Swimming: New Derventio head coach takes positive view after Scotland trip

ANDI Manley has been delighted with the quality and commitment of his Derventio eXcel swimmers in his first month as head coach.

He joined the Derbyshire elite swim squad early in June, succeeding Mark Rose and caretaker coach Keith Bewley.

And so far, his impressions of the club have been entirely positive.

Manley, who spent six years with Swindon Dolphin, took a small group of swimmers to the Scottish National Championships in Glasgow and was impressed by their performances.

He said: "The Scottish championships were excellent. We had a mixed group of swimmers, with the idea that I could get to know them and watch them race.

"There were some big names there, as the event was the last chance for some of them to get world championships places.

"But our swimmers really out-performed themselves, considering that they are still in the middle of hard training in the build-up for our own national championships.

"I think they met all their objectives and they virtually all came away with personal bests."

Manley, who will help to guide Derventio through a restructuring process, was particularly pleased with the performances of Emily Allsopp and Chris Steeples.

He said: "Emily made a big step forward by making four B finals. The level of competition was a big step up for her, as she's still only 15.

"She made the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke B finals, as well as the 100m fly and she should already have swum well enough for her to have gained qualification for next year's British Championships.

"She is now way ahead of schedule.

"Chris also swam really well. Talking to him, he has had a bit of an up and down year but he had a very positive and professional approach and made PBs in all his breaststroke events.

"He really took the bull by the horns and came away with a fourth place in the B final of the 100m and 200m breaststroke."

Manley, who has degree in sports science and a masters degree in sports and leisure management from Loughborough University, where he also coached some of the country's top swimmers, hopes that his methods will start to pay dividends later in the year.

But he is at pains to emphasise that his plan is one of evolution, not revolution.

He said: "The general training has impressed me very much.

"The swimmers have an extremely positive attitude towards their training and with the re-structuring of the club going on behind the scenes, which could mean some changes, they have kept their focus and, importantly, kept their level of fitness.

"They are all in very good shape, which is excellent considering that I am about the fourth coach they have had in the last six months or so.

"Now we'll be looking for them to finish on a high with some good performances in the national championships.

"It will be August when I hope that some of the routines will start to kick in."