Have you ever looked up form the water at your coach and thought they had it easy, just standing around while you did all the hard work? Well if so, it's time to cut them some slack, because a coach's work goes above and beyond what you see at training.

We caught up with Australian swimmer-turned-coach Luke Stafford for some insight into his daily life as Head Coach at Acqua Rosa Clayfiedl Swimming Club in Queensland, Australia.

A typical day for Luke consists of:

4.50am: wake-up

5.45am: open the pool

6am: coaching

8am: emails, phone calls and meetings

12pm: lunch

12.30pm: more emails, phone calls and meetings

2.30pm: prepare for the afternoon training session

3.30pm: coaching

6pm: close the pool

7pm: catch-up with family and have dinner

8pm: prepare for the morning training session

11pm: bed

...after over 18 hours on the go!

It's easy to forget that many coaches once swam competitively themselves and were previously in your position. As a former swimmer, Luke has first-hand experience of the tricks that swimmers try to pull off at training.

"It's amazing what some swimmers think they can get away with. It's quite embarrassing for me because the more I catch the young guys out, the more I realise that I used to do the exact same thing. Sorry to my former coaches!"

Now that he's the coach Luke wants to make sure that the swimmers he trains benefit from his positive experiences.

"I aim to keep training as interesting and varied as possible. I was fortunate enough to have four extremely experienced coaches guide me along my swimming journey who all had different coaching styles that got the job done and helped shape me into the person that I am today."

Luke seized the opportunity to expand his coaching knowledge when he prepared the Queensland team that competed in the Singapore and Tokyo legs of the 2016 FINA World Cup. He finds it extremely rewarding seeing his swimmers meet their targets no matter how big or small.

"To share my passion for the sport with younger generations and help them achieve their goals is such an honour and a privilege," he concludes.