathways A, B & C, the total cost is $270 in two separate payments: $175 enrolment to MSA + $95 for the Masters Development Course (payable to Swimming Aust for access to their learning centre).

For Pathways D & E, where you hold a current Swimming Australia Development Course (formally Bronze) licence, the cost will be $175 on enrolment. You do not have to do the Masters Development course as this is equivalent to the SA Development course.

Most Masters clubs will reimburse you fully for the costs of your accreditation once you have passed.

All the costs are outlined in the  Full course outline, costs and time requirements  +  tab on this page.

Yes, Sport Australia has designed an Essential Skills course as a starter for anyone in any sport who has never coached before.

It is hosted on the Swim Australia Learning Centre and is a FREE course that is very manageable for anyone to complete on their own.

You can click on the link https://www.sportaus.gov.au/coaching/course, sign up through the Swimming button and create your account on the SwimAus site. (You will use this same access when you need to do the Masters Development Course as part of your Accreditation requirements.)

The Masters Development Course is a requirement for accreditation if you do not already hold a Swimming Australia Development licence (or higher).

This course is a copy of the SA Development course with modules relating to adolescents removed and Masters sections inserted.

The course is comprehensive and interesting even though the content is based around age-group swimmers. There is a wealth of coaching information, videos and interviews that cover the basic coaching principles in swimming. A full outline of the competencies covered can be found under the  Full course outline, costs and time requirements  +  tab on this page.

Masters Swimming does not host this portion of the course at this stage. It is hosted on the Swimming Australia Learning Centre.

You will need to pay $95 to access this course.

This is a separate registration and login process.

You will be able to download your Certificate of Completion at the end of this course which you can upload into your Accumulated Training Record (ATR on the dita platform after enrolment) as evidence that you have completed that step in your accreditation pathway.

The Masters Club Coach Workshop is an integral part of the accreditation course. They are three specifically designed modules that will give you the skills you need to competently manage a Masters squad.

These modules will all delivered to your TO DO List on your dita Dashboard once you enrol and can be completed at your own pace.

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will give you helpful feedback on your module responses and be your mentor for your online learning.

The learning content and your responses can be accessed once completed as a reference material for 12 months from enrolment.

Swimming Australia is the National Sporing Organisation under which Masters Swimming sits. The Masters Coach Accreditation program must satisfy all the elements for competency to be an accredited course under the Sport Australia framework. The SA Masters Development course is a duplicate of the SA Development Course with all topics relating to adolescence and streamed competition coaching removed and as many topics “masterized” as the MSA limited budget allowed.

The online workshop was built to replace the face-to-face learning and workbook assessments that were done in the past. We have tried to cover the specifics of inclusive coaching for our squads with their diversity of ages, ability, motivations and goals.

We have recommended in the steps of your Accumulated Training Record (ATR), that the Development Course be done before the online workshop so that the technical aspects of stroke development in general swimming be done before the specificity of the Masters squad and the assessments in the workshop.

However, we don’t mandate which order you complete the steps, we only recommend that this is the best learning experience for those in Pathways A, B and C.

We generally allow 12 months from the time that you enrol until the time you complete your pathway

requirements. Many people finish within a few months, depending on their other commitments.

The State/Territory Coach Educators are your support team to assist you completing the course within that timeframe. However, you can apply for an extension if you need extra time.

We understand that life can throw curve balls and get busy, so we try and accommodate special circumstances.

Club Coach accreditation is valid for three (3) years and expires on the anniversary of your Certificate of Accreditation being issued.

Once you have enrolled in the dita platform, you will get an automatic reminder prior to your next accreditation expiry date.

You are required to keep your coaching/coach mentoring active and your skills updated during the three years and provide evidence of such when the time comes for you to reaccredit.

Role of Coach:

• Assistant coach
• Sole coach with mentor observing
• Sole coach with mentor follow-up
• Observing mentor coach
• In water coach with more than 4 adult swimmers

Club: the Masters or adult squad that is coached. This must have more than 4 adults unless remote/regional.

Comments: any description of content or approach.

• Technique session
• OWS session
• Speed session
• Skills Development squad

The MSA insurers require MSA to be satisfied that anyone who is on pool deck acting in a coaching or instructing capacity has the competency to do so. 

