Stawell Stingrays Swimming Club has welcomed a new coach for the 2018-19 season.
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Natalie Martin has taken on the role after her family moved to the region earlier in the year.
Martin hails from Perth, Scotland and is a long way from the cool waters of the United Kingdom.
“I was at Perth City Swim Club, that’s where my children swam. I was fortunate to get the opportunity with Perth City to go through a coaching course,” she said.
“We were then able to volunteer our time and help coach the kids across all their session they had.
“My children were at the pool the majority of the time, so you were there helping out a lot.”
Martin became a coach about five years ago and said she finds the role rewarding.
“From the coaching, I then went on to do swim teaching as well. So I am a qualified swim teacher,” she said.
Although not a competitive swimmer herself, Martin said she loves the sport.
“I only swam recreationally in the past and for fitness. I have done a bit of triathlon but never swam competitively,” she said.
Martin has goals in place for the Stingrays swimmers.
“I want to try to get their fitness up and work a wee bit on their technique as well. The people who ran the winter squad for the children gave me a great start to the season,” she said.
“I’m just stepping up for the good base which has been created and to push them on a bit and see what we can get out of the competitions.”
The Stingrays entered their first competition for the season in Horsham on Saturday and Martin said she was pleased with the results.
“So far we have done fab. We got some really good personal bests and medals. We had great results in the relay teams as well,” she said.
“Hopefully by the end of the season, everybody will have achieved some really good personal bests and knocking down those seconds.”
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