Waterlions’ pod heads for nationals

By Marc McGowan
FIFTEEN of the Haileybury Waterlions’ best young swimmers set their sights on national glory at the Australian Age Championships in Queensland this week.
The championships began yesterday (Wednesday) and runs until Sunday.
The Waterlions’ junior brigade has endured an interrupted last three weeks of preparation, with head coach Wayne Lawes focusing on club star Kelly Stubbins’ attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Lawes will also miss the Australian Age Championships to be at the World Short Course Championships in Manchester, where he will oversee Stubbins and other members of the national team.
Haileybury assistant coaches Brad Smith and Amanda Norton have filled the breach, but Lawes believes a positive can come from his absence.
“At the end of the day, it could be a good thing in some ways because they have more responsibility,” Lawes said.
“They have to learn to look after themselves and, to some degree, the coach’s role is to make them a little more independent and to create more awareness about what they’re doing.
“They need to maintain their expectations as if I were there and be self-driven and step up to it.”
Seventeen-year-old Roy Pearce leads the Waterlions’ charge, but Lawes also has high hopes for David Mummery, Sam Nixon, Ally Woodlock, James McHenry and Indra Grant.
Pearce, fresh from competing at the Australian Olympic Games trials, enters the competition ranked eighth in the 17-to-18-year-old 200-metre individual medley, ninth in the 16-to-18-year-old 400-metre individual medley and 12th in the 17-to-18-year-old 400-metre freestyle.
“Some of them are first timers at nationals and might get a bit nervous, but they’ll need to step up because swimming is always progressing in a forward direction,” Lawes said.
“They’ll be able to measure themselves against the best in the country and it will be some of the best age-group swimming in the world.
“It’s a pretty prestigious event and a great stepping stone for future years.”
Despite being honoured to be a part of the Australian team heading to the World Short Course Championships, Lawes was disappointed he would not be able to watch his son, Tyson, make his debut at national level.
“Not getting to see my own son at nationals is a bit hard after 25 years looking after everyone else, but he’ll be fine – he’s enjoying the sport,” he said.
“As I’ve said all along, it’s about developing people with a long-term plan instead of getting into them really early.
“As long as they’re enjoying the sport, hopefully I’ll get to see many more.”