MSA has determined that the Club Coach Workshop as a PD standalone course gives someone the basic skills to be able to manage an adult swim squad competently and safely. They will then be covered under the MSA Insurance as a program leader/coach assistant acting on behalf of a qualified coach. The responsibility for that program leader rests with the qualified coach whose program they are running on their behalf. Remember they are still not a coach.

As the program leader/coach assistant does not need a current CPR qualification, there would always need to be supervision by the aquatic facility lifeguards as per normal. This is common sense. This principle needs to be observed as well in an open water training session.

Anyone who actively coaches or instructs a swimmer in any way is acting as a coach and must be qualified through the full Club Coach Accreditation program to be covered by MSA insurance as a coach. (Trainees are covered within this).

Anyone who is on pool deck as a swimmer but helping with general pool deck housekeeping such as putting up the laminated sheets for swimmers, organising the lanes, getting equipment for the swimmers but not giving any swim advice, stroke correction, coaching or help with technique in any way, is acting as a swimmer doing pool deck housekeeping only. They are covered by MSA insurance as a swimmer only.

So, the distinction here is the intent of the helper. If the helper is simply helping with housekeeping, and putting up the program for the coach then the coach who wrote the program is fully responsible for ensuring that the housekeeper acts only as a housekeeper and does not give advice such as “No, you should do the full 400m for that set…” or “I think your head is too high” etc.

It is the responsibility of every swimmer to self-manage their own effort level based on their personal circumstances at the time of training. This is true at any time even with qualified coaches. My suggestion is that the Head Coach adds some text to their programs encouraging all swimmers to self-monitor and self-manage their swim effort at all times.

It is a good idea for club coaches and helpers to get briefed on where the boundaries lie for each role. Each time a coach has a “housekeeping helper” then they need to be confident that that person does not cross boundaries into actively instructing or coaching but remains as a swimmer helping with housekeeping.

Some club helpers may be interested in learning a little more skill so that they can become a program leader/coach assistant. They do not have to undertake the full coaching accreditation and it does remain an option for them if they want to upgrade in the future.

 

The advice is that the use of Therabands is outside our scope of qualifications, unless a coach has concurrent qualifications in physiotherapy etc. 

The advice of the National Coaching Committee is that coaches should refrain from providing advice of this nature and/or setting warm-up programs using equipment that could lead to injury. 

If, as some clubs I work with have done, they engage the services of a qualified professional who is knowledgeable in this area e.g. a physiotherapist to set up a warmup sequence for swimmers, then coaches could subsequently lead swimmers through that program.  Individual swimmers can also obviously do their own warm-ups with Therabands / stretch-cords etc but it is always advisable to have had a routine developed by a physiotherapist.

 

The Levels of Engagement are described under “Get the basic qualification to assist on pool deck” in the main section above.

No. Masters Swimming Australia (MSA) and the National Board of Management expects that affiliated clubs will have allocated one or more accredited coaches to each session. This may include coaches-in-training, qualified session leaders and/or session-leaders-in-training. However, there may be scenarios when this is not possible; in small clubs and engaging a coach is not viable; remote clubs and finding a coach is difficult; coach unavailability due to sickness and a replacement coach is not available. In these circumstances the afore-mentioned Level of Engagement can be utilised.

The word “organise” is meant to indicate that someone who may allocate swimmers of different abilities to specific lane(s). Session plans posted for swimmers to follow should be pre-approved by an accredited Masters coach or downloaded from the dita Library. It does not mean that this “organiser” is permitted to coach swimmers, nor provide any form of technique instruction/correction to swimmers.

Please have a look here for a full explanation of the Program Leader role

Reaccreditation for current Masters coaches is FREE.

You will need to provide evidence that you have been actively coaching in the past 3 years and have undertaken some coaching related Professional Development in that time.

You may choose to update your skills every three years by doing the MSA Professional Development Workshop (online) which costs $115. This counts as 5 points towards the 10 points of accreditation that you will need.

Most clubs will reimburse your costs as they value your contribution to your swimming community, so we encourage you to ask them.

Log into dita Player.

