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Olympian James Guy is offering an incredible opportunity for the most promising young British swimmers to join his new swimming academy.
Guy wants to mentor up to eight youngsters as they rise through the junior ranks, giving them the best possible preparation ahead of a switch to senior competition.
He has now launched the James Guy Academy, in association with FINIS, and is accepting applications for the academy’s first ever intake.
Successful candidates will be club level swimmers aged from 12 to 16 years old, and they will be handpicked by Guy and the JG Academy committee.
Guy will hold two or three get-togethers for the academy each year, where he will share his advice and knowledge on training and preparation both in and out of the pool.
Each swimmer invited to join the JG Academy will receive £200 towards training, accommodation and travel costs, as well as JG swim equipment.
But to be considered for a place, the 22-year-old World and European gold medallist says swimmers must demonstrate they share his core values of dedication, commitment, hard work and a willingness to give back to other swimmers or the community.
“We all know that hard work beats talent,” explained Guy. “Hopefully if they are working hard, and I can see that the kids are grafters, in a few years they’ll be the new stars of Team GB.
“We’re going to select kids who I think have the potential that I can work with, and give my advice to. I’ll take the things I’ve learned as an athlete, and pass it on to them as the next generation of swimmers.
“We’re looking for seven or eight kids from the UK. We’ll give them a load of FINIS kit to help them improve their training, look after them and shadow them. It’s about giving back to the kids and the community, and hopefully making them better athletes as well.”
He may still only be 22 years old, but Guy already has a wealth of knowledge to share with his first intake of academy swimmers. He rose up through the junior levels while at Millfield School in Somerset, winning his first major medal at the 2012 European Junior Championships in Antwerp.
Over the next few years, he made a successful transition into the senior ranks and won two silver medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, followed by four silvers and a bronze at this year’s Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Guy is targeting 12 to 16-year-olds for the academy as he feels this is the core age group where young swimmers can really nuture their raw talent. He stresses the importance of quality over quantity when it comes to training, and will be mentoring as well as teaching.
So if he had the chance, and knowing what he knows now about competitive swimming, what would be the one piece of advice Guy would pass on to his 12-year-old self?
“Definitely to work my turns more,” he said. “As a kid that’s the one thing I wish I’d done more of.
“I was with a club recently and I said to the guys there, if I was your age now, the one thing I’d work on would be my turns and underwater phase. Right now, that is what you need to be good at to win medals at these big events.”
How to apply for a place on the James Guy Academy
Club level swimmers aged between 12 and 16 years old are eligible to apply for a place in the James Guy Academy.
Up to eight candidates will be chosen by James and the JG Academy committee, and to be successful swimmers will need to demonstrate they share his core values of dedication, commitment and hard work.
The deadline for applications is Friday, August 31. Winners will be announced by the end of September. To apply, click here to fill out a James Guy Academy application form.