THE Hamilton Olympic Swimming Club has appointed two new junior coaches to assist with some of the youngsters under the guidance of head coach, Richard Biggin.

Lachlan Rees and Zoe Rouse will be taking on some added duties in the new year, as they take on the coaching positions.

Biggin said both kids had been with the club for several years and were excited to step up and give coaching a go.

“One of our junior coaches has just finished Year 12, my daughter Chella, so we were looking for new junior coaches, we’ve appointed Lachlan Rees and Zoe Rouse,” he said.

“Their job will be to work with the junior squads under the guidance of myself and the other coaches … they are both very proficient in what they do and are perfect for the job.”

Biggin said both of the kids had swum at a high level in the past and were “great role models” for all of the younger swimmers.

“Zoe has made Victorian Country Championship events before, so at a reasonably high level and Lachlan has swam at country, state level, and came very close to recording national qualifying times,” he said.

“The younger kids look up to them because they see them swim in the pool, they’ve got technique and they’re fast, it gives them a role model.

“It’s good to see kids that have been in the club a long time giving back to the club.”

The head coach said the process to pick was pretty simple and involved observing the kids and how they interact with the younger kids.

He said Lachlan and Zoe had already done many things a coach would be required to do without even thinking about it.

“At swim meets, they look after the younger kids and help organise them … they can understand what they need to do what needs improving,” Biggin said.

“Once COVID is done and dusted a bit, we will be getting them a qualification which at the moment is a bit hard to do.

“It will set them up for later in life, if they go to uni, they can look to find a junior or assistant coaching position somewhere.”

Biggin said it would of huge benefit to the kids and the coaches to have more coaches providing assistance in the pool.

To have such talented swimmers working one-on-one with different kids and helping them to improve their technique was a massive bonus.

“Working with a squad, there is a lot of kids but now we can allocate a swimmer, I can say I want them to change something and give that swimmer to Lachlan or Zoe,” Biggin said.

“In a larger squad, it’s something that can be hard to focus on one swimmer, so to have those junior coaches to help you out is great.”

While their coaching endeavours will take the forefront of their mind in the new year, both Lachlan and Zoe are currently doing intensive training to prepare themselves for the state sprints in Melbourne which are planned for January.

“They are focussing on that now, but once that settles down, they will get into the coaching in the new year,” Biggin said.