A re-accreditation form will have been assigned to your ToDo list with a due date based on the expiry date of your current accreditation. You will need to log in to dita to open the form.

It is your choice whether you use the form to upload your Professional Development items as they occur, or just prior to the expiry date. You can add PD certificates as they are obtained anytime through the 3 year accreditation period. If you use this option, use the SAVE&EXIT button to save your update.

Re-accreditation reminders for completion of the form will be sent based on license expiry date. 

The new form should be completed and SUBMITed by you just before the expiry date.

This process is FREE. This is only if you are currently accredited, or your accreditation has expired less than 6 months ago.
You will need to provide evidence of continuous improvement activity in the previous 3 years that add up to a minimum of 10 points. (Refer to the Guidelines for Reaccreditation listed in these FAQ’s.)
You will need to sign a new Coach Code of Behaviour (CoB) Agreement.
You may choose to update your skills by doing the MSA Professional Development Workshop (online) which costs $115. This counts as 5 points towards the 10 points of accreditation that you will need.
Most clubs will reimburse your costs as they value your contribution to your swimming community, so we encourage you to ask them.
Masters Club Coach Accreditation expires after 3 years.
When the expiry date of a competency approaches, the dita system will send automated emails ahead of the expiry date. Please endeavour to update your competency with this reminder. For example, you will receive automated emails every year for CPR expiry. Once you upload your latest CPR certificate, it is verified by the National Coach Education Coordinator.

You will need to provide evidence of continuous improvement activities adding up to a minimum of 10 points in previous 3 years.

All evidence/certificates can be uploaded when you enrol for reaccreditation.

Mandatory requirementPractical Coaching/Coach Mentoring
Coach adults average of 1 hour or more per week OR	6 points
Coach adults average of 1 hour or more per fortnight OR	4 points
Coach adults average minimum 1 hour per month OR	3 points
Coach Educator or Club Fitness Director, Head Coach or Club Coach Mentor	3 points
Optional requirements Continuous improvement
MSA Club Coach Workshop as Professional Development	5 points
Attend 1 hour swimming courses/presentations/workshops (online or face-to-face) conducted by MSA or MSA State/Territory.	1 point per course
Attend 1-3 hour swimming courses/presentations/workshops (online or face-to-face) conducted by MSA or MSA State/Territory.	2 points per course
Attend 1 day swimming courses/presentations/workshops (online or face-to-face) conducted by MSA or MSA State/Territory.	3 points per course
Attend 2 day swimming courses/presentations/workshops (online or face-to-face) conducted by MSA or MSA State/Territory.	4 points per course
Attend a MSA Coach Conference conducted by MSA or MSA State/Territory	5 points
Attend an SCTA Conference	4 points
Complete any Swimming Australia Advanced or Performance Module.	2 points
Be a presenter at a swimming related course/workshop/social media event.	3 points
Contribute to a swimming related web page or magazine subscription	2 points
Meet with mentor coach(s) minimum twice per year	2 points
Complete any other relevant professional development approved by MSA	1 point

If your coaching qualifications lapsed more than 6 months ago, you will need to enrol in the accreditation program again.

Depending on how long it is since you were last an active coach, you may want to enter via the Recognition of Current Competency (RCC) pathway.

You will need to be able to document your previous qualifications and experience and have an approved person verify your application.

Click on the Accreditation tab on this page and follow the steps for RCC.

You will need to provide evidence of your coaching qualifications and experience, complete the Club Coach online Workshop as a refresher course and sign a Coach Code of Behaviour (CoB) Agreement. 

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will determine what other steps you will need to do based on the evidence that you supply.

You can apply to your State/Territory Coach Educator for an exemption if you believe you have had extenuating circumstances that led to your accreditation lapsing. Our primary goal is to have accredited coaches and we can work with you to assist you.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in these FAQ’s Getting Help.

Yes, the Club Coach Workshop is available as an online PD course and costs $115. The workshop consists of three assessed modules. Most coaches find the interactive feedback they get during these modules to be highly valuable.

You will be issued with a Certificate of Completion for each Workshop module which you can upload into your reaccreditation application when it is time to renew.

