ABOUT TONY PEARCE
As a young swimmer from
Gorringe Swordfish Swimming Club (now known as Merton Swordfish SC) in South
West London, Tony joined the Croydon Amphibians where he competed at national
level at both swimming and water polo. As a Senior swimmer he swam for London
Otter Swimming Club, progressing to play water polo for Hammersmith (West
London) Penguins at national league level. As a Masters swimmer, Tony was one
of the founder members of the Spencer Swim Team, a legendary club that
pioneered Masters swimming in Great Britain. Tony has successfully coached at
Age Group, Open, Seniors and Masters Age Group levels for some 30 years. During
this time he has taught swimming and water polo in a number of London schools
including 18 years at St Paul’s Boys’ School in South West London, producing
swimmers and water polo players to international level. A full ASA Coach and
ASA Senior Tutor, Tony studied PE and Sports Science at the University of
Loughborough. At Crystal Palace NSC he became Head Performance Coach of the Centre
for Excellence Swim Squad and again produced swimmers to international
level.
Tony was strongly influenced
by the incomparable (late) John Verrier, GB Olympic Coach and later ASA
Education Officer. Time training and competing in California under legendary US
Swim Coach Dick Jochums also had a strong influence on him. He highly
recommends P.H. Mullen’s book, Gold in the Water, to those interested in the
sport. Tony is a member of USMS
(Southern Pacific) and the Mission Viejo Nadadores Masters Swim Club.
As Swimming Coach of St Paul’s
Boys’ School, he founded the very fashionable St Paul’s Barnes, now Barnes
Swimming Club, where he is Head Coach for the Seniors and Masters Squad. Tony
has received acclaim both as a writer and a cartoonist for his Masters swimming
and how to survive it! articles. “As a Masters swimming coach, what do I
actually do? At this stage in my life I have got it down to one thing: I
encourage people. It is really as simple as that because what Masters swimmers
are doing is swimming to fit their own image. Masters swimming is not a
fashion, it’s a feeling. It’s where the soul drives the body. That’s right - no
limits!”
It was 30 years ago. At that time I was a distance freestyle
swimmer from London who had always wanted to be a swim coach. I had just finished a swimming coaching
course but I felt I needed to know more before I started. So, after saving all my money, I travelled to
California to visit the famous Long
Beach Swim Club. That was when I first met the Head Coach Dick Jochums. At that
time he had a swimmer by the name of Tim Shaw who was dominating world distance
freestyle.
When I saw Dick Jochums coach, I knew this was…it. To me, his was the ultimate statement of coaching. Simple: no dressing, all substance, no compromise. Dick Jochums really made me feel that this was as good as it could get. To my mind, even to this day, no one is better.
I had visited other coaches
but what really made an impression on me was Dick’s originality and
unpredictability. His outlook was that
we never stop learning. I remember that when I started coaching for real I
tried to replicate this approach to coaching.
I felt somehow that he was watching and this made me very self-conscious,
but in a positive and constructive way.
Over the years there were
times when I would question my direction. All I needed, though, was to listen
to the latest of the Dick Jochums ASCA Conference audio tapes and his wisdom
would guide me.
I also came to appreciate that
while it was important to constantly work to improve one’s own coaching, it was
even more important to learn to coach in your own way. This meant not only
developing a deep understanding of the fundamentals of swimming coaching but,
more importantly, to develop a strong philosophy behind one’s coaching.
Dick has produced great
swimmers through his ‘system’ and has always had a strong belief that what he
was doing was right. Some might perceive
this as a form of arrogance, but I see this as integrity. I strongly suspect that even he doesn’t know
what drives him relentlessly. This is because, in my opinion, he is a romantic.
It seems to me that his coaching reflects the best ideals of Greek
philosophy. Perhaps this is unfashionable
in an environment where the difference between a diet supplement and a
performance-enhancing drug has become clouded.
But for me this is what makes him the great coach he is.
Looking back now, I realise
that he was absolutely instrumental in helping me form my identity, not only as
a coach but also as a person. I have often wondered what it would have been
like to have been swimming and coaching with him.
Then, a little while ago, I
came to the conclusion that perhaps I have - for the last 30 years!