In January, Newington welcomed new Head Swimming Coach Mr Jared Goldthorpe. Below, he shares his coaching philosophy and exciting updates coming to the swimming program.

Our mission for the Newington swim team is to encourage all students to take up the opportunity to develop their swimming skills. We aim to cater for all age groups and abilities ranging up to national-level swimmers. By providing more structure within our squads, we aim to value each swimmer’s progression as they strive for individual success based on their specific needs.

Being on a swim team can be incredibly fun, but unquestionably very challenging. These challenges ultimately teach valuable skills transferable into everyday life. Being a competitive swimmer requires individuals to build both physical and mental endurance. Further, it is a formative experience that shapes character. My coaching philosophy is to instil life lessons and develop character in each of our swimmers. Traits such as teamwork, perseverance, effort and dealing honourably with both success and failure can all be developed by being on a swim team. 

Newington Swimming Club

The Aquatics staff are hoping to create a Swim Club in 2019, which will be linked to Newington College. This will be a great opportunity for swimmers to commit to further their competition and racing skills at a wider range of swimming meets. For most swimmers, joining the club will likely be an introduction to competitive club swimming (outside of school). The club will cater to all levels of committed swimmers, regardless of ability. The ultimate goal is to see our highest achieving squads competing in NSW State and Australian National Championships.

It is the hope that Newington Swim Club/Squad will offer convenience for all members, as training sessions will be held on school grounds. This will limit travel time and allow time for the boys to work on homework and other activities. Additionally, a direct interaction with teachers and coaching staff will allow for deeper understanding of swimmers’ needs. We will share further updates on the proposed Swim Club via Spaces and future editions of Black & White.

Swim Captaincy

Congratulations to Lachlan Sheehy (12/JN) who has recently been awarded the opportunity to lead Newington Swim Team for the 2019 GPS swimming championships. Lachlan is a valuable member of the swim team, representing Newington since Year 7 and providing consistent support and feedback to other members of the team. He recently shared, ‘I am greatly privileged to take on the role of the 2019 Captain of Swimming and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead.’

Alongside Lachlan we have selected two Co-Vice-Captains to assist leading this year’s team including: Miles Parhash (12/MA) and James Douglas (12/PR). When interviewed, each student expressed the desire to have a long-lasting influence on the culture and traditions of the Newington Swim Team. The staff at Newington are eager to see what the team can achieve after already breaking the AAGPA relay in our first point scoring event, the 4×100 Medley Relay at the SBHS carnival.

A note for current swimmers

Whether you’re an elite swimmer or a just beginner, the fundamentals remain the same. For success in the pool, swimmers should aim to always improve the following: 

Technique, Growth Mindset and Purpose.

Undoubtedly, Swimming technique can be one of the hardest skills to master. Water is 800x denser than air which makes it essential for all swimmers to continuously improve body position and stroke efficiency. Many elite swimmers work daily on perfecting the smallest changes because at any given point a race can be won or lost within a millisecond.

A Growth Mindset is an important part of becoming a resilient swimmer. At every opportunity, swimmers should perceive success and failure as a chance to enhance performance. The right mindset can assist a swimmer’s performance tenfold.

Purpose – Any swimmer who knows what they want to achieve can become unstoppable. Swimmers become intrinsically motivated when they understand why they are pushing through pain barriers and seek other ways in which the can improve.

Jared Goldthorpe 
Head Swimming Coach