Go to the  Club Coach Workshop as a refresher course/Professional Development  +  tab on this page and click on  Buy Now .

The Workshop is an SCTA approved professional development activity.

Have a look at the Library in dita Player.

There is a section called “Professional Development Courses” in which there is a selection of courses for you to choose from.

Please also refer to the Guidelines for Reaccreditation listed in these FAQ’s for other options for Professional Development.

An approved person can be:

• your club Head Coach
• a mentor coach
• a qualified Swim Australia coach
• a qualified Triathlon Australia coach
• a club official
• an aquatic centre manager or
• your State/Territory Coach Educator

The coaching log can be signed by anyone who holds a position within the club or pool facility that can verify that the updating activities were indeed undertaken within the time frame. (Make sure that they are using the current form linked within the ATR and not the old paper copy form that used to be emailed from the State/Territory office).

Once you have submitted your application for reaccreditation, your State/Territory Coach Educator will automatically be notified and the Educator verifies that the documentation is correct and signed by an appropriate person (mentor coach, head coach, club official, pool manager etc).

Once verified, your new Coach Certificate and ID will be sent to you within a few days.

1. Any organisation that runs courses that provide a certificate listing “HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation” (preferred). 
2. Any organisation, providing a CPR or Basic Life Support certificate, listed at the Australian Resuscitation Council website. 
3. An SCTA certificate for CPR or Basic Life Support certificate 
4. Any Australian national or state government department providing a CPR or Basic Life Support certificate. 
5. Any Surf Lifesaving evidence of a 12-monthly update to a bronze medallion qualification. 
6. Any medical practitioner providing work-based evidence of a CPR or Basic Life Support refresher in line with the expiry requirements of their profession.

This is a placeholder tab content. It is important to have the necessary information in the block, but at this stage, it is just a placeholder to help you visualise how the content is displayed. Feel free to edit this with your actual content.

STEP 1 – log into your dita profile and your To-Do list should be on your home screen

STEP 2 – click on the “open” button on your CPR line – far right

STEP 3 – This window will appear.  Add your Attainment date and the expiry date should automatically fill in. The Reference and Comments boxes are optional but you can include the Course Code and the provider if you wish.

STEP 4 – Click Upload File  – green button in box above – and load a copy of your certificate.

STEP 5 – Click Save Details and you’re all done for another 12 months

Click on the Bridging Course tab on this page and click on  Buy Now .

This course is designed for those who have already completed the new MSA Club Coach Workshop (online) and wish to upgrade this certificate to full Masters Club Coach Accreditation. You will need to have completed all three modules of the online Club Coach Workshop to upgrade to full accreditation through the Bridging course.

You will be given full credit for the online Club Coach Workshop component of the accreditation requirements.  The Bridging course cost is $60 and will place you in the full accreditation program and link you to your Accumulated Training Record (ATR).

Once you have completed all the steps in your ATR and submitted your application for accreditation, your State/Territory Coach Educator will be automatically notified and will verify your documentation. Your Certificate and Coach ID will be sent to you within a few days. Your State/Territory Coach Educator will contact you directly if there is anything that is missing or needs further clarification.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in these FAQ’s Getting Help.

Yes, we encourage you to work closely with your club Head Coach or your coach mentor while you are

completing all the requirements of the course.

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will be your support and can answer, assist, mentor and guide you through each element as you need.

You will have an opportunity to join an interactive chat session with other trainees around Australia via Zoom.

Your Practical Poolside Assessment must be done in a squad environment by your Head Coach or coach mentor.

The State/Territory Coach Educator will work with you to make use of technology if you have a problem with getting access to poolside mentoring.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in these FAQ’s Getting Help.

Yes, you can access your completed modules and the learning content for 12months from the date that you enrolled in the course.

You will be able to view and download the certificate of completion for each module from your User Dashboard in the dita platform.

Access to user answers for the free text questions in your modules – specifically the session plan in Module Two. It can be seen by the following these steps:

• Log into your Dita player
• Go to your User Profile
• Go to Modules tab
• Click on Module Two/Actions/Results
• Scroll down to Topic 15
• Find 15.1 to 15.9 Your Session Plan – Assessment
• Click on Results
• Scroll to any answer that you want to see
• Copy and paste any of this text into a word document if needed (note that selecting ‘Print Results’ in the top rt corner only prints your results not the full text of each answer.)

