Passion for swimming in Sri Lanka is overwhelming – Liam Tancock
Liam interacting with the local youngsters - Pic by Ranjith Perera
Since his retirement two years ago 50-metre Backstroke World Record holder Liam Tancock has been globetrotting doing what he loves most — preparing the next generation of swimmers for the challenge. Liam, 33, has travelled across the world conducting coaching camps and his latest destination was Sri Lanka, where the 6-foot Briton spent four days training local swimmers and coaches.
From the four days he spent time with the locals, Liam was highly impressed with the passion the youngsters possessed, calling it an ‘overwhelming’ sign for a country where cricket takes centre stage.
“Swimming is swimming wherever it is done and size really does not matter. To make a better swimmer technical advice can play a major role, and I took things back to basics here at the workshops. The passion for swimming in Sri Lanka is overwhelming, these swimmers have the willingness to learn, that’s a positive point. It does not matter if you are big or small, but it’s about the crave to learn, perfect and master,” Liam stated.
Olympian Liam Tancock conducted his four-day training session in Colombo by sharing his passion and transferring his vast knowledge and experience at the British School and Sugathadasa Complex Swimming Pools. Prior to his workshop Liam had to seek support from his local team from Ceylon Tours, who initiated the idea by funding his visit to Sri Lanka. At the onset Liam had stated that he would analyse the swimmers’ stroke technique and skills but as he mentioned, he was clueless of how swimming is functioned in Sri Lanka.
“To an element I always keep a record with the team I work with in each country. I always work closely with the team to plan out a suitable training programme and also sketch out the areas I want to achieve through it. I didn’t truly understand the level of swimmers in Sri Lanka, so it was difficult at the beginning. There was quite an array in age differences and that was quite a challenge for me, to enable all of them together with the programme. However it was a success at the end,” besieged by his findings from the emerald isle, Liam told the Sunday Times.
Unlike other customary coaches or coaching manuals, Liam follows a totally different blue print to identify the true skills, technical lapses and craft out a swimmer who is potentially a medal prospect. Knowing the fact that his interaction with the swimmers is restricted for just days, and perhaps a second session probably after months or years, Liam makes sure to get local coaches and parents of the swimmers involved, panning out on the bigger picture.
“Besides the young swimmers, I mainly focus on the coaches and the parents, I consider swimming as a big family whether it is the UK or any part of the world. Of what I gathered people have really enjoyed the lessons while learning as well. I do not see any reason why these kind of projects should not continue here. I could definitely see a continued process and that’s when the local coaches come into action, they can take things further to help these youngsters.”
During his stay here, Liam made it a point to meet the former and present local top guns in swimming. He was happy to have a tete-a-tete with some local swimmers he had competed against at top level, including Conrad Francis, brother of Tracy Francis, who initiated Liam’s Sri Lankan training sessions. In addition he had also met the younger generation of swimmers, who had impressed with notable performances at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.
“For me, passion is the main reason I have observed right throughout in Sri Lanka. That very reason has helped Sri Lanka in great results at the Commonwealth Games 2018. This process should work down the line, right into the next generation. It’s about development and that’s the very reason why coaches and parents are important in developing swimming in Sri Lanka,” he explained while recalling an instance where he tipped out a top swimmer and his coach with some good advice.
“I met some of the Commonwealth Games swimmers, they are really good and believe me they can go farther. I also met their coaches, to work on techniques. After a training session they asked me a question which I could not understand right away. I said let’s see it, and asked him to ‘show what you mean’. They swam and we walked up and down the pool and did a simple hand placement, and it worked. Sometimes you need a different eye to help someone do a compete change with a little change. Sometimes I may say the same thing as their own coach, but it’s always better to get opinions from experts. The local swimmers are brilliant, we have had time in the water as well as in the classroom. Like I said from the beginning the swimmers, coaches and parents have been really super friendly and their passion, to learn and do more, has been overwhelming,” he added while recalling his glorious days in the international arena.
According to Liam, swimming is not a younger sport anymore, and the sport itself is all about pushing the boundaries and continual practice.
“Swimming is a life skill,” he says.
“I broke the 50m Backstroke World Record when I was around 25 and now I’m 33. I retired at 31 and that’s old for a swimmer. I went as long as I possibly could, and I’m still very much involved with swimming, involved with governing bodies of some countries including the United Kingdom, the World Federation and the European Federation. I came to a point where my body could not take up the amount of training anymore and obviously there’s a peak. I reached the peak and went pass it and that was all good,” he pointed out.
At present Liam works with a big team back in the United Kingdom, and he is not confined to a single project. He travels around to different parts in the United Kingdom as well as other parts of the world helping develop swimming while also promoting his own brand, ‘Swimzi’, through which he attempts to give the swimmers an identity off the pool. And to the remainder of 2018 he has a load of plans and training programmes around the world, to which Liam hopes to add a second leg to his successful venture in Sri Lanka.
“I would like to sit down with my sponsors, Ceylon Tours, and get their feedback on how the project has been. So far the feedback has been really positive. I might like to come back soon for another programme and even continuously give my inputs to the development of swimming in Sri Lanka,” Liam said in conclusion.