Lead Coach / Assistant Head Coach

THE SWIM FARM, LLC; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 48,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

The Swim Farm, LLC in Arlington, VA is seeking a Lead Coach / Assistant Head Coach to join our developmental swimming program. The role focuses on on-deck leadership, coaching oversight, and staff development, with opportunities to shape the entire progression from water basics to advanced skills.

Candidates should bring strong judgment, excellent communication, and a love for teaching children. The team values individualized instruction, flexible scheduling, and a coach-led environment over

Qualifications

• Strong judgment and communication skills.
• Background in traditional competitive swimming or club coaching is valuable but not required.
• Experience in education, adaptive aquatics, child development, or youth programming is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage practices from the deck.
• Supervise, mentor, and provide feedback to coaches.
• Manage swimmer groups, coach assignments, and practice flow.
• Assist with swimmer evaluations, placement, and advancement.
• Help solve technical and instructional challenges.
• Step into lessons, groups, or lanes when needed.
• Support the development of younger coaches.
• Communicate effectively with swimmers, families, and staff.
• Work closely with the Head Coach on program and staff development.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Communication

Mentorship

Program development

Job description

Position Overview

The Swim Farm LLC is seeking an experienced, thoughtful, and highly engaged Lead Coach / Assistant Head Coach to join our leadership team in Arlington, Virginia.

The Swim Farm is a developmental swimming program serving swimmers across the full continuum of the sport, from a child learning to blow bubbles and become comfortable in the water to accomplished competitive swimmers refining stroke mechanics, starts, turns, and race skills.

Our philosophy is simple: great swimming develops through great teaching.

We intentionally maintain small swimmer-to-coach ratios so coaches can observe, teach, correct, and connect with individual swimmers. We care less about filling lanes and more about creating an environment where swimmers receive meaningful instruction, build confidence, and genuinely enjoy being at the pool.

The Role

Lead Coaches provide on-deck leadership, supervision, quality control, and coach development.

Rather than remaining with one lane or group, a Lead Coach maintains awareness of the entire practice. They support coaches, manage swimmer and staff assignments, evaluate progress, troubleshoot challenges, and step in whenever additional coaching is needed.

Direct coaching can be tailored to the coach's strengths and interests. At the same time, Lead Coaches should be comfortable overseeing the entire developmental progression, from basic water comfort and learn-to-swim instruction through advanced competitive skills.

They do not need to be the expert at everything. They do need to recognize great instruction, know when something needs to change, and help both swimmers and coaches improve.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage practices from the deck
• Maintain a high standard of instruction throughout the program
• Supervise, mentor, and provide feedback to coaches
• Manage swimmer groups, coach assignments, and practice flow
• Assist with swimmer evaluations, placement, and advancement
• Help solve technical and instructional challenges
• Step into lessons, groups, or lanes when needed
• Support the development of younger coaches
• Communicate effectively with swimmers, families, and staff
• Work closely with the Head Coach on continued program and staff development

Assistant Head Coach responsibilities may expand into staff development, coach education, curriculum, program planning, and additional leadership based on experience and interest.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for someone with strong judgment, excellent communication skills, and a genuine ability to connect with kids.

A traditional competitive swimming or club coaching background is valuable, but it is not the only path to being an outstanding coach at The Swim Farm.

We are also very interested in candidates with backgrounds in education, adaptive aquatics, special education, child development, recreation, youth sports, or other fields centered around teaching and working with children.

Some of the qualities we value most are patience, observation, adaptability, creativity, communication, and the ability to understand how an individual child learns best.

The strongest candidates will genuinely enjoy working with children, understand or be willing to learn developmental swimming progressions, adapt their teaching to different swimmers, support other coaches without micromanaging them, and care about a swimmer's confidence and experience just as much as technical improvement.

We are not looking for someone who simply stands at the end of the pool and runs a workout.

We are looking for a coach's coach. Someone who can walk onto a deck, understand what is happening, recognize what is working, identify what can be better, and help everyone around them improve.

If your background is unconventional but you are great with kids, understand swimming, and believe you could be an exceptional developmental coach and leader, we want to hear from you.

Why The Swim Farm?

The Swim Farm offers something different from a traditional club coaching position.

Our model is built around individual attention, developmental quality, and meaningful teaching. Coaches have time to know their swimmers, stop and fix something, try another explanation, and celebrate the small breakthroughs that eventually become big ones.

We also offer genuine scheduling flexibility. Coaches provide their availability, and staffing is built around availability, coaching strengths, and program needs. Availability does not need to look identical every week.

We understand that great coaches may also be teachers, professionals, parents, students, or involved in other programs. We want a meaningful and reliable presence, not ownership of your entire schedule.

We also do not participate in a traditional club meet schedule. Instead, we host two in-house time trial meets each season so swimmers have opportunities to race and track their progress without making competition the center of the program.

That means most of your time with The Swim Farm is spent doing what matters most: coaching kids.

Schedule

Practices are held at high school pools in Arlington, Virginia, primarily on weekday evenings and weekends.

Candidates do not need to be available for every practice. Some coaches may primarily work weekends, others weekday evenings, and others a combination of both.

The expectation is simple: communicate your availability, be dependable when scheduled, and be ready to lead when you are there.

Compensation

Lead Coach compensation ranges from $35 to $70 per hour, based on experience, qualifications, responsibilities, and level of participation.

Assistant Head Coach compensation will be determined based on experience and the scope of the role.

Qualifications

Previous swim coaching or instructional experience is strongly preferred, but candidates with relevant backgrounds in education, adaptive aquatics, child development, or youth programming are encouraged to apply.

USA Swimming credentials, lifeguarding, CPR/AED, First Aid, and related certifications are beneficial. Strong candidates should still apply if certifications need to be obtained or renewed.