Taylor Leads Nunawading Hi-Performance Drive
2008-09-11
Craig Lord
The man who steered Leisel Jones on her final approach to Beijing 2008 is to head a club programme in Australia that boasts four full-time coaches

Rohan Taylor, who coached Leisel Jones in the final approach to the Beijing Olympic Games, has been appointed High Performance Coach at Nunawading Swimming Club for four years from next month in line with the club's long-term plan to develop itself as a centre of excellence.

In announcing Taylor's imminent arrival, the club noted that Taylor was the "most successful Australian coach producing the most
swimmers with world top 25 ranked performances". There are a fair few others who might lay claim to the "most successful" Down Under in the past year, like Mssrs Bohl, Stoelwinder and Widmer, for example, but Taylor's reputation has been building steadily towards his Olympic team selection this northern summer past.


Taylor will be assisted by the club's head coach Amanda Isaac, who was "involved in the negotiations and decision-making process for Rohan’s employment and is very comfortable and excited about the new
coaching appointment", according to the club statement. The club also employs two other coaches, Nick Veliades and Dean Bryant, who have also signed four-year contracts.


Talent identification will be part of Taylor's task. Australia National Youth Coach Leigh Nugent said: "The appointment of Rohan Taylor by the Nunawading Swimming Club to the newly created position of High Performance Coach is a positive and innovative move by the club. Such a move demonstrates the commitment that Nunawading Swimming Club
has to improving the high performance coaching environment for its
members and for Australian Swimming in general. The Nunawading Swimming Club is to be applauded for supporting its vision of providing swimming excellence through this appointment."

Taylor will be welcomed at a Club breakfast next month. Not many club situations and programmes in Europe investing in four coaches. Nunawading is a cog in a wheel but the importance of such cogs to Australia's wider excellence in water is not to be underestimated.