The first, and most critical principle for forming a very positive working relationship with this person called the 'COACH', is to, "Let the coach be the coach".

The second principle is for you to communicate with the coaches.

The third important principle is to remember that coaches coach for a living. You do swimming all for fun and satisfaction for your children. The coach does it as a profession.
Be sensitive to a few things:

Hours. Coaches begin workouts at 5 or 6 a.m., run for an hour or two till 7 or 8 a.m., then do office work or go off to another job till perhaps 3 or 4 p.m., then coach again till 7 or 8 p.m. Think about that. How would you like your wife/husband on that schedule? No wonder coaches are right up there with doctors on the divorce-rate chart. It takes a saint to be married to a swimming coach. If you're lucky enough to have a full-time coach and you don't see what they can possibly be doing all day, ask them, they'll probably be very happy to show you … and try and get you to help do some or all of it! So recognise that they need some time off - vacation, long weekends with spouse, etc. We're talking here about a 15 hour workday, without evening meetings, or weekend meet. A horrendous amount of time.

Realise that age group coaches have high "burnout" rate due to the above. If you want yours to be around for a while, be sure they get time off to be with families or enjoy a social life. The closer you can come to letting them lead a "normal" life, the better are the chances they will still be around to help your age grouper for a number of years. Think about their schedules. Try to call during office hours, let them have a home life. Be as considerate as possible. And by all means, welcome the spouse to swimming events. Spouse involvement is of critical importance in the longevity of a coaching career.

Money is another sensitivity. The coaching profession is vastly underpaid in general. (Others would say that you can't pay a good coach enough, or a poor one too little … and over a period of time that is exactly what happens.) Expect to pay for "extra's." When was the last time you paid your coach that for a stroke lesson? His knowledge and expertise are his most valuable resources, except to pay for things not covered in the club structure.