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Academy of Chinese Traditional Opera
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30 years
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Qualified Private Coach
Passed Coach Course
Richard Gu Richard
SUCCESSFUL SWIMEDU
Swimming
SILVER
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Swimming professional coaches help you become a better swimmer. Instead of Struggling on Your Own, You Could be: Seeing Improvement Every Session , more confidence more fun. View all coaching experience
Training Locations
Coach is willing to travel up to 50 miles
Packages
In-Person Training
for a single athlete
1session package with Coach Richard. 45分钟minute session length
Session Length: 45 minutes
$99 1 session + applicable fees
In-Person Training
for a single athlete
1. Establish a refined technical structure, power generation rhythm, and drag-reducing posture; improve stroke frequency and enhance swimming speed stability. Specific race results will improve by more than 5% compared to ... See More
Session Length: 90 minutes
$130 1 session + applicable fees
In-Person Training
for a single athlete
1. Provide swimming training videos, along with detailed descriptions of the corresponding training progress and performance. 2. Identify three technical challenges in video-based swimming analysis and provide targeted tra... See More
Session Length: 45 minutes
$80 1 session + applicable fees
In-Person Training
for a single athlete
Richard's 10-Lesson Swimming Guarantee for Beginners 1. Adaptation Guarantee: Eliminate fear of water, establish a good feel for the water, and be able to swim the prescribed distance in a relaxed state, laying a solid fou... See More
Session Length: 45 minutes
$120 1 session + applicable fees
In-Person Training
for a single athlete
To improve athletes' physiological power, optimize their biochemical energy supply system and energy conversion capacity (enzyme activity), enhance their psychological adjustment for competition performance, and develop hi... See More
Session Length: 45 minutes
$80 1 session + applicable fees
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Adults, Kids, Teenagers
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Breaststroke, Open Water, Butterfly, Individual Medley, Distance Freestyle, Sprint Freestyle, Backstroke
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Kicking, Technique, Pacing, Starts, Pulling, Flip Turns, Relays, Sprinting, Open Turns
Credentials
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Academy of Chinese Traditional Opera
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30 years
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Qualified Private Coach
Passed Coach Course
Services
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Adults, Kids, Teenagers
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Breaststroke, Open Water, Butterfly, Individual Medley, Distance Freestyle, Sprint Freestyle, Backstroke
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Kicking, Technique, Pacing, Starts, Pulling, Flip Turns, Relays, Sprinting, Open Turns
More About Coach Richard
As a U.S. government-certified professional swimming coach qualifications and achievements、Government（China）ssued professional swimming coach and certifications from ASCA . I bring to the table a robust professional background honed by my experience as a former professional competitive swimmer and coach. Specializing in delivering systematic, tailored training programs for swimmers across all proficiency levels—from absolute beginners taking their first strokes to elite competitive athletes chasing podium finishes—I focus on four core pillars: stroke technique refinement, endurance enhancement, physical strength development, and competition psychology conditioning. Drawing on my interdisciplinary expertise in sports psychology and physiology, I design fully customized training regimens that strike a synergistic balance between technical proficiency advancement and mental fortitude cultivation, ensuring each program caters to the unique needs of individual learners. Rooted in the philosophy of student-centric, differentiated instruction, my approach is dedicated to guiding novice swimmers toward steady, consistent progress, while empowering elite athletes to pursue and secure top-tier competitive outcomes.
Polished Version (Athlete-Centric Highlight for Website)
Guided three protégés—Enjian, Jin Yujun, and Jin He—from age-group swimming to the grand stage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where they competed as elite adult athletes.
Mentored numerous standout swimmers who secured spots at Ivy League universities, blending athletic excellence with academic achievement.
Led athletes to claim 20+ medals at prestigious world and international swimming competitions, and over 200 medals at national-level meets during my tenure as a national head coach.
Nurtured more than 300 competitive age-group swimmers to reach their athletic potential, while also teaching swimming fundamentals to over 1,500 individuals of all skill levels.
A decorated swimmer myself: 2014 Metropolitan Swimming Age Group Champion, with multiple accolades as a top age-group swimmer in New York
I received many accolades while working at Coachup.
Richard Swimming Teaching & Training System (Skill • Science • Experience): Elevate Your Swimming Performance
No more struggling alone—see clear improvement in every structured session. Glide through the water with more confidence, steady progress, and real enjoyment!
Water comfort is key, and every session plan prioritizes core skills (breathing, floating, balance, forward propulsion), plus specialized training for triathlon and marathon recovery. Each session targets 5 key areas systematically:
• A. Technical Proficiency: Drill the four strokes, focusing on body position, stroke technique, kicking, breathing, and coordination to boost competitive ability.
• B. Physical Conditioning: Build strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, agility, and coordination with progressive, session-specific loads.
• C. Physiological Enhancement: Improve cardiorespiratory function (VO₂ max, breathing/heart rate regulation) in each targeted session.
• D. Biochemical Optimization: Tune muscle energy systems (ATP-CP, anaerobic/aerobic metabolism) to enhance stamina per session.
• E. Psychological Fortitude: Cultivate willpower, perseverance, and self-management skills through session-integrated mindset training.
Action Photos
Client Reviews
Rong (CoachUp client)
Very professional swimming coach. Highly recommend.
Jack (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard was excellent at noticing exactly what I was doing incorrectly, and giving me encouraging and direct feedback. Would highly recommend!
