Olympic Coach To Lead The Carlile Swimming Team

Nesbit, one of the world’s finest coaches, will move from his base on the Gold Coast to take the reins of the Carlile program at the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, after the Tokyo Olympics.

“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,” Mr Nesbit said.

Mr Nesbit, the coach of Dolphins David Morgan, Cam McEvoy, Kiah Melverton, Laura Taylor, Maddy Gough, Kai Edwards and Grayson Bell, has placed 23 swimmers on Olympic Teams from 1980 to 2016.

He coached Great Britain at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, both England and Australia at multiple Commonwealth Games and coached Australia at the last two World Championships.

Now Mr Nesbit, a 19-time UK club team championship coach, is excited to build on the excellent foundations fostered by Carlile’s current team of coaches – “The future for us is to rebuild the competitive organisation at Regional, National and International level and to re-establish Carlile as a force in competitive swimming,” Mr Nesbit said.

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 CEO of Swimming Australia, Alex Baumann.

Baumann, a former world record holder and Olympic Gold medallist added  “Carlile has had a wonderful history of success at the highest level. 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 – “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.” Mr McKeon said.

“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.”

Carlile was once the leading club in the world under legendary founders Forbes and Ursula Carlile. The desire and drive to produce world class swimmers remains.

Ursula, the first woman to coach the Australian Olympic team, 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 Foundation and the facilities we have secured, Carlile will once again produce swimmers who can match and beat the best in the world.”

The Carlile Foundation, established by Ursula and her late husband, has spent millions of dollars supporting the Carlile Swimming Team and that support will continue.

Forbes and Ursula were pioneers. The Foundation they established ensures the future of the Carlile Swimming team. It provides a level of support in coaching, coach development, sports science, nutrition, physiotherapy and sports psychology, unmatched by any club in the country.

“My early involvement with swimming holds a lasting memory of reading about the exploits of Forbes and Ursula Carlile and their many successes, in particular Shane Gould at the 1972 Munich Olympics,” Mr Nesbit said.

“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.”

Along with the appointment of Coach Nesbit, Carlile has also secured the longest ever lease to operate at the world class Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, which includes an increase in its lane space for competitive squads.

Carlile Swimming 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 team every success at the Trials.