Doc Counsilman The X-Factor in Coaching | ASCA Talk #001

We are proud to announce that we've joined forces with the American Swimming Coaches Association to revive some of the most outstanding conference speeches in the history of our sport. Check out ASCA's upcoming events and clinics after the talk. And don't forget to mark your calendars for the World Clinic in Dallas this year. September 6 through 9th.

First up, Doc Counsilman and his famous talk from Montreal IN 1971 entitled, "The X-Factor". Here is an excerpt from his International Swimming Hall of Fame bio -- don't forget to become a monthly donor to ISHOF to preserve our sport's history!

The ‘X’ Factor 

Doc sometimes adopted a folksy way of putting his message across. His talk at the ASCA World Clinic in Montreal in 1971 on “The ‘X’ Factor in Coaching” remains a classic. He spoke about a mythical coach, ‘Frank Zilch’ who, hard as he tried to become successful, lacked the ‘X’ factor.’ Doc explained the ‘X’ factor as the ability to recognize the important things in coaching, and to work on them, and to minimize the unimportant.

“The great coach must have two basic abilities – he must be a good organizer and a good psychologist,” said Doc. “The good organizer will have the large team, will attract the good swimmers from other teams, and develop the Mark Spitzs and Gary Halls of the future. The good psychologist will be able to handle the parent problems, get along with the city council, and be able to communicate successfully with the swimmers – he will have the ‘super’ teams.”

“The good coach today needs only an elementary knowledge of conditioning physiology and stroke mechanics. He does not need these to get the job done. However nothing remains static, and in the future these two areas will become more and more important.”

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