Bo (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is brilliant. He coached my 8 year old daughter who is in the swim club for a year but needs technique improvement in Butterfly. Coach Richard designed specific drills focusing on every part of body movement and coordination. After one and half hour, there was dramatic improvment to her strokes. I am very grateful to have met Coach Richard and would recommend to anyone who is looking for swimming improvement.
Stuart (CoachUp client)
Great coach!
Younjea (CoachUp client)
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Steve (CoachUp client)
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Tiffany (CoachUp client)
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Fandy (CoachUp client)
Very good training with patient, will book more classes in the future!
Haiwen (CoachUp client)
Coach Gu is a great coach, very detail oriented and disciplined in his approach. He helped my son’s preparation for the swim season and my son enjoyed working with him.
Xi (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is very easygoing and knowledgeable. Both two kids have significant stroke skill's improvement after two sessions with Coach Richard. Definitely, refer Coach Richard to everyone who wants improve the swimming skills.
Helena (CoachUp client)
Very patient and knowledgeable.
Stacey (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard was fabulous!
Joel (CoachUp client)
We found Coach Richard through the CoachUp website. After reading his BIO, Experience and Reviews, we set up a session just days before Junior Olympics (JO’s). Our goal was to try make additional cut time for Zones. I could tell from our first session with Coach Richard that he was a good coach who was going to be able to help my son. Even though we’ve only had 3 sessions with Coach Richard leading up to JO’s, my son was able to add another event for Zones. In Zones, my son improved -0.87 (AAAA) in 50m, -0.94 (AAA) in 100m and -6.34 (AAA) in 200m all lifetime best in Breast.
Coach Richard possesses qualities we were looking for in a coach; knowledge and experience, patience, physical ability by swimming and demonstrating in water and a sense of humor. He was prompt and answered communications promptly also. He is very positive and gave my son a boost of confidence.
We are happy with Coach Richard and we will continue to schedule sessions with him.
Tracey (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is an awesome coach!!!!!!! He is very hands on and is able to identify the areas that need improvement right away. This was the first of more sessions to come to fine tune my strokes. I would highly recommend him to everyone.
Grace (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is great! I've worked with him for months now and I am very happy. He made swimming challenging and fun at the same time. I progressed tremendously and I'm looking forward to the day that I can join the Masters! He'll give feedback/ recommendations and critique which help in improving my swimming. My progress is closely monitored through videos. It's truly amazing!
Agjah (CoachUp client)
Today was mt 12yo girls first session of training with coach Richard. I was impressed by his care to details and the way ge conducted training. We definitely will get back for other sessions
Nikki (CoachUp client)
Great coach
Patrick (CoachUp client)
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Teresa (CoachUp client)
After 3 sessions I see a tangible improvement in my kids swimming. Their
Nicole (CoachUp client)
Great Coach. Very knowledgeable. will be able to pinpoint and dissect the issue. Very encouraging and great sense of humor. Strongly recommended !!!
Steve (CoachUp client)
I highly recommend Coach Richard. He both knows and knows how to teach the essence of swimming technique
Marco (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is very knowledgeable and attentive. He is very patient and passionate with his coaching skills. We are satisfied with the 2 sessions we had with him for our daughter.
Debbie (CoachUp client)
My daughter has taken two sessions with Richard. She is an age group competitive swimmer. He worked with correcting her technique. After the first session , she gain more confidence in the backstroke and improved her time by several seconds. She is comfortable with him in the water. He seems very knowledgeable and is good with young children. I would continue working with him and recommend him to other swimmers who want to improve their stroke.
Penelope (CoachUp client)
Richard was awesome!! He took one look at me and knew exactly what needed to be worked on. And within a few exercises, I could feel myself swimming with a lot more power and ease. His eye is phenomenal, he's very encouraging, and funny, which was important to me so I didn't feel like such an idiot, flailing around in the pool. Our session was jam packed with great technique tips. I learned so much. I also like that he took a before/after video, so you can review your own progress. Definitely a great experience, would recommend him!
Nagesh (CoachUp client)
Richard was great. Patient and was able to pin point and work on my weaknesses. He is affable and easy to work with.
Annette (CoachUp client)
Great ! My Son felt at ease while being in the swimming pool with Coach Richard helping him with his backstroke technique.
G (CoachUp client)
In our first lesson with coach Richard, my son made a big improvement in his backstroke. My son's swim coach was amazed how much he improved. Coach Richard, is a great coach. He was very patient and committed to teaching my son. I look forward to taking more lessons with him. I would highly recommend him for private lessons.
Lin (CoachUp client)
I had one session with Coach Richard. He was a truly professional instructor, in the water all the time following me and correcting my strokes. I have improved my speed and forms, will plan to book more sessions with him.
Jeannine (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard met up with my 11 yr old twins who swim on a competitive swim for first time. He was on time, spent time going over there breathing, stroke count. A lot of patience. He was so gracious with my twins and myself. We had to travel about 36 miles for him BUT it turned out he is worth it. Will be using him again!!!!
Stella (CoachUp client)
Coach Richard is great. I would recommend him to anyone.
Richard Gu (Testimonial)
Enjoy success
Richard Gu (Testimonial)
教你的是普通人，你就得到普通的结果，教你的是成功的人，你就得到成功的结果，教你的是最顶级的人，你就得到最顶级的结果，是不是呢？ 所以不是你不行，不是你不会，是知道跟谁学的重要性.
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