GIVING up-and-coming sportspeople the access to high-level coaches is not something that those in regional areas have the benefit of receiving.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s why New South Wales Institute of Sport biomechanist Ryan Hodierne’s visit to Port Macquarie surprised swimming coach Michael Mullens.
Hodierne spent almost an hour with teenager Tom Berryman on Tuesday, picking up small pieces of his stroke he could improve on.
“He’s got all the ingredients, he just needs to fine tune things and he’s probably overthinking things a little bit at the moment,” Hodierne said.
“I’ve given him a few things to work on that should help.”
Mullens was unaware Hodierne was visiting the Hastings and jumped at the opportunity to utilise him for some of his swimmers.
“Sometimes it’s good to hear things from someone else who knows what they’re talking about and all of a sudden things change,” Mullens said.
“Having him here is more a reinforcement of everything we’ve been telling the kids along the way.”
The swimming coach was hopeful it could be the start of a continued relationship with Hodierne and the Institute of Sport.
“It creates relationships and now might lead to something down the track where he might pop in and see us a bit more often,” he said.
“As a club, we’ve always produced great swimmers to Olympic and Comm Games level, so a lot of these fellas don’t just go to any club.
Mullens said it was a “bonus” to have someone as qualified as Hodierne to attend a swim club session.
“We weren’t expecting it, but I’ll make use of anything that comes our way,” he said.