Wests Illawarra Swim Club is in need of a new coach following the resignation of Head of Program Patrick Stellino.
Mr Stellino announced his departure from the position last week, citing family opportunities as the reason.
“I didn’t really intend to go so quickly, there still feels like there’s some things I wanted to do with this program. But you have to take opportunities where you can get them, especially when it comes to decisions around family”, he said.
Mr Stellino took the reigns of the program from previous coach James Greathead in March 2022. Since that time, he has put several of his athletes into representative squads and competitive teams.
In previous years, Mr Stellino’s athletes have had successful results in the two major domestic meets on the swimming calendar, the Australian Age Swimming Championships and the Australian Swimming Trials, with the Wests Illawarra women’s team placing in the Top 10 in the nation for their results.
Most recently, Wests Illawarra’s very own ‘Madame Butterfly” Jessica Cole was selected to represent Australia at the upcoming Junior World Swimming Championships. The event will be held on 19th-24th August in Romania, with the athlete’s event line-ups yet to be announced following a staging camp that will take place in the weeks leading up.
The delayed departure of the Wests coach is due in part to the loyalty he feels towards his athletes.
“We have had so much success as a team and club and for our individuals. I definitely wanted to stick around until (Jess) raced at Worlds”, he said.
Mr Stellino moved to the Wollongong club synonymous with one of the more famous names in Australian swimming, McKeon, following successful stints in Singapore and then the Peel Swim Club in Perth.
He now embarks on a new journey, as he travels with his family to Thailand to coach the burgeoning aquatics program at the British International School, Phuket.
