Benalla’s new head swimming coach is ready to dive into his role.
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James Van Dyk is a nationally accredited swimming coach who recently moved to Milawa with his family.
He took a step back from coaching when he became a father, but when the opportunity arose in Benalla, he leapt at it.
The coach has not been at the Benalla pool for long, but he can already tell that the atmosphere will keep him there for the foreseeable future.
“The swimming club is absolutely just like a big family,” James said.
“It’s amazing. A lot of the kids have fantastic potential, and one is preparing for nationals this year.
“It’s an amazing club, considering that parents have been driving it all this time by themselves.
“So, as head coach, it’s a paid position, so I have a contract with them for the next 12 months, but I certainly plan to be around for a lot longer than that.”
When James stepped through the doors at the Benalla Aquatic Centre, the baton was passed to him.
With a plethora of talent at the club, the coach is looking to step up the training roster to provide swimmers with sessions every weekday.
Taking on the extra workload is no concern to James, who grew up on pool decks across Victoria.
His mother is Diny Van Dyk, an Australian Swimming Legend and Hall of Fame member.
James is proud to be following in her footsteps, as she shaped junior swimming in Australia as we know it.
“My mother came from Holland (to Australia) and recognised that there was a very substantial need for developing preschool aquatic programs,” he said.
“So she was running swim schools in Victoria, predominantly in Melbourne, for over 40 years, and she became increasingly more recognised for her work in preschool aquatics and developing children from a very early age to be able to save themselves and look after themselves in water.
“Back in the day, it was quite controversial. She was on A Current Affair several times.
“They called it ‘drown proofing’, and little babies of six months of age and so on could learn to float on their back, fully clothed and stay that way, floating for up to half an hour, hopefully in time to be saved.
“Mum went on to work on the committees that developed Vicswim and then Austswim, so she was very much at the forefront of developing those proper teaching accreditation pathways for all swim schools.
“Because of her efforts in doing that, she was asked to lecture overseas in Germany and Japan and elsewhere on several occasions.
“Some of the swim aids that we use today, the swimming noodles you see everywhere by the thousands, Mum actually brought them into Australia from America back in the day, so I wish we had a patent on that.”
James and his mother have a strong connection.
The 89-year-old follows her son’s career with great enthusiasm.
While the Benalla coach has enjoyed his mother’s mentorship, he has made a name for himself as a swimming coach in his own right.
“Growing up in swim schools, I worked for Mum on school holidays on Saturday mornings, and that grew into swim teaching,” he said.
“While Mum was probably more famous for the under-fives and what we call preschool aquatics, we obviously taught children of all ages up to squad level.
“I sort of had a natural affinity and interest with seeing the older kids develop their skills to a point where they had skills, you know, aquatic skills for life, whether they wanted to go on to swim in competition or purely as invaluable life skills.
“The ability to keep kids in water as they get older is an opportunity that probably not enough Australians have the option to do.”
James’ aim is to help young swimmers reach their goals in the pool.
He said he was keen to see new faces joining the squads and learning skills that would stick with them through their lives.
The coach said young swimmers confident in at least three strokes were welcome to join in.
“The junior squads are there to build those foundations and concentrate on stroke technique and correcting all of those aspects of their swimming as they move forward,” he said.
“These patterns are very complex movements that are required for swimming, which is one of the hardest physical activities that we are asking ourselves to co-ordinate.
“It takes considerable time, and it really needs to be cemented. The smaller details of stroke correction and swimming power and efficiency need to be refined through that junior squad process until they’re probably about 15 or 16 years of age.
“They’ll never lose the ability that they have developed at that point.
“It’s like getting back on a bike when you know how to do it sufficiently. You don’t ever forget.”
Priority number one for James is seeing young swimmers thrive.
The second priority is to see the swimmers have a strong support base around them at the club.
“It’s always difficult to get parental involvement,” he said.
“These clubs are not-for-profit, and we are always looking for swimmers to come and join, have fun with us, and learn these incredible life skills.
“We are also keen for parents who would love to be involved in all sorts of levels in the club, even if it’s just attending swim meets and carnivals and things like that and helping out with marshalling kids and timekeeping and all those sorts of things.
“There are lots of little jobs that parents could assist the club with and make us one of the more substantial, impressive clubs in the district.
“We certainly have that potential (to be a powerhouse) if properly supported.”
One group already supporting the club is the YMCA, and the coach said the club would not function without its support.
Swimmers eager to get in the pool and learn from James have an exciting opportunity approaching the school holidays.
From January 8, he will be running sessions from 3.30pm to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 6.30am to 8am on Friday.
The cost of each session is $6 per child.
It is a program aimed at swimmers of all abilities looking for holiday fitness and fun.
You can join the Benalla Swim Club Current Swimmers Facebook group for further updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/199791107771358