The course was conducted by James Richards, Senior Age Group Coach of Leeds City Council (GBR), a leading and successful club in producing age group swimmers.
“We were very conscious not to allow the course to be merely a certificate course and we are grateful to Mr James Richards for being open to discuss and plan the design and structure of the clinic through Skype calls and emails well in advance. This resulted in not only SLASU but everyone involved being happy with the outcome including the participants”, said Akhry Ameer, General Secretary of SLASU.
The participants were selected through a stringent process by a three-member committee headed by Mr Victor Pieris, a former Secretary of the national federation along with two other senior coaches Mr Julian Bolling and Mr Ruwan Manawadu. The selection ensured a ceiling on the number of participants and they were selected based on capability, performance whilst ensuring that participation was distributed to the leading coaches in the regions out of Colombo.
The participants in the clinic in Colombo - photo credit: SLASU
The programme was delivered through a full 8-hour session was each day comprising of lectures in the mornings at the Otter Aquatic Club and practical application with leading age group swimmers at the SSC Pool. The coaches were made to work in groups culminating in developing, presenting and implementing a segment of training plan.
(Text and photo courtesy of SLASU)