By Marc McGowan
THE highly successful Haileybury Waterlions Swimming Club opened its new base at the college’s Edrington Campus in Berwick this month.
As reported in the News on 8 November last year, the club has built a 25-metre, six-lane private pool to accommodate the growing crop of local swimmers.
The Waterlions racked up 21 gold, 23 silver and 18 bronze medals at last month’s Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships to finish third out of the 71 Victorian teams that competed.
Its new Berwick base will cater for novices right up to state-level swimmers.
Haileybury already has pools at the college’s Keysborough and Brighton campuses, as well as Korowa Girls School in Glen Iris.
Head coach Wayne Lawes, who lives in Narre Warren North, said he was thrilled with the pool’s completion and was looking forward to developing the sport’s future stars.
“We’re just opening the doors; it’s a beautiful pool,” he said.
“It’s always been on the drawing board; it’s a great asset to the school. It will be a stepping stone to the international level.”
The club’s national swimmers train at Keysborough, but Lawes believes the initial tuition is vital to individuals’ long-term prospects.
“We want to run a prestige learn-to-swim program. Our program offers more specialised learn to swim than other clubs do,” he said.
“I really believe we’re offering the Rolls-Royce deal.”
Lawes stressed that swimming was a technically driven sport and proper technique was of prime importance.
“It’s very well to swim a child up and down the pool, but all those other things can come later,” he said.
“You need to form a base and develop skills early.”
Swimming is an incredibly competitive sport in Australia and Lawes recognises that he needs to maintain his pupils’ passion and drive over an extended period.
“It takes 10 to 12 years to develop a champion at international level, so you need to keep them enjoying the sport and take a holistic approach,” he said.
“Girls and boys have completely different stimulus and different incentives, so it is important as a coach to notice the differences and be patient with their long-term development.”
Anyone interested in further information on Haileybury’s learn-to-swim program can phone Lucy Piening on 0402 282 922.
