Swimming: Time to go after 45 years of coaching

CALLING TIME: Greendale Swimming Club coach Noel Hardgrave-Booth will retire next month. PHOTO/Warren Buckland

It wasn't the swansong Hawke's Bay swimming coach Noel Hardgrave-Booth had planned or deserved after 45 years.

Hardgrave-Booth was hoping to go to the Rio Olympics with one of the best products of his 26 years at the Greendale club, Bobbi Gichard, should she qualify during next week's New Zealand Open Championship in Auckland, before announcing his retirement.

But when Gichard transferred to the Howick Pakuranga club earlier this year those plans changed.

"Bobbi opted to go to Auckland to be closer to Swimming New Zealand's High Performance Training programmes and older and more committed swimmers. I went along with it and shortly after that I decided to retire which I will be doing on April 22," Hardgrave-Booth said.

There's a possibility Hardgrave-Booth, 73, who has also coached at the Wairoa, Rangiora and Napier Aquahawks clubs, could receive an appropriate consolation retirement gift next week. He is one of four finalists for the Coach of the Year award which will be announced at Swimming New Zealand's annual awards function on April 2.

Taranaki's Sue Southgate, Canterbury's Roly Crichton and Igor Polianski from Auckland's United Club are the other finalists.

"I don't fancy my chances but thanks to Derek and Linda Goodisson [parents of another of his swimmers, world champion aquathon competitor Eva Goodisson] I will be able to attend the function after watching Bobbi swim next week. I spoke to Bobbi the other day and she is in a pretty good head space," Hardgrave-Booth said.

It wasn't a surprise when Hardgrave-Booth ranked 16-year-old Gichard, junior world champs bronze medallist last year as well as a multiple gold medallist at the Youth Commonwealth Games and multiple New Zealand Open and age-group champion, as the most successful swimmer he has coached. "Bobbi is the only New Zealand swimmer in history to win a national junior title as a 12-year-old and a national open title as a 13-year-old. That's a phenomenal feat," Hardgrave-Booth said.

A three-time winner of the Swim Coaches and Teachers of New Zealand Provincial Coach of the Year award, Hardgrave-Booth, coached Gichard for nine years.

"Bobbi didn't win her first national junior medal until she was 11.

"Before that swimming was just a fun things for her and she didn't get really serious until she was 12."

Hardgrave-Booth is concerned about the future of the sport in New Zealand.

"There's Lauren Boyle and then there's Bobbi. There's not a lot coming through after that.

"More needs to be done to bring swimmers up to the elite level and they need to be brought up slowly ... Bobbi and her close rival Gabrielle Fa'amausili are exceptions."

Close behind Gichard on Hardgrave-Booth's list of top Greendale swimmers are Gillian Pollock who won silver in the 200m individual medley at the 2000 Paralympics, Jack Drury who was a national titleholder in every stroke before heading off to Canterbury University, fly specialist Hannah Jones who represented New Zealand, fly whiz Peter Shipp who was a national record holder and Julian Layton who will also attempt to quality for the Olympics next week.

"Julian would be one of the gutsiest swimmers I've ever had," Hardgrave-Booth said.

United States swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a total of 22 medals in three Olympics Games, is still Hardgrave-Booth's pick for the best swimmer in his lifetime.

"Phelps is uncomparable," Hardgrave-Both said.

A father of four and grandfather of 10, Hardgrave-Booth intends to spend more time focusing on his own swimming - he swims three times a week - and cycling during his retirement.

The Greendale club's junior coach, Gary Knight is among the candidates to be Hardgrave-Booth's replacement.