Earlier today news broke that Leigh Nugent had been fired from his position as Head Coach, in a statement given by Barclay Nettlefold, President of Swimming Australia, it appears Nugent was not fired but has resigned from his position.
Apparently Nugent approached Netttlefold last week to discuss his future in the organization and expressed at that time he still wished be involved with the sport, but not in the role of Head Coach.
“Leigh actually approached us to discuss his future and where he would best fit into the new structure of the High Performance Unit,” said Nettlefold.
“In those discussions it soon became very clear that while he still wanted to remain involved in the sport, he didn’t want to continue in the position of Head Coach.”
To make sure that the focus stays on the pool leading into the Australian Championships, which begin on April 26th, Swimming Australia will announce an interim Head Coach in the next few weeks.
In the same release Nettlefold discussed the future of the CEO and Director of High Performance positions.
“There will be a new leadership structure for the organisation for the Australian Championships and the aim of that structure is to provide our elite and up-and-coming athletes and coaches with the best environment to succeed,” said Nettlefold.
Barclay Nettlefold
“We have a preferred candidate for the CEO position in Mark Anderson from Hockey Australia, and will look to finalise his appointment next week. Similarly we have narrowed the Director of High Performance down to a preference of two candidates and will consult with the new CEO and High Performance Committee before finalising that appointment.”
Hockey has experience in managing women’s & men’s teams which have always diverged. In terms of results .
Ironically Hockey had its own catalyst in reassessing its culture. in the lead up to Seoul the Men’s Team was everywhere – on TV sponsored by a finance company ESANDA . The women were totally overlooked in every aspect.
Yet in Seoul it was the WOMEN who won gold . ESANDA had to really search for any images of the women’s team & their banner – they found only one .
Not that different from the London 400 relay result.
He.he.