We have had one of our most successful years ever and thanks must go to all our swimmers, teachers and coaches ably led by our Chief Coach Richard Garfield. To ensure that the Club continues to develop and enjoy success in the years ahead, the Committee in consultation with Richard have been looking at the next steps as part of its succession planning.
We are therefore very pleased to announce that Richard will continue in his role as Chief Coach but will step back from day to day squad training. he will continue to be responsible for the well being of the whole club and will be working closely with all coaches across the Club. We are sure that the successful work which Richard has led since 1998 will continue to flourish & evolve. Richard first joined the club in January 1997 as a Junior Squad Coach & was appointed Chief Coach a year later in 1998. At the time Guildford City had only 140 members, were ranked 10th in Surrey and were languishing in the second division of the then Speedo League (now Arena League). Under his guidance Guildford City has become one of the most successful clubs in Great Britain and with this next stage in his career we are confident the Club will continue to do so.
Lee Spindlow will move across and take responsibility for running the National Youth and Senior “Green” Group as the Lead Coach which is currently run by Richard. Lee joined the club from Bracknell Swimming Club in 2010 as National Age Group Assistant Coach. He was appointed Lead Coach in 2012 and has successfully trained a long list of athletes to National Championships with many winning medals at the highest level of age group swimming. Lee’s proudest moment was watching Hannah Russell win three medals at the London Paralympics in 2012 and along the way break a world record in the 100 backstroke.
Josh Williamson will continue in his role as Lead Coach for National Youth and Senior “Blue” Group Josh joined Guildford City in 2004 as a swimmer and started his coaching career with the Club in 2006. He became Lead Coach of the Masters Group in 2007 and was appointed as Richard’s assistant and in 2010.
In 2012 Josh took over his own Youth and Senior group including Marco Loughran whom he proudly coached to the GB Team at the London Olympics.
In addition Lee and Josh will be appointed Joint Lead Coaches of the High Performance Division taking direct responsibility for the management of all of the High Performance Squads.
We are currently running a recruitment campaign to replace Lee Spindlow in NAGS and this will be announced shortly.
We are confident that the Club is in excellent hands and will continue to grow and flourish under this great team.
Richard will be at the Club’s AGM and will be happy to answer any questions from members about his new role.
