Ron Jacks mentors Chatham coach Brian Lindsay!

Swimmers might have seen a new coach on deck last week as head coach of the Chatham Y Pool Sharks - Brian Lindsay - was in town for a week working with coach Ron Jacks.  Brian earned a grant from the 2017-2018 CSCTA Canadian Mentorship Program to fly out for a mentorship opportunity with Ron, to learn more about coaching in the world of Open Water Swimming.  Brian has had swimmers with the Open Water swims at Age Group Nationals, and was able to learn a fair bit about how we train our international athletes and what kind of work it takes to be competitive at that level.  

Brian had the following to say about working with Ron: "Ron, I learned so much about training last week and not just about Open Water.  You views on Open Water training and the sharing of your training experiences as a swimmer and coach were very much appreciated."

During his stay, Brian also had the chance to both help on deck and sit down with Rod and Mark at different times, as he has gotten to know them a bit from the pool deck over the years.  On speaking with Rod, Brian remarked "your approach to age group coaching was of value to me", and speaking of Mark "The knowledge you shared regarding club administration is going to be valuable down the road for me."  In general Brian also enjoyed meeting and working with the swimmers at the various levels: "It was wonderful to spend a little time with you on deck and get to meet the swimmers you coach."

We might be seeing more of Brian and his swimmers in the future, as he also commented on how it would be great to spend some time training together: "I would love to bring some swimmers for a week to Victoria and have them train with your swimmers at the various levels.  I think it would be a good experience for them and for the older swimmers a chance to take a look at the University – academically and swimming wise."

It was great to have Brian here for the week, and I know that every one of our coaches that were able to speak with him were able to gain some knowledge from him as well.