SCOTT PRAISES BRITISH COACHING EXPERTISE
Britain's coaches are among the best in the world and will
drive the British Swimming programme to new heights, according
to acting National Performance Director Michael Scott.
Scott has been impressed with the commitment, skills and
dedication of the British coach since his appointment to the
British Swimming role three months ago.
And Scott is convinced the pool of coaching talent will be
key to Britain reaching new levels of performance over the
next decade.
"I've been very impressed with the passion, ability
and work ethic of the athletes and the coaches since coming
to Britain," said Scott. "We have some great talent
which is being developed and nurtured by a team of professional
and very capable coaches.
"In terms of commitment, it's clear they work as hard
as any other nation in the world. Britain has done the hard
yards over recent years and I'm fortunate to be building on
what has been achieved."
Coaching talent is at the heart of Scott's blueprint for
building sustainable long term success for British Swimming
and will be key to ensuring Britain has the best prepared
team at the London 2012 Olympics capable of delivering the
right result.
Scott is ensuring assistance to coaches and swimmers is maximised
in the lead up to Beijing,
"My first priority is to provide support to British
coaches going forward. If we provide them with the opportunity,
they are as world class as anyone else involved in the sport,"
explained Scott.
"Going forward Britain doesn't need an influx of foreign
coaches, we have a lot of expertise but we need to use it
effectively and any additions will simply add value or compliment
the existing coaches.
"We need to value the excellent coaches that we have
in Britain. We need to work with them to ensure they grow
as the sport moves forward and I'm confident, with the plans
we're looking at, they will take the sport to new levels."
Scott envisages a big challenge ahead for both coaches and
athletes but has outlined a structure that will provide the
necessary support during the unique period of building towards
a home Olympics.
"As a team we are working on the principle of continuous
improvement. The times needed to win medals in Beijing and
London will be faster than in Athens, and therefore anything
that supports the pursuit of these times also has to improve.
"The process of supporting our athletes needs to get
better each year so the British swimmers standing on the blocks
are as well prepared if not better than any other country.
Our coaches will be invaluable and I'll support them in anyway
I can to that end."
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