The battle of the sexes

Now I know I am tippy-toeing on dangerous ground here but in my mind, there is little doubt that men and women are different. I'm not saying that one is better than the other. Just that they are different.

It has been observed elsewhere that if you see four women on a night out they will refer to each other as Jo and Rach and Sue and Mandi or whatever, whereas four men are more likely to call each other Taxi, Nobby, Tripod and Plunger. In my time I have known all four of those gentlemen: Taxi had ears that stuck out like taxi doors, Nobby looked like 1960;s football player Nobby Styles and...well let's draw a veil over Tripod and Plunger shall we?)

The point is that men have a fundamentally different outlook on life.

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I was interested to know whether this translated over to the way in which the genders approached their swimming and, in particular, how they regarded being taught or coached.

However, the major difference which becomes apparent straight away is not one of attitude but one of physicality. How does this get added into the mix?

The ratio between muscle and fat in men and women and the distribution of that fat if different. Most ladies accumulate fat deposits on the thighs and, of course, on the chest whilst having less power around the shoulders. Men on the other hand tend to have more muscular legs and shoulders. This is, of course, in relation to their overall body size; a small man may have a lot less muscle than a larger lady but compared with his body size the percentage of muscle he has is likely to be more.

Because of this, men have a tendency to sink more in the legs whilst compensating for this by using the shoulders more. On the other hand, women who are more balanced in the water may find they are less streamlined than their male counterparts. The first challenge which often confronts a coach is to identify the extent to which their swimmer conforms to these stereotypes. An experienced coach will then be able to tailor their instruction to their individual client.

What can be trickier is to address the basic attitude of the swimmer. Once again, I am delving into the area of gross over-generalisation here but, from the conversations I have had, it seems that men tend to be more confident in their abilities and slightly less inclined to take instruction compared to the ladies. Thus swimmers who come to a coach having already signed up to an event involving a significant distance swim whilst currently getting out of breath after 25m are almost always men. Women tend to be far less gung-ho in these matters.

Call it confidence, call it ego, this “how hard can it be?” attitude often needs to be carefully and tactfully dismantled before real progress can be made. For ladies, the opposite can be true and recognition that, regardless of how fit or how toned they are, they can still become brilliant swimmers. Technique is all, With the correct technique, anyone can become a great swimmer regardless of their body size or shape.

Men and women then can often learn much from each other in their basic approach to swim coaching and teaching mixed groups or couples can often be very beneficial. Men may learn that maybe they don't know it all after all, whilst women may find that a little bit of belief in their abilities rubs off on them from the men.

However, they need to remember that, because of the biological differences between them, they may be on very different learning paths. Men may appear to be powering through the water but if, in reality, they are putting undue strain on their shoulders, this might not be what the coach is aiming for at all. Conversely, a lady unable to swim nearly as fast may be perfecting a beautiful Streamline position from which she can base her entire stroke which will enable her to complete distance events in the future with ease. The aura of positivity in the room can be far more important than the actual progress being made by a swimmer at a given point.

What then teaching same-sex groups? Is that a good idea? By all accounts teaching several ladies at once can work very well, again, as long as that attitude of positivity prevails. On the whole, women tend to be far less competitive and far more supportive of each other. (Hey, I'm really pouring out the gender stereotypes here aren't I? My apologies to the ladies who, by now, want to come round and punch me on the nose). Despite the danger I'm putting myself in from some quarters, nevertheless, I am going to propose that women will be more encouraging to someone who may be struggling a little and, as a result, those little hurdles we all face when trying to improve may be easier to overcome in an all-female group.

What about all-male groups then? What are they like to teach? For the vast majority of coaches, I think the answer will be the same. Rare. Very rare. Maybe occasionally a family group, two brothers or a father and his sons, but a group of mates coming along together? Hardly ever happens. Why is that? It seems an obvious recreational activity. In my experience, when men get together, there is either beer or sport involved – either playing it or watching it. Often a combination of all three. Ladies, when was the last time your fella said to you “Darling, I'm just popping round to Kevin's for a coffee and a natter. I want to see his new kitchen”? Exactly. But “I'm just off down the pub to watch the game with the lads” is a weekly occurrence for some.

Photo by Tyler-Nix on Unsplash

Why then is there adversity to being taught together? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe the amount of testosterone in the room would cause the walls to explode. Certainly, some coaches would find themselves faced with an uphill battle to curb the over-competitiveness. But maybe, just maybe, the opposite might occur and, by watching others being taught, some men might realise that a more receptive and accommodating attitude will reap huge rewards.

Men and women might be very different creatures but there is little doubt in my mind that they can learn a lot about how to approach coaching not only from each other but also from themselves.

Right, that's me done. I'm off down the pub to meet Plunger...