The legacy lives on in Timaru as newly appointed CBay swimming coach Shane Jones follows in the footsteps of his father Paul Jones.
Mr Jones was born in Christchurch and moved to Timaru when he was only 2 years old and grew up there.
He said that he grew up around swimming because of his father.
‘‘With my father being the pool manager at Century Pool, my siblings and I pretty much grew up and lived there, it was a second home.’’
Originally he did not follow down the same career path as his father, instead opting to go away and do car painting, eventually ending up in Oamaru.
‘‘I kind of resisted going into coaching,’’ he said.
‘‘I moved to Oamaru and I actually got called up and asked if I wanted to do some coaching.
‘‘Once I started I realised I was passionate about it and wanted to continue.’’
He said he was only supposed to be in Oamaru for about a year and ended up living there for about 14 years instead, and swim coaching became his occupation. The opportunity then arose to coach at the new pools in Ashburton and Mr Jones said at that point he needed a bit of a change.
‘‘I think deep down I always knew I wanted to come back to Timaru, it has been about 22 years since I have lived [here].’’
Some people knew Paul Jones was his father, but no one had come in and explicitly said anything.
‘‘I already knew people in Timaru and being back has made me feel like a local.’’
His goal at the moment was to engage and make better swimmers.
‘‘Not only that though — make them better people in the long run as well.
‘‘Swimming can teach you work ethic and time management and so much more than just swimming.’’
It was important people learnt water safety and how to swim, and parents needed to be supportive and encouraging.
‘‘My kids were exposed to the water at a young age and were able to swim at 5 years old — although they were no world champions.’’
Swimming was a tough sport but some aspects of it applied to other hobbies and sports.
‘‘Other passions come out like surfing, triathlon and even fishing — all where swimming and water safety is important.’’
One of his favourite parts about the job was the psychology behind swimming.
‘‘Success is good but connecting with the kids, with the swimmer, is good.
‘‘I see coaching as a partnership, not just a coach standing above the water like a dictator.’’
He said there were challenges in every job, although he does not have any at the moment.
‘‘Some things that may be seen as a challenge, but are not to me, are the split shifts, early mornings and late nights.
‘‘Dealing with the swimmer during down time by picking them back up.’’
His advice for those who were looking at going into swim coaching was that it was not about the money.
‘‘You have to be dedicated to the job by starting early at about 5.30am and finishing about 7pm.
‘‘Don’t get into it unless you love the sport and are passionate.’’
