Training future GB swimming royalty

A vast number of world and European junior champions have been honing their craft in Wolverhampton under the watch of former Team GB star Marc Spackman, with the aim of going to the Games.

Coronavirus has severely impacted so many sports and swimming is no different – the competition calendar almost entirely being wiped out by the pandemic.

But Spackman, who competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and has been the Penn Road club's head coach since 2014, still has immensely high hopes for lots of their youngsters.

"I've been here six years and we've had pretty good success throughout that period," he said.

"Rachael Kelly became world junior champion. Alice Dearing, she's quite local, from Oldbury, became European junior champion.

"Tom Derbyshire, from Stafford, is also a European junior champion, and we've recently had Matthew Richards become European junior champion.

"It may sound common, but it's incredibly hard to achieve that. Obviously, it's the fastest swimmers in Europe 18 and under, so it's really saying something.

"They really tend to go from that point, as European champion, to senior olympic teams and so on. Matthew is looking to qualify, in April, for the olympic team – and it's the same with Alice."

Although closely linked with the school, of course, the Royal School Swimming Club is not just for students.

There are three tiers under the system – elite, development and academy – and sessions take place on mornings, afternoons and evenings, both in and out of the pool.

Richards, who became European junior champion last year, is one of their brightest prospects and recently competed in the International Swimming League event, in Hungary.

Held in Budapest, he was selected to compete for the New York Breakers team which Spackman coached. All competitors were kept in a bubble amid a team-based format, which acted as a welcome opportunity after several months without any competitions.

"Swimmers from Wolverhampton, or at least training in Wolverhampton, are now being selected for global events, so it was a really big opportunity for Matthew," explained Spackman.

"And myself as a coach. It was lots of fun. A lot of training goes into it behind the scenes. The tip of the iceberg, if you like, is the bit where they're winning medals, but all the stuff is done underneath the water.

"It's just all hours of the day, really, to be honest, and certainly as a coach. You're thinking about it all the time, where these athletes can get to.

"It's incredibly demanding. Lots and lots of training has to take place, both on land and in the pool.

"And you have to fit in your schooling around that as well, which is why our current programme works quite well.

"People can do both things and they work quite well together."

In looking to produce Olympians, Spackman and the rest of the team at the Royal School try to 'instil the right kind of discipline' – and most of their athletes are from the area.

Swimmers interested are invited to attend a trial prior to being accepted into the programme.

"Our programme goes all the way to little kids learning to swim," said Spackman, who won silver medals as part of the men's 4x200 freestyle relay teams in the 1999 and 2000 World Championships

"We have a system which gives young kids opportunities, or at least an inspiration to go and become a swimmer, or do water polo or open-water swimming.

"It gives them a training base and instils the right kind of discipline and training habits, and give them the skills they need.

"We train them all the way through – from four years old, right up until the age 20. There's a lot of time spent training quality athletes.

"It is a boarding school as well as a day school. Most of our swimmers are local swimmers.

"We have a handful of swimmers who have access through the boarding, but it's a really good system for people who live nearby."

He added: "We're always developing the programme all the way through, all the different levels we have.

"We're just really pleased with the environment we have created, and that it gives people ambitions to go and do something at the real high end of the sport."

For more information on the Royal School Swimming Club, visit www.rwssc.co.uk