Click on a photo or keep scrolling down to learn a little more about our coaches.
Coach – Joe Collins
I have been a member of this swim club since 2010. I am (was) a Regional level breaststroke swimmer, mostly competing in the 50 & 100m distances. I also competed for Hertfordshire at the 2016 Inter Counties Division 1 competition.
When I finished Uni, in 2020, I wanted to go straight into work using my degree, so when Benoit asked if I would like to help coach and assist with a few of the squads, I jumped at the opportunity, and have upped my involvement ever since. I now have responsibility for a handful of squads and competitions, such as having taken the lead in our youngsters’ Peanuts adventures last year!
Outside of swimming I am a huge sports fan, being a fan of the only football team worth supporting, Arsenal, as well as having interests in any sport that is on the tele at the time.
Coach – Laure Grattepanche
After competitive swimming, I have found my passion for coaching. Originally from Paris, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Sport Performance. After training competitive squads in France, I joined BSSC in September 2018 as a Juniors Performance Swimming Coach and we achieved very good results! In September 2020, I joined Harlow Penguins as Head Coach and achieved very good results with Regional and National Qualifications across squads.
I am very pleased to coach again at BSSC and help the swimmers the best I can.
Coach – Romesh Paktsun
I’ve been involved with BSSC over five years first as a parent helper and now as a coach. I was brought up in Sri Lanka, and when I was 10 I saw some guys diving off the college diving boards – I so wanted to do it! One massive problem, I did not know how to swim! Within a few weeks, I learned how to do the doggy paddle and my diving career started from there. In a space of six months, I made it to the collage diving team.
At age of 13 I made the cut to represent Sri Lanka and made it to the National diving squad. Since then I represented Sri Lanka in competitions in Asia Pacific Region and in Asian games until the age of 19. I was drafted to the squad to represent Sri Lanka in diving for the Commonwealth games in 1998 and the Olympics in 2000.
Now in my 40s I’m still trying to re live my childhood dream of playing competitive cricket. However, now I represent my local cricket club in Sawbridgeworth as a player and as a coach in the summer. As some of you may have seen me on the pool deck or on the cricket pitch, I am passionate in what I do and take my life experiences and knowledge into my coaching to help a young person achieve their fullest potential.