This can be done for any of the assessment questions in any Module that were not multiple choice. 

Many of our regional and remote trainees are in the same situation.

The full accreditation course is now run online with support offered via interactive Zoom chat sessions with other trainees and your State/Territory Coach Educator.

As long as you have an aquatic environment and more than 4 adults in your “squad”, we can help you to gain your accreditation.

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will work with you on your specific situation and determine the best method to assist and assess you.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in the  Getting Help  +  tab of these FAQs.

As with any of our regional and remote trainees, as long as long as you have an aquatic environment and more than 4 adults in your “squad”, we can help you to gain your accreditation.  We make use of communication technologies available to mentor, assist and assess you.  The accreditation course has been designed to make it possible for people such as yourself to become accredited. All the information that you need to enrol in the course is on this page.

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will work with you to overcome any barriers there may be in you completing the requirements of the course.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in the  Getting Help  +  tab of these FAQs.

Anyone who is an official at any aquatic facility can do the assessment. That could be another Swimming Australia coach or the pool duty manager or a club official. 

The Practical Poolside Assessment tool was designed to be able to be done by anyone who has the authority to observe and comment on competency. A pool duty manager through to a coach can facilitate it and sign it off.

We are also a little more flexible with what we determine to be a “squad” for the purposes of this assessment for remote and regional trainees. So long as you have at least 4 adults and have written your own program, you can do the assessment in any pool.

Your State/Territory Coach Educator will be happy to find a workable solution for you.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in the  Getting Help  +  tab of these FAQs.

If you forget your password please select the “I forgot my Password” link on the logon page to reset your password. You can also update your profile information if there is anything changes at any time.

You can change your password at anytime by selecting the “Change Password” option by clicking on your name at the top right of the screen.

If you can’t find your access your Dashboard and your TO DO list, your State/Territory Coach Educator can resend your logon details to you.

Contact details all State/Territory Coach Educators are listed in the  Getting Help  +  tab of these FAQs.

The Club Coach Accreditation course is hosted on the dita platform. Once you enrol in any of the courses, you will be directed to register/login to that platform. You will keep that login for all subsequent accreditation and reaccreditation courses.

This is a separate login to your Swim Central login to your Masters Swimming membership.

The Masters Development course is hosted on the Swim Australia learning centre and requires a separate registration/login for access to that course.

Any coach that has current coaching qualifications and, preferably, multiple years of coaching experience. The trainee coach requests the assistance of a mentor coach when commencing their coach training. The role of mentor coach does not need to be authorised.

You may have been asked to mentor a trainee but are not sure what you should do to help in this course.

Firstly, thank you for stepping up to this role as you are an important support for your trainee.

Click on the  Full course outline, costs and time requirements  +  tab on this page for a detailed outline of the competencies covered and the time & cost requirements for each step of accreditation. Note that not all steps will be necessary for all pathways.

Refer to the coloured table in the  Pathways to Accreditation  +  tab on this page.

Each coach trainee needs support and encouragement.

Their prior experience and skills will determine how much support or guidance they will need from you as mentor.

Being an open and accessible resource for them will be invaluable in their enjoyment and success in their journey to becoming an accredited coach.

Most trainees need to complete this step.

You will need to verify that the trainee has an adequate understanding of adult swimmers and has a basic understanding of coaching principles and practice.

Note that they do not have to demonstrate any level of skill or expertise in stroke evaluation or correction. This course is designed for trainees and most are at the start point of their training.

These include being able to listen, absorb new information, reflect on experience, and communicate effectively with other adults in an aquatic environment.

As their Mentor Coach, you will need to verify that they have spent 5hrs observing/helping or facilitating an adult swim squad.

Those holding a Swimming Australia Development Coach licence (formally Bronze) or higher and have coached adults before do not need to do 5 hrs observing but do require you to verify their understanding.

Many have already spent some time observing or even helping on pool deck before they make the decision to do the Coach Accreditation.

These five hours can be used towards their 30hrs of pool deck experience required for full accreditation.

