By Brady Lang

Orcas find their new boss in McLeod

Jul 27, 2018 | 12:00 PM

The Battlefords Orcas have their new head coach.

Just a few days ago, the swim club announced that John McLeod would be taking over coaching duties for the upcoming season. McLeod, the Thompson, Manitoba native, has tons of experience that he’s going to bring to the club, with 15 years of coaching on his resume.

McLeod told battlefordsNOW that he is ready to get to the Battlefords, and start teaching the youth about swimming, and competitive swimming.

“It’s a small, young, growing club. I’m excited to build the quality and rolling the youth sports in town. There has to be four to five-thousand young people in town and get them swimming,” he said.

McLeod started coaching swimming in Toronto, spending eight years teaching competitive swimming, from there, he moved on to Quebec. He spent three years in Montreal and two in Victoriaville, and is excited to come out west.

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“Initially, I was looking all over Canada,” he said. “What really excited me about North Battleford is they had high level quality swimmers and a new pool, and they had a vision for growth. They want to grow and professionalize the organization, and really provide a good service for the community.”

His vision for the club matched what the board of directors had in mind when it came to the interview process, and even though he’s in the administrative phase currently, he’s ready to get going.

“Right now I’m getting everything set up,” McLeod said. “Once I’m on the pool deck in September, that’s when the real work starts. For me, I just want to create a positive and enriching environment for these kids to perform to the best of their abilities.”

Having all the lakes surrounding the Battlefords and the river that runs through the city, McLeod knows how important swimming is for the youth. He had a very specific message on why he wants to get children, and parents, educated about the water.

“Being safe in the water should be a priority for every parent in that town,” he said. “So I’m excited to get these really young kids into the water, learning about swimming, and competitive swimming.”

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB