Future looks bright for Pershore Swimming Club.
10 Dec 2009
Future looks bright for Pershore Swimming Club.
Pershore Swimming Club's monthly junior achievement award was presented to Drew Jones of Eckington recently. The club's head coach stated Drew's example of hard training, full attendance and attention to detail during individual skills teaching has been exemplary and a fine role model for his club mates.
Drew's times have also been improving beyond all recognition with personal bests being recorded every time he swims with County Qualification in many events assured in the New Year.
Meanwhile the club look back on the year with pride kicking it all off with their 'Marathon Swimathon' raising nearly £2000. The club is especially pleased with securing and consolidating the efforts of their full time head coach Tom Naughton. Tom arrived with a pedigree of many years at Worcester Swimming Club and being voted City of Worcester Coach of the Year from all the sports in contention.
Tom has instilled new vigour into training sessions. These hard hours of training paid off for many of the nine and ten year olds who took part in their first County Championships in March. County Records from Tazmin Pugh (age 9) four in number by the end of the year and pb's were the order of the day with Pugh gaining three county titles to boot, taking silver in three and bronze in one other. In the end of year UK rankings Pugh lies in 1st place in
five events, 2nd in five and 3rd in six; not surprisingly Pugh heads the regional rankings in eleven events and the county in sixteen.
With Pugh continuing her explosion onto the competitive scene she finished the year with 12 trophies and 54 medals nearly all gold coming from high profile events from all over the country. She has been joined by Harry Sykes (age 11) who is also beginning to cover himself with honours, with both Pugh and Sykes winning nothing but gold in the National ISA Schools Championships recently, also bringing home a National Record and glory to their school, Bowbrook House, and the Region of which they are also Champions.
Alison Seward had a great reign in the nine year old group also winning many place medals and is now settling into the harder training necessary in the ten year old age division and looking to qualify further for the 2010 County Championships after taking a bronze medal in the County Development Sprints in September.
Seward is certain to be joined in those championships next March by Joseph Doyle (9), Jack Betteridge (9), Tyler McClean (9), brothers Drew (9) and Angus Jones (11), and Ashley Gribble. Doyle in particular has been in sparkling form since his taking a County title in the same Development meet as Seward and in the recent Christmas Relay Gala proved himself still further tacking on older opposition and also leading Pershore's 9 year old boys to victory, leading all the boys in their enthusiastic training.
What is even more exciting is the prospect of the raw beginners coming through which is a credit to the work being done by the Leisure Centre teaching staff at Pershore getting them through their National level swimming courses. Some of these promising youngsters were recently invited to take part in Worcester Swimming Club's own championships and also represented the club in the recent relay gala at Wolverhampton with others include Harry Johnson, Simon Sweatman (7), Josh Sharrett, Luke Betteridge (6), Ollie Gill; William Gearey and Aiden Budd.
For the girls Beth Snape, Hannah Simister and Jasmin Taite also stepped up to the mark in the recent relay gala and swam with distinction, in training they have been joined by Maisy Robertson, Rosie Forest, Kathleen Caldicott, Louise Hird, Mia Du Toit and Olivia Tresigne.
It will be these youngsters who will be representing their schools in the 2010 Inter-Schools swimming galas and building on the excellent results Doyle, Betteridge, Xander Jacques and Bethany Carter have recorded in 2009.
Looking back with all this pride and success with the individuals involved is great. Now is the time to look forward and with all the reborn enthusiasm now on show is proving to be one of the most exciting times for the club, for which it thanks all previous coaches and officials for helping it through recent closures from floods and rebuilds in the past ten years. The club is not tackling this growth alone and the bond which has grown between Pershore and Worcester clubs has been a great example and so together with Evesham and Droitwich it is hoped all four clubs will be working and sharing time together in the years to come with a brighter future for all.