Yes, Sport Australia has designed an Essential Skills course as a starter for anyone in any sport who has never coached before.

It is hosted on the Swim Aus Learning Centre and is a FREE course that is very manageable for anyone to complete on their own.

They can click on the link https://www.sportaus.gov.au/coaching/course, sign up through the Swimming button and create their account on the SwimAus site. (They will use this same access when they need to do the Masters Development Course as part of their Accreditation requirements.)

Note that this is a separate login to the dita platform that hosts the Club Coach Accreditation course.

The Masters Development Course is a requirement for accreditation if you do not already hold a Swimming Australia Development licence (or higher).

This course is a copy of the SA Development course with modules relating to adolescents removed and Masters sections inserted.

The course is comprehensive and interesting even though the content is based around age-group swimmers. There is a wealth of coaching information, videos and interviews that cover the basic coaching principles in swimming. A full outline of the competencies covered can be found under the  Full course outline, costs and time requirements  +  tab on this page.

Masters Swimming does not host this portion of the course at this stage. It is hosted on the Swimming Australia Learning Centre.

Your trainee will need to pay $95 to access this course. This is a separate registration and login process.

Your trainee will then be able to download their Certificate of Completion at the end of this course which can be uploaded into your Accumulated Training Record (ATR on the dita platform after enrolment) as evidence that they have completed that step in their accreditation pathway.

Hopefully, you will have already been discussing the course with your trainee and are aware of any issues or areas of concern for them.

The workshop is self-paced and is a mix of structured learning, audio/video content, multiple choice questions and assessment tasks.

The multiple-choice questions are automatically marked, and the trainee cannot progress until the answer is correct.

The assessment questions are marked by the State/Territory Coach Educator once the module is completed.

The trainee will get feedback on their answers and any that are not deemed to be satisfactory will be automatically returned to the trainees TO DO list with a comment on what was missing or needs more clarification.

They can have multiple attempts to submit and the State/Territory Coach Educator may suggest that they discuss any problem areas with you in order to progress.

Module One of the Workshop covers Coaching Philosophy, Inclusive Coaching and Goals – this requires the trainees to reflect on their own coaching approach and experience as well as a case study on two swimmers and their goals.

We encourage the trainees to speak with their own voice and draw on their experience in having been coached themselves if they are novice coaches.

Module Two covers Planning, Training Principles and Session Structure – this is the most comprehensive module and the most important for trainees to be working with you as mentor coach. They will be writing a session plan for a squad covering all the elements so helping them with an understanding of the club annual plan will assist them complete this task.

Module three covers Stroke Fundamentals, Faults and Corrective Drills and Adaptive Swimming – this is mostly a direct instruction module covering all strokes and some basic drills for correcting common errors. Drills and stroke correction are an area where you can help them the most on pool deck.

Yes, every coach trainee is individual and will want to progress at their own pace.

It is important that you work with them to determine a schedule that best suits you both.

Working with you as coach mentor will be vital to them developing relevant skills within your own club environment and feeling supported in their learning journey.

rainees are required to do 30hrs hours coaching adult swimmers under the supervision or guidance of a Mentor Coach.

Any hours done observing/assisting an adult swim squad as part of this program can be counted in those 30hrs with your verification.

Work with your trainee to determine a structure that suits their experience and confidence, fits in well with your squad and other coaches and allows them to have as much exposure to different coaching techniques as possible.

Sit down with them and go through the club’s annual plan, explaining the training goals, phases, cycles and session goals and how it works for your swimmers.

Every club is different, and each coach brings their own “flavour” to their coaching.

Talk with them about what skills they have that may work with your session plan. E.g., they may have a good understanding of exercise physiology, they may be an accomplished competitive swimmer themselves, they may have a teaching background and be excellent at managing a group.

Maximise their attributes when sharing the session with them so they can build on their natural abilities and contribute from day one.

For an absolute new trainee, you may start with a plan such as:

Hours 0-5: These hours would usually already have been done observing/helping or facilitating with the squad prior to commencing their theoretical work.

Hours 5-10: Introduce the trainee to managing the warm-up and/or the cool-down components with your guidance. This could incorporate some activation exercises and explaining the purpose of these to the squad.

