My First Year at Bridgwater Swimming Club

I have been asked to write a little about my first year at the swimming club so here goes.

Nervous, unsure, scared and worried, but with a deep breathe and uneasy smile “You can do this” running round in my head, I stepped onto poolside for the first time as head coach of Bridgwater Swimming Club.

I still have days like this but they are further apart thanks to the support I receive from the committee, swimmers, parents, Teachers, Coaches and all the other volunteers working their socks off behind the scenes. This club has special people working very hard to inspire, motivate and develop the young people in its care.

So how has it gone and what has been done;

The club has been restructured and now has 6 squads all linked to Long Term Athlete Development and the County swimmer pathway. We now have more pool time which we put to its full use. All our swimmers are improving in both skill level and fitness which is showing in the times they are swimming and the number of personal best being achieved.

As a club we won the Cotswold league and on December the 13^th we gained promotion to National Swimming League division 2.

More people are volunteering to help out both on poolside and behind the scenes 7 of whom have attended the UKCC level 1 Teaching Aquatics course, 4 young volunteers are attending the ASA young Volunteer programme, all of which will benefit the club greatly both now and in the future.

This club has some great role models both in the pool and on poolside and with the support of the committee, staff and parents we will continue to have an active part in developing the future adults of Bridgwater and the wider community. Our club should be celebrated and recognised for its achievements and the work it does. Our swimmers are working hard producing great times to gain County and regional qualifying times and aspiring to compete at the National Championships which is a measure of how far the swimmers have come.

So on the whole very well BUT we must not rest on our laurels, we MUST strive to go forward build on our success and continue to help and develop the young people in our care and this can only be done with hard work both in and out of the water, greater support from parents and volunteers, so if you would like to be part of this fantastic Club please speak to someone, 1 hour a week, 1 day a month, 30mins on a Friday what ever time you can spare we can put to good use.