Sports
Fernando Alde: The Art of Coaching from Pool to Open Water
With over 30 years in swimming and leading Mestres dos Mares in Guarujá, the coach details swimmer development.
With over three decades dedicated to swim coaching and 22 years at Companhia Atlética, Fernando Alde shares his journey in the sport. He explains how he structured the Mestres dos Mares project to guide thousands of swimmers from the pool to the open sea with structured methodology and safety.
Developing a swimmer requires patience, technique, and a deep commitment to fundamental skills. With more than 33 years of professional experience on pool decks and 22 consecutive years as an instructor at Companhia Atlética, Fernando Alde has built a career focused on the athletic development of thousands of students, from their very first childhood strokes to tackling open-water challenges.
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A passion for coaching and building strong fundamentals
Fernando's relationship with swimming began in childhood, teaching himself freestyle and backstroke in São Paulo's public pools. After enrolling in Physical Education, he cemented his coaching vocation through stints at clubs like Juventus and various fitness centers across the state capital. His work has always prioritized the instructional process, equipping swimmers with solid motor fundamentals before directing them to high performance or advanced training.
For Alde, what sets a foundational coach apart is the ability to respect each swimmer's individuality, especially adults facing mental blocks and a fear of water. This dedication to teaching has earned internal recognition at Companhia Atlética, where he has received awards voted on by both the faculty and students across junior and youth categories.
Mestres dos Mares: outdoor methodology at Praia de Pernambuco
His accumulated experience in indoor pools paved the way for the Mestres dos Mares project, based for more than 15 years at Praia de Pernambuco in Guarujá. In partnership with surfer Alan César (from Cia Surf), Jonathan César, and Fernandinho Rocha, the program has served over 4,500 students, offering a fully licensed structure for ocean swimming lessons in front of Hotel Jequitimar.
The goal of Mestres dos Mares is not to operate as a conventional training group running fixed workout sheets, but rather to function as a supportive educational hub—dubbed 'the coaching group for coaching groups.' Its core focus is providing athletes from running clubs, triathlon teams, or independent swimmers with the tools they need to swim in open water with confidence and autonomy.
Navigation, autonomy, and safety criteria
In salt water, pool technique encounters new variables. For this reason, sessions always start on the sand with physiological briefings and guidance on reading surf breaks and visual reference points. In the water, the priority is individual navigation: the coach follows behind the swimmer or on support craft (stand-up paddleboards and kayaks), encouraging the athlete to make their own directional decisions.
Safety is non-negotiable in the operation. During rough seas or swell conditions that compromise student safety, activities are suspended or rescheduled. While welcoming beginners—with the prior recommendation that they can maintain a continuous volume of at least 1,000 m to 1,200 m in the pool—the program also accommodates seasoned athletes completing long training sessions of 15 km to 20 km with individualized support.
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