Hours 10-20: Trainees should now be confident enough to write or co-write a simple set based on the training goals and cycles in the annual plan. Work with them to ensure that they can answer the questions below:

What is the goal of this session?

What is the technique that we need to focus on to achieve the training goal?

What warm up routine will get our swimmers ready for today’s set?

What drill sequence will activate the right muscles and reinforce the technique focus?

Do the drills lead into the main set? (Drills can be done at any time in the training session as long as they are connected to the training goal).

What energy system are we training today in the main set?

How will we structure the rest intervals to ensure that we are getting the right training outcome?

How will we modify the distance and timing to suit each lane?

Have we allowed enough time for the full set for each lane?

What equipment will our swimmers need and how long will this add to each repeat?

Based on the effort of the session, how are we going to ensure that our swimmers have cooled down before hopping out?

Hours 20-25: Progress to them writing the session plan on their own and have them explain to you what the goal of the session is, how the timing will work, how they are modifying it for each lane and what role they would like you to have in the session.

Give them whatever guidance and feedback that encourages them to “own” what they are doing and develop a rapport with the swimmers.

They should now be able to manage communicating the session plan to the squad. It is a good principle to keep the squad together as a whole rather than divide and allocate the “slow lane” to the trainee. This keeps the social cohesion of the squad and allows the trainee to develop techniques to manage the whole squad with confidence.

Hours 25-30: By this stage, your trainee should be comfortable enough to be writing and running the sessions on their own and you will be aware of any areas that they still need developing and guidance.

We don’t all want to be clones of each other, so encourage their personal flair and individual approach and seek feedback from them and your swimmers for constant improvement.

Each trainee will require a different degree of supervision. The important thing is that they feel supported, encouraged and valued.

Address any areas of concern as they arise so that they are able to manage sessions without you being there for the whole set at some stage in their 30hrs.

The trainee will download the Practical Pool Assessment Tool for you to use as the formal documentation framework for this task.

They will need to prepare a 30-60 min simple session plan and have you observe them with a minimum of 4 adult swimmers of varying abilities.

They are not to be assessed on their stroke correction knowledge nor on their knowledge of drills.

You can mark them as competent if they have demonstrated the competencies in the table below.

Bear in mind that many trainees are just starting their coaching journey and will skill up in time. As their Coach Mentor, you are looking for current competency and future potential.

Unit Assessed	Competency
Plan and conduct a swim session	Trainee can plan and conduct an appropriate and safe workout session.
Assess each swimmer’s ability	Trainee can appropriately assess an adult swimmer’s physical condition/capabilities and can provide relevant feedback on stroke faults to the swimmer.
Communicate effectively	Trainee can effectively communicate the session plan and outcomes with the group.
Modify to include all swimmers	Trainee can effectively modify the session plan to fit with the session timing, pool environment, lanes and equipment available for the assessment.
Respond to feedback, self-reflect & work effectively with others	Trainee can work effectively with others, self-reflect on session outcomes and respond appropriately to feedback.
Promoting fun, fitness and friendship	Trainee provides an enjoyable and inclusive session for all involved.

No, the CPR Certificate needs to be current at the time they apply for accreditation at the completion of all the steps in their Pathway. The CPR certificate must be from a Training Provider specified in the FAQ “Which providers do MSA recognise for CPR competency?” above.

Coaches have 12 months from registration to complete the requirements to apply for accreditation as a Masters Club Coach.

Trainees can request an extension of time in any extenuating circumstances.

Accreditation is valid for 3 years, in line with Swimming Australia and coaches are expected to undertake continuous improvement activities to enable re-accreditation.

Please do! The value of learning is that it is continuous.

Hopefully, you and your trainee will have developed together and learnt from each other.

Having a club plan for continuous improvement for all the coaches will provide a structure that helps everyone learn, share, reflect, adapt, and improve.

This helps keep the joy in coaching and your club thriving.

Yes.
This resource provides key information on the principles of mentoring and links to useful literature, websites and podcasts and is useful for both mentors and mentees. 
https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/14657/resources-mentors-and-mentees/30427/document/pdf