THERE has been no treading water since Noel Horton took over as head coach at Burnley Bobcats Swimming Club.

The new man has not so much caused ripples but more like a splash since taking charge four months ago.

While it is his first role as a head coach running his own programme, he has taken to it like the proverbial duck to water.

But Horton comes with a good reputation and is looking to carry on the hard work of former head coach Mike Robinson who departed to take over at Bolton Metro.

He held coaching positions at Royton Swimming Club, Oldham Aquatics, Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of Leeds and left his role as head coach at Stretford ASC and assistant coach at Swim Trafford for a new challenge with the Bobcats.

And he has certainly made an impression since joining the club’s group of talented swimmers poolside at St Peter’s Centre.

He has already upped pool time from 12 and a half hours to 18 hours a week and has been delighted with the response from the swimmers.

“I’ve never worked with such a hard-working group of swimmers,” said Horton who was also selected to coach on the England Talent Select Programme.

“One of things I was looking to do when I came here was to increase pool time and some of these swimmers are doing 10 hours extra a week training without any complaints.

“But it’s a great club and I have been made to feel very welcome from the word go and I have settled in very well.”

Horton says he is excited at the prospect of helping swimmers compete at the highest level and follow in the footsteps of Tom Hamer who now swims for the City of Manchester Aquatics Club in Manchester.

Hamer, who still regularly meets up with his Bobcats team-mates, has qualified for the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow in July after winning a silver and setting new British records at the recent British Para International.

Hamer, who competes in the S14 class, also won a medal at the Commonwealth Games last summer.

“Tom is a very talented swimmer and he still comes back to train with us from time to time,” added the 26-year-old coach. “That is great for the others swimmers because it shows what hard work can achieve.”

And one such swimmer who could follow the Hamer route is 16-year-old Katie Rennolds who is outside bet for a place in the Great Britain team for the Rio Olympics.

“Katie is ranked in the top five in the country in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle and butterfly and is just getting better all the time.

“She she has chance of going to Rio which is great for her and also for the club.

“We also have the likes of Lilly Duckworth who is ranked one in the country in the under 12s age group and Josh Lambert who is in the top 10 in the country in the under 15s.

“So while we are a relatively small club we have some great swimmers here who are prepared to work hard.”

But Horton knows all too well the pit falls of pushing swimmers too hard.

He swam at national level while at Oldham Metro has a youngster but walked away from the sport in his teens.

“Swimming takes a lot of dedication and discipline, probably more than any other sport at this level, and that is something I have to be very aware of,” he said.

“I know from first hand experience how tough it can be because when I was 15 or 16 I had enough and walked away from competitive swimming.

“So I know my role is to push but not put off swimmers, encourage them to improve but at the same time listen to what they have to say.” Having swam and coached in the Manchester area, Horton knew all about the quality of swimmers in that region and he also been equally impressed with what he has seen in his short time in East Lancashire.

“Of course I knew all about Burnley Bobcats but it wasn’t until I arrive here that I fully understood how big swimming is here,” he said.

“There are the likes of the Bobcats, Pioneer 79 and Blackburn Centurions all competing at a high level while there are plenty of other clubs around the area.”

One of Horton’s made aim is tapping in to the Bobcats so called ‘feeder’ clubs and has struck up a good working relationship in a short space of time.

“While it it great to see swimmers competing at the top end of the scale, in county, regional and national levels, it is also important to help those progress up through the ranks.

“So we have been working closely with Colne Swimming Club, Clitheroe Swimming Club, Burnley Aquatics and Rawtenstall Swimming Club looking at ways to get their swimmers training with the Bobcats.”

It may have only been four months since Horton jumped in at the deep end but he has already shown that he is getting along just swimmingly!