Shaping the future of coaching at the One Swim England Summit

The One Swim England Summit offers a unique opportunity for coaches to develop, reflect and shape the future of our sport.

Through carefully designed sessions aimed at coaches, you will explore the evolution of coach education, learn how to create more meaningful coaching conversations and discover approaches that place children at the centre of aquatic development.

Delivered with leading partners from across the sector, these sessions combine practical insight with forward‑thinking innovation and offers inspiration for anyone passionate about nurturing swimmers and supporting club environments.

The sessions include:

Putting children at the heart of coaching

This session examines what effective, child centred coaching looks like within aquatic environments.

Delivered in partnership with ICOACHKIDS part of our lead theme, the session will share the core purpose of coaching young swimmers and the meaningful outcomes we aim to achieve beyond early performance.

The session with discuss how to use competition in a developmentally appropriate way, ensuring challenges remain enjoyable and rooted in learning.

Participants will look at how to prioritise children’s needs and voices while supporting their social, emotional, confidence, and technical growth. A range of engaging and progressive coaching methods such as games, guided discovery, and deliberate practice will be showcased to help make sessions fun and rewarding.

The session will also highlight effective ways to engage parents by clearly communicating session aims, progress, and how they can support their child’s aquatic journey.

Lifting the lid on coaching children

Coaching children is often talked about in simple, reassuring terms but what happens when we look more closely at coaching children.

Together with AP Race and ICOACHKIDS, the panel lifts the lid on the everyday realities of coaching children, exploring the ethical, relational, and cultural dimensions that are rarely discussed openly. Drawing on research, practice, and lived experience, panellists will examine how power, purpose, and adult decision-making shape children’s sporting lives.

Rather than offering quick fixes or universal answers, the session invites honest reflection on what good coaching looks like when things are complex, uncertain, and contested. Attendees will be challenged to question taken-for-granted norms and to consider what it truly means to coach children well.

As part of our Lean theme, this session is for anyone willing to look beyond surface narratives and engage seriously with the responsibilities that come with coaching children.

Coaching conversations that count

Great conversations can change the way people think, feel, and grow, but they don’t happen by accident.

In this interactive Learn session, attendees will learn how to turn everyday interactions into powerful coaching moments that help people feel heard, supported, and motivated. Designed for coaches, teachers, parents, volunteers, and committee members, the session introduces simple, practical tools that attendees can use straight away – whether they’re guiding an athlete, supporting a learner, or navigating important conversations at home or on poolside.

Together, we’ll explore what makes a conversation truly coaching‑oriented and how it differs from other types of interactions. Attendees will practise quick rapport‑building techniques, strengthen their active listening skills, and develop conversational strategies that create trust, connection, and confidence.

Expect a friendly, energising environment where attendees can explore, reflect, and try out new skills. They will leave with clear, ready‑to‑use approaches that make conversations more effective and help bring out the best in the people they work with and care about.

Join us at The Vox, Birmingham on Thursday 19 March 2026 and be part of the conversation shaping the future of aquatic facilities.