To better understand the evolving needs of swim coaches, we expanded our original research with new surveys, interviews, and conversations across high school, college, and club programs.
What we found was eye-opening.
Swim coaches are drowning in admin work. They're cobbling together 3 to 5 different tools just to manage practice plans, attendance, communication, and meet prep. And while many are trying to track athlete readiness and accountability, almost all of them said the same thing:
"We don't have a system. We have duct tape."
This report outlines the most pressing challenges swim teams face in 2025, what’s working, and what top-performing programs are doing differently.
Our findings are summarized below—designed to be helpful whether you coach a large D1 college program or a small high school team. Please share this with your fellow coaches so we can all grow together.
February of this year, we released our first comprehensive Swim Coach Research Report. Since then, the CrewLAB team has continued interviewing and surveying coaches across the country to see how workflows, pain points, and team dynamics are shifting.
Here’s what’s different in 2025:These findings correlate with a 2023 NCAA Coach Well-Being Study found that 46% of coaches aged 40 or younger felt mentally exhausted on a near-constant basis.
"It’s like I’m coaching with one hand and admin-ing with the other."
Many coaches said they’re spending more time chasing updates and doing admin than actually coaching. Some even contemplated leaving coaching altogether.
While nearly every coach tracks something, few feel confident their athletes are truly “bought in” outside the pool.
Across every level, the biggest issue isn’t drills or talent—it’s consistency and commitment.Without visibility into effort and mindset, it’s hard to build long-term momentum.
"I send out a schedule. Maybe 20% of them actually look at it.
"I have to open five tabs just to update the team. It’s chaos."
One D2 coach put it bluntly:
"We spend more time chasing people for updates than actually coaching."
Coaches want simplicity, clarity, and tools that support team culture. Based on our research, here’s what they need most:
Simplify Your Stack: Ditch the 5+ app chaos. Use a single hub to manage training, communication, and team health.
Track More Than Times: Time isn’t everything. Use wellness check-ins, recovery data, and effort tracking to round out the picture.
Create Feedback Loops: Build systems where athletes hear from coaches regularly—and are responsible for responding.
Reinforce Culture: Make core values visible and actionable daily. Use prompts, rituals, and habits that anchor your team.
We built CrewLAB to be the central hub for teams. To allow coaches to focus on the most important part of their job. Coach.
This year, we've been working directly with coaches from D1, D2, D3, Club, and high school programs to make CrewLAB the coaching software built specifically for swim teams.
Being built with swim coaches. Refined by their feedback.
CrewLAB makes it easy to:“CrewLAB has made it easier for the athletes to track their workouts in the off-season, and it allows them to stay accountable with each other. It’s helped them stay motivated because they can see what their teammates are doing. Really, they just don’t want to be behind when we come back in the fall.”
— Jake Dacus, Head Coach, Monmouth College
We've already helped top-tier teams like Princeton and Richmond streamline operations and get the best results in years.
Let’s bring that same innovation to your program—whether you coach a high school, club, or college team.
Apply Now → Leaders in Sport: Innovator Program
I’m Joe Rapaport, Head of Swimming at CrewLAB—and a former swimmer and coach. CrewLAB is built with you in mind—because I know what it’s like to juggle coaching, admin, recruiting, and culture all at once.
Let’s make coaching fun again.