Celebrated international swimming coach and one time Royal Marine, Chris Nesbit, has today described his appointment as the head of High Performance at Carlile Swimming as the most exciting day of his already celebrated coaching career.
The Sydney-based Carlile Swimming, founded by legendary Australian coaching guru, the late Forbes Carlile, has pulled off a major coup with Nesbit’s appointment.
The former British Olympic Team Coach, will take up his new ole at the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, after a successful decade at The Southport School (TSS Aquatic) program on the Gold Coast.
And the man who has coached 23 Olympians between 1980 and 2016 is as equally impressed to be appointed to a dream job.
“For me, it does not get any more exciting than this. The legacy that Forbes has left, not only with the Carlile club and swimming in Australia, but also with world swimming is unprecedented,” said Nesbit, a 19-time UK club team championship coach.
“The future for us (Carlile) is to rebuild the competitive organisation at Regional, National and International level and to re-establish Carlile as a force in competitive swimming
“My early involvement with swimming holds a lasting memory of reading about the exploits of Forbes and (his wife) Ursula Carlile and their many successes, in particular Shane Gould at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
“I had been given one of Forbes’ books “Forbes Carlile on Swimming” in the late 1960s, so my connection with Carlile began over 50 years ago.
“Here I am, all these years later, about to embark on the next adventure of my coaching career as Head Coach of the Carlile Swimming Team.”
STAR PUPILS: Coach Chris Nesbit with two of his Olympic hopefuls, Maddy Gough (lert) and Kiah Melverton Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Nesbit is regarded as one of the world’s most astute Head Coaches who has been lured from a highly successful TSS Aquatic program that currently includes Olympians David Morgan and Cam McEvoy and World Championship and Commonwealth Games representatives and Tokyo hopefuls, Kiah Melverton, Laura Taylor, Maddy Gough, Kai Edwards and Grayson Bell.
Apart from placing 23 swimmers on Olympic Teams from 1980 to 2016 in Britain and Australia, he also coached Great Britain at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games; both England and Australia at multiple Commonwealth Games and coached on the Australian Teams at the last two FINA World Championships.
The bold move from Carlile Swimming has drawn praise from the swimming community.
“This is a fantastic step to help Carlile once again build a squad that will contribute to our National teams and Australia’s continued success for years to come,” said newly appointed CEO of Swimming Australia, Olympian Alex Baumann.
“Carlile has had a wonderful history of success at the highest levels. We know that when swimming in NSW is strong, Australian Swimming is strong.”
Dual Olympian and NSW Swimming Technical Director, Ron McKeon also championed the appointment, saying: “Carlile appointing a coach of this calibre is a great step forward, not just for Carlile but for swimming in NSW. Chris is the sort of coach we can all learn from
“The high-performance improvement and culture Chris will drive within the Carlile program will also influence other aspiring programs across the State and support what is already a very positive and capable coaching community in NSW.”
Ursula Carlile, the first woman to coach the Australian Olympic team in 1972, met with coach Nesbit and endorsed his appointment.
“Sitting down with Chris to discuss our goals for the Carlile Swimming Team, it became clear that he is the right person to lead us.
“Chris respects our heritage and is determined to build a program that will ensure success, for years to come. He is a leader Forbes would have been proud of,” Ursula said.
“I’m confident with Chris at the helm, along with the support of The Carlile Foundation and the facilities we have secured, Carlile will once again produce swimmers who can match and beat the best in the world.”
Along with Nesbit’s appointment, Carlile has also secured a long term lease at the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, which includes an increase in its lane space for competitive squads.
In a press release announcing Nesbit’s appointment, Carlile Swimming said it would also like to take this opportunity to “thank coach Misha Payne for his ongoing professionalism and commitment to the team. Misha will coach with the Carlile Swimming Team into the upcoming Olympic trials, and we wish Misha and the team every success at the Trials.”
About Chris Nesbit:
Born: Newcastle on Tyne UK. Married to Helen, 3 daughters, 9 grandchildren.
1976-1981: Served with the Royal Marines
1980-2005: Head Coach Portsmouth Northsea Swimming Club UK
2005-2010: Head Coach British boys’ youth programme Gold Coast
2010-2021 High Performance Coach, The Southport School
2000 and 2004 GB Olympic Coach 2000 and 2004
2008 GB Head Coach World Short Course Championships
2010 England Head Coach 2010 Commonwealth Games
2013 Australian Head Coach US Nationals
2015 Australian Age Group Coach of the Year
2015 Australian Team Coach World Junior Championships
2017 and 2019 Australian Team Coach Fina World Championships
2018 Australian Team Coach Commonwealth Games
UK Club Team Champions – 19 occasions at Age and Senior level
Coached 23 Olympians between 1980 to 2016