National Qualification - Season of Unknowns
The season of the unknown ends with National Qualification
The first cluster of invitations for the home Nation showdown meets have now filtered through, with 2 of our swimmers making the cut to represent the club on the biggest domestic swimming stage.
To provide some background on how we got here though, let’s go back to the beginning of the season…
The start of the season proved to be a strange one for Co Wakefield SC, initially beginning without a head coach after he headed onto pastures new at the end of the previous season. The real question was “Who next?” Whilst the committee continued their search to answer that question, the club continued to run all training sessions, thanks to a host of committed volunteer coaches and the guidance of Former Olympic and current GB Triathlon coach Russ Barber.
Concurrently, former Dartes Junior Development Coach Harvey Williamson was enjoying his free evenings, but the feeling of soggy trainers being used as a form of air conditioning while on deck was missing… Until the phone rang, of course. Harvey took a temporary lead in planning and running training sessions, ensuring Russ could be utilised in the appointment of a new Head Coach. One of those applicants was current Head Coach Robert Taylor, a familiar face at the club.
Although Rob tendered without coaching experience for the role, his swimming background, swim teaching qualifications, and his charismatic approach made him a strong candidate to be taken under the wing by Coach Russ and Coach Harvey.
Thanks to the support of the committee and our amazing team of volunteer coaches, we can provide a great foundation for the future of Wakefield’s swimming.
Now, back to the important stuff…
Joining club veteran and current coach Harrison Lee with representation on the national stage this season are age groupers Hannah Smith and Thomas Wooffindin; Both of whom have had very different journeys to reach this point.
Starting with Thomas, this season began with a bit of an unknown for him. The first question was: what is the target? Now for those of you that know Tom there was only one answer to that: winning! Unfortunately, though, success isn’t linear, it’s a hell of a lot more difficult than that. There’s going to be dips in amongst those leaps forward. This is something Tom has only just started experiencing this season, and something he will continue to experience in future seasons as he improves further. Winning really is just the tip of the iceberg.
So then, what’s the next question you might be thinking? Well, it was a trick question… “What events are we looking at winning then Tom?” As you can imagine, Tom tripped up over that, replying with “Breaststroke & Fly.” Although the 200 Fly is the event Tom has qualified for at the upcoming championships, the real success story has been his backstroke this season, Placing Top 5 and medalling at both county and regional events. When Tom touched in the medals on his backstroke, we witnessed a strange and rare phenomenon… Dale (proud dad) was speechless!
Moral of the Story, I hear you say? Try event and every distance at least once per season, you never know what youre capable of until you give it a crack.
Confirmed to make her British Championship and English National debuts this summer: Hannah Smith.
Hannah joined the club from City of Leeds in January 2022, looking to reignite her love for the sport and establish herself on the big stage. Ducking in and out of the top 50 over the last few years, there really was only one target – getting in there by the time the national window closed. Joining a new club can be daunting for any athlete, not just in terms of new friendships, but in terms of understanding the expectations the coaching team set out. A sign of a great athlete is showing willingness to adapt to uncomfortable and awkward scenarios, and that isn’t strictly limited to the wet stuff that you spend so many hours in. Its safe to say Hannah passed that challenge with flying colours and as a reward, she will be competing against some of the best athletes our country has to offer.
Two vastly different success stories, by two of our most committed athletes willing to go that little bit further. It’d be easy for us guys on-deck to take the credit for these sorts of achievements, but in all honesty, as coaches we can only provide the pieces to the puzzle – it’s down to you to piece it together.
That leaves us with only one question really. Will you be joining them next year?
