The Complete Handbook of Swimming
For pools, coaches, facilities managers, and serious swimmers: how to understand, choose, and manage swimming effectively
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The practical reference guide to swimming's mechanics, methods, facility types, and performance management—for coaches, managers, and serious swimmers.
About this book
Swimming is a fundamental human skill and competitive discipline, but most people encounter it without understanding the underlying mechanics, physiology, or facility requirements that make it work well—or safely.
This handbook is written for professionals, facility managers, coaches, and serious hobbyists who need concrete, practical knowledge rather than marketing or generic advice. Each chapter covers what you actually need to decide and do: how swimming works physically (and why technique matters), the types of swimming environments and training methods and what specifications actually matter, how to choose the right approach for your specific situation, how to set up and maintain programs or facilities correctly, where to find reliable suppliers and service providers, and what's changing in the industry.
You'll find real-world examples throughout—from competitive training programs to facility operations to injury prevention—because swimming knowledge only becomes useful when you can apply it to your specific context. This is the reference you keep within arm's reach.
Reader Reviews
Nancy Gonzalez
★★★★★Nancy Gonzalez: I manage a municipal pool and was looking for something that actually explained the operational side of swimming—water chemistry, equipment specs, facility planning. This handbook does exactly that. The Chapter 1 explanation of what swimming *is* beyond just 'people in water' gave me better language for talking to the city about investment. My only complaint is the maintenance chapter could have gone deeper into troubleshooting chlorine systems, but what's here is solid and useful every day.
Lisa King
★★★★★Lisa King: Finally—a reference that treats swimming as the technical discipline it is, not some lifestyle thing. I coach competitive swimmers and needed a book that explains stroke mechanics and training methodology in one place instead of hunting through certification manuals and coach forums. It's well-organized, the real-world examples actually help, and it doesn't waste time on filler. One minor quibble: I wish Chapter 2 had more detail on periodization timing, but overall this is exactly what I wanted.
Kathleen Martin
★★★★★Kathleen Martin: This is genuinely the most practical handbook I've found on swimming. I'm a serious recreational swimmer and also manage a small aquatic facility, so I needed both the biomechanics side and the operations side, and this book delivers on both without the marketing fluff you get elsewhere. Chapter 1 alone—understanding how propulsion actually works—changed how I think about my own training. The sections on choosing facilities and diagnosing common problems are gold. Highly recommend for anyone who treats swimming seriously.