Developments regarding myself and Oswestry School.

Dear All,

Further to my previous Head Coach report, I wanted to update you as soon as possible to let you know of the developments regarding myself and Oswestry School.

Oswestry School have offered me a full time position with them which I had initially rejected however this week a revised offer was put forward to me which has put my mind in a spin on what to do. I have had the time to discuss at home, look over the figures and review the long term benefits against the disadvantages in comparison to staying full time with Oswestry Otters.

This offer however is a rare opportunity which doesn’t come up often (or at all) and has solely been offered based on credit of trust, support and belief from the school towards me.

I wish to let you all know that I have decided to accept the offer solely to allow me to gain more work based experience, with the envisaged start date being September 2021. This unfortunately would mean I will not be able to fulfil the current time and commitment that I give to Oswestry Otters, however it by no way means that I will come away from Otters completely, if this is acceptable to everyone.

Whilst I know this will be hard on many members as my presence on poolside has been the norm for four seasons, I do think we can expand the club into new highs and grow Otters to be the best it can be and I wish to continue to assist the club.

It would be my hope and wish that I could stay in a position within the club that I could continue to advise and guide the direction, supporting on poolside for at least two (If need three) days in the week plus more during school holidays if required.

To achieve this I would recommend that the club reviews the current annual payment they offer me and break it up into the following possible different areas:

A small amount to allow me to continue to run the website and play the role of Head Coach or Director of Swimming
Look at bringing in another assistant coach or two to led the writing of sessions and assist in delivering events plus activities, that are paid for their time.
Maybe use it to help with other time consuming roles within the club.

In addition, with my current Open Water coaching course starting shortly, I can see us in the summer term creating group sessions for individuals who have an interest in open water and expanding the offering the club currently provides, whilst knowing we have supporting coach/es on the pool deck for everyone else.

If the committee is happy I can also see myself continuing to support in county meeting, SwimMark, & other roles in the club where necessary.

Whilst it is a change into the unknown, it is a change which isn’t done alone!

There aren’t many club which are lucky to have its Head Coach change it position/stance but still remain a big part of the club like we have seen from Yvonne and like you will see in me.

I am available to openly talk about this further at any time with any committee or club member which have any worries about any upcoming change, which I hope to put at ease. Nevertheless, in the short term I am still very much committed and excited to be able to get the club back in the water, showing what we can do, after a very strange year.

Kind Regards

Timothy Hastie