15 November 2025
Portland Swimming Club coaches, Kristy Andrews, Claire Ward, Matilda Andrews, and Michelle Beddows participated in a huge weekend in Geelong for the Barwon South West Development Coaching course weekend. Delivered by Swimming Victoria, it was the largest development coaching accreditation course in the state, with 30 coaches in attendance at last Saturday's workshop. Another feature to the weekend, swimming and diving coaches were brought together in a focus group, collaborating and providing valuable insights for participation and inclusion.
Our coaches who are soon to be fully accredited as Swimming Australia Development Coaches as a result of the weekends activities, spoke about the benefits of the training. 'This is a fantastic milestone for our small club and a huge step forward for our swimmers. This accreditation recognises that our coaches meet the national standard to lead competitive squads and support athlete development.' Claire said.
During the program, coaches had the privilege of learning alongside past Olympians, being assessed by an Olympic coach, and providing direct feedback to Swimming Victoria on challenges faced by swimmers, coaches, and clubs.
Matilda who is the club's youngest qualified coach said 'I've wanted to be a coach since I was 10 years old, so really little... and it's important to me that I get to share my knowledge with others because they're passionate about what they do.'
Michelle said coaching doesn't have to be about high performance, it is focusing on the grass roots 'It's working with our kids to accomplish their goals, whether that's having fun, making friends, competing in school swimming meets or aiming for Countries or Nationals. As coaches if our kids are having fun and smashing their goals, getting PB's, we are winning. By doing these courses we are keeping up to date and gaining the confidence to help our kids get to where they want to be.' Although Michelle has now moved to Warrnambool with her family and is no longer coaching in Portland, she hasn't ruled out coming back 'Also a huge thankyou to Portland Swimming Club in supporting me to complete this course, I look forward to running a pop-up session one day.'
Club President and coach Kristy Andrews was pleased with the weekend and proud of the Portland coaching team 'It was great being connected with other coaches and developing those connections. The course was a great opportunity to learn and develop new skills and knowledge but also recognise how far we have come.'
Coaches thanked the club for assisting them to achieve this important goal. 'A big thank you to our amazing committee for their ongoing support in helping us reach this achievement, which will bring lasting benefits to our swimmers and the future of our club.' Claire said.