Hi I’m Raj, current HC at Sandwell Aquatics. I was previously HC at Oldbury STC, a club I joined at age 9 and swam for until I transitioned into coaching. I have been coaching for the best part of 8 years now, 6 as a Head Coach. I have coached beginners through to national swimmers during that time. Outside of swimming, my interests are very varied, I enjoy staying in shape best I can, love Marvel/DC, gaming, music and going on little adventures here and there.

Over recent years I have coached at county camps, regional camps and National camps and led the county development camps for Worcester County. These opportunities along with being on the UK Coaching Talent Pathway program and the Swim England Aspire program have allows em to develop, and continually develop myself so that I can continue to develop the swimmers and the infrastructure around them. I am a firm believer in personal development, as a coach this what you are trying to achieve with your swimmers, so at the very least we should also be developing ourselves continuously to be the best we can be. Which bring me into my coaching philosophy.

I’ve always believed that a swimmer-coach relationship is an equal partnership. And parents are a huge part of this too. So my coaching philosophy is to encourage my swimmers to work with me, as opposed to for me. To have a relationship built on trust and mutual respect. I think that a partnership will ensure that we both reach the best possible versions of ourselves as swimmers, coaches and people, regardless of the standards you might achieve. I put a very heavy emphasis on the process and being the best you can be in whatever we do. I think there’s a lot of value in applying the will to win and the will to succeed; to have that drive to do well in everything they do in their lives. Because if you are internally motivated to win each and every day and you are constantly striving to be the best possible version of yourself, then you’re going to be successful in whatever you do, whether that’s swimming or anything else. And last but absolutely not least I want our swimmers to ENJOY the sport of swimming and feel like they are a part of something more than just a swimming club.