Cootamundra swimming coach Adam Gammon is set to have three of his swimmers compete in the Senior Age State Championships at Olympic Park in Sydney over the weekend.
Halle Johnson, Jake Windsor and Sam Manwaring will all be going to the State Championships, with the hopes of coming home with a spot in the National Championships next year.
Gammon is happy with their development and looks forward to seeing them back in Sydney.
“The kids swim as a part of our performance squad in the Leisure and Recreation Group based in Cootamundra. They’ve been doing five two-hour sessions a week with myself and Angus Westaway and we feel since they’ve joined the program they’ve taken themselves to another level,” Gammon said.
“The program has taken country swimmers to the level to compete with city swimmers that are up there with the best in the state and not only are they going up against them, they’re beating them whilst getting training that is at the same level that city kids are getting.
“The kids are really excelling, this year has been very successful, and we’re extremely proud of them.
“We believe a lot in technique, we do a lot of work on their stroke, their technique and efficiency. I don’t believe in getting swimmers in the pool and just having them swim lap after lap clocking kilometres, if their stroke isn’t up to standards, it’s a waste of time so that’s what we focus on.”
Sam’s father Max, has expressed how proud he is of all the kids.
“They’re all so passionate about the sport. Sometimes as people get older they can lose interest but they’ve only gotten more and more intent on winning,” Max said.
“I know they’ve all got a good bond with Adam; he had a better swimming career than most so I suppose they can aspire to have a similar career.
“They’ve all been quite successful at the Country Championship level so no matter how they go at State they should bring confidence from that for the Country Championship later next year.”
Tully Potts