The 2024/25 Somerset County Development Programme saw a major expansion from 4 lanes at Millfield Prep School working with one age group, to 8 lanes at Millfield Senior School working with 3 different age groups.
Our primary aim with the expansion was to attempt to address some of the concerns raised by swimmers and coaches in Swim England’s National ‘Heart of Aquatics Listening Exercise’ – by working with the ‘missed middle’ ie those who are dedicated, enthusiastic athletes who just miss out on SE Regional and National Pathway programmes and often feel disheartened by this process.
This expansion also enabled us to support coach development in our county by offering more paid and voluntary positions within the coaching team (Head, Assistant, Skills, Guest and Young Volunteer roles) designed to develop confidence within an SE endorsed multi-club environment and improve communication and collaboration throughout our county.
“This is a great development opportunity for coaches and young volunteers. Rachel and Pat work with the coaches throughout the session providing feedback and support…The programme is very well thought out and provides added value for a variety of swimmers and coaches in Somerset. Well done to the team.” Jo John, Coach Development Manager, Swim England
Following our final session in June, we carried out an Evaluation of our programme looking at both Quantitative measures, such as test set data and swimmer time improvements, and also Qualitative feedback gathered from swimmer and coach questionnaires.
Quantitative Outcomes:
Qualitative Feedback:
Questionnaires were sent to 60 swimmers of whom 32 responded, representing an excellent 53% return rate.
Swimmers were asked: What 3 words would you use if you were to describe CDP to a parent, a friend/team-mate, or your home coach? A word cloud was generated from the responses:
Swimmers were also asked for comments and suggestions which will be considered for the 2025/26 season:
- race strategies for longer distances
- LC racing technique
- pre-race warm up routines
- lane coaches ensuring all swimmers have heard and understood the drill
- coaches introducing themselves each week
- more frequent sessions
In their words:
Questionnaires were also sent to 12 coaches and young volunteers. Goals achieved through the programme were reported as:
- networking with other coaches
- observing and learning from different coaching styles
- trying new drills
- developing knowledge of medium term goals
- gaining insight into what ‘excellent’ looks like
- improving confidence.
Discussion points included:
- improving the poolside coach briefing/planning session
- how to transfer the message of holistic development from the CDP to clubs – the importance of social development alongside training to improve mental well-being, self confidence and sustained participation.
“Somerset CDP have created a safe culture where I feel confident to be able to ask questions to coaches knowing that I would be supported in developing my knowledge” Guest Coach
“Today at CDP I learned how to give constructive feedback confidently to swimmers with the support of Pat and her coaching team. I also got to operate the Underwater Camera which was used to give swimmers footage to help them improve” Young Volunteer
At Somerset ASA CDP, we wish to support our young people to be their best whilst enjoying their sport and are always keen to reflect and evolve. We are especially delighted to learn from our participants that our programme is helpful, challenging, informative and above all it is fun!
“The great thing about [CDP] is that whilst the swimmers were really focused on their developing technique… they were also clearly having fun! It is an invaluable opportunity for them to train with swimmers that they often compete against at local meets and to learn together….there was a lovely atmosphere” Paul Chillingworth, SASA County President 2024/25
Thank you to everyone involved in this season’s CDP – it’s been a privilege to work with you all!
August 2025