NEW WAVE OF TALENT BOUND FOR OFFSHORE CENTRE
The next wave of male swimmers is being prepared for British
Swimming's Offshore Centre in Australia which is becoming
renowned for fast tracking the development of some of Britain's
top junior swimmers.
Five teenagers have been selected to join The Southport School
(TSS) in February and are already in the process of preparing
for a move that has a track record of enhancing an athlete's
maturation from junior to senior.
Roberto Pavoni (Brentwood), Tom Parris (Hastings and Crawley),
Luke Wood (Salford), Adam Harrington (Crawley) and Richard
Butler (Kingston-upon-Hull) will look to further their schooling
and swimming education at the Offshore Centre from February.
The new recruits, who replace outgoing British athletes after
achieving the Australian equivalent to British A-Levels, will
come under the coaching guidance of Chris Nesbit and will
be assisted by Liam du Feu.
Currently, in readiness for the move to Australia, the group
is at Loughborough University being put through its paces
by British Swimming Head Coach Ian Turner.
In October they fly out to the Gold Coast to spend one month
training with the current Offshore Centre team and Nesbit
Nesbit, who has a successful track record with athletes at
the Offshore Centre is looking forward to easing the next
wave into the system.
"During this period they will experience the boarding
school environment and will be able to choose their subjects
for the school year beginning in February 2008," explained
Nesbit.
"Some of the group may then be invited to attend British
Swimming's end of season tour which is part of the World Class
Development Programme. Those selected will return down under
at the end of November for a second period of training and
competition, returning to the UK a few days prior to Christmas."
Nesbit is excited about integrating the next phase of talent
and sees it as being instrumental in the development of young
British swimmers as the facilities at their disposal combined
with climate and coaching has paid dividends for the group
that went before.
"Only Adam Harrington currently has had the opportunity
to train regularly in a 50m facility at home so this is going
to be very different for many of the boys. The majority of
the Offshore Centre programme takes place long course,"
Nesbit added.
"All the swimmers will experience training outdoors
in what can be described as one of the world's best training
environments and boasts 300 days of sunshine per year! It
really does make a difference and what we're seeing now are
the results to support that.
"The boys will have the advantage of joining the Offshore
Centre's most successful group in its history. With 16 medals
collectively won at the last two European Junior Championships,
expectations will be high on the next group but we're confident
they can continue to build on the centre's reputation."
TSS offers an attractive proposition to any young male swimmer
looking to continue their education while giving entirely
to the sport in an effort to achieve their aspirations.
A 10-lane, 50m pool and an eight-lane 25m pool - both heated,
floodlit and outdoor - offer unparalleled access when compared
with facilities in Britain.
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