I’ve written about this subject before. You can find the post by clicking on this link. http://www.swimwatch.net/2018/04/good-community.html

I could well be in trouble with Rhi for coming back to have a second crack at the issue. But I think it is worth running the risk anyway. You see, on Rhi’s Facebook page this morning, I read the following comment.

I suspect it’s time to be brutally honest with whoever the authority is that decides on the allocation of the Cannonball Club’s pool space. I coached Rhi for three or four years. You get to know a person pretty well in that time. You live with them through some pretty remarkable highs and some equally extreme lows. You see them physically pushed close to breaking point. You share their journey.

So let me tell you about Rhi – the good, the bad and the ugly. Let me explain why you should cut her some slack. Let me put the case for Rhi and her Cannonball Swimming Club. First let’s consider the tough bits. No one would say that Rhi was the easiest person in the world to coach. She is bright, opinionated, knows everything there is to know about the subject, speaks her mind without fear or favor and has no time for fools.

From time to time that can make her a real handful to manage. But is that unusual? Of course not. Rhi is no different from many of the others who have stood on top of the world in their chosen sport. To get there they had to expect the highest standards of themselves and those around them. That’s what you get when you get Rhi around a swimming pool. You get an uncompromising professional who knows what quality tuition looks like and insists on that standard.

The question in dealing with Rhi is not her standards. They are of the highest order. The question is – is your supervision up to managing the jewel in your midst?

But is that unusual. Not in the world’s best, it’s not. Mark Schubert, Arthur Lydiard and Don Talbot were not known for their “warm-cozies” around a swimming pool. I’ve heard all three referred to as difficult by the less able. But you would struggle to find better or more successful coaches; coaches with great determination and huge hearts for their athletes; coaches who knew when to be tough and when to back off and show care for a struggling swimmer.

And of course that’s the point, isn’t it? Good coaches intuitively know when to push for more and better results and when to gently nurse a wounded swimmer through a bad patch. Rhi understands that difference.

So I would suggest those responsible for allocating pool space revisit any decision that adversely affects the Cannonball team. As you can well imagine I am really very picky when it comes to swim coaches. My daughter, Jane, was a very good swimmer and ended up representing New Zealand and swimming in the NCAA Division One Championships finals. All through her club swimming I was her coach. In my mind no one else would take the correct care of my daughter. But I’d have happily let Jane be coached by Rhi. In Rhi’s hands she would make sensible swimming progress and she would be safe. But what are the qualities that would have lead me to that decision?

Well first Rhi knows the product. She is an Olympic Gold Medalist after all. But she is an Olympic Gold Medalist with brains. She not only knows what to do; she knows and can explain why it needs to be done in a certain way.

Second she knows the meaning of hard work. Believe me there are many lazy coaches in this world. Rhi is not one of those.

Three, as I have already said she is tough but fair; hard but gentle; serious but funny. She brings with her a finely tuned sense of balance.

Four, she is honest. Her financial responsibilities will be met. You will always get the truth from Rhi even if you don’t want to hear it.

Five, she is fun to be around. With Rhi as their boss young swimmers in your town will enjoy their time involved in swimming. And more than that, they will benefit as people for their time in her care.

Six, she is a leader.

And so I would recommend allocating Rhi the pool space she needs. You might not have the easiest coach in the world to manage but you do have one of the best. Use her well.