Mike Thompson Hired By Alma Mater Wilfrid Laurier University, Region of Waterloo Swim Club

WATERLOO, Ontario, June 6. REGION of Waterloo Swim Club (ROW) and Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) are excited to announce the addition of Coach Mike Thompson to its coaching staff for the 2014-2015 Season. Mike is one of the top young coaches in Canada, and is a ROW alumnus. Mike will be the Assistant Head Coach for Wilfrid Laurier Swimming (WLU) and ROW.

Mike comes to ROW from the Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK), one of the top age group programs in Canada, where he served as a sprint coach. “It was a very interesting year learning and practicing very specific aspects of speed,” said Thompson. “I got to learn from Sean [Baker] and Cathy [Pardy], two of the best coaches in the country. I am bringing a lot of good experience with me to Waterloo.”

Mike was well known as Head Coach of the Halton Hills Blue Fins (HHBF) from 2008 -2013 and had been the driving force behind the club’s growth and success structure. He left in 2013 to start the Senior Sprint program in Oakville, ON. He was also selected to take part in the OHPSI Coach Accelerator program this season which gave him access to experts from the Canadian Swim Centre Ontario.

Mike has received the CSCTA Speedo Coaching Excellence Award consecutively for the 2010/2011 – 2012/2013 seasons and in April of 2012, Mike was recipient of the Coaches of Ontario, Good to Great Coach Award. Mike spent time learning under some of the best coaches in Canada and has an NCCP Certification as Senior Coach. Tracy Bennett, President said, “We are very excited about the hiring of Mike Thompson to our Club, his history in Waterloo and experience will be a huge asset to our Club and Swimmers”

Mike is also well known for his online blog, a podcast and a web series for the Swim Ontario website, all geared towards sharing ideas and information about the sport.

“As a former ROW swimmer and a WLU alumnus, I’m pretty thrilled to be returning. ROW has such a rich history of world-class swimming. I want to help revive that tradition.”

Head Coach Russ Franklin is excited to have Mike join the staff for the upcoming Season. “His experience and unique coaching style will be an asset to both the WLU and Club Programs.”

Thompson will begin his employment with the Region of Waterloo Swim Club in fall of 2014.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com.

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