Swim meets are a bit like a Tetris game. The coaches have pieces falling at them at ever increasing speeds. Not only are they paying attention to the race in the water, but they have their eyes on the next heats of that event, they are giving feedback to swimmers who just emerged from the water, they are paying attention to several lanes at a time, they are trying to remember to look at the scoreboard at the exact right moment to see places and times, and they are keeping track of the team’s overall performance at the meet. It’s really not advisable to speak with the coaches at the meets unless there is some kind of emergency or issue that directly and immediately pertains to one of the next events.
