Matt joined Liz Van Welie Swim Club in 2018.
Before joining our club he was the head coach at Waikato’s Hillcrest Swimming Club. During his time as a coach he has developed swimmers at national and international levels.
In 2017 he was named Waikato’s Coach of the Year and was part of Swimming New Zealand’s coaching team at the Oceania Championships in Papua New Guinea in June.
Leah, who joined us in early 2023, recently completed her Year 13 at High School and brings with her a background as a former competitive swimmer.
Despite her soft-spoken demeanour, Leah is a resolute teacher who is genuinely enthusiastic about her role.
She is eager to impart her knowledge across all levels of swimming, with a primary focus on nurturing children’s confidence and fostering their development.
Tai Daniela joins us after a short break from coaching, bringing 24 years of experience to the program. Most recently Tai was with Evo Swimming Club before stepping back to consider other options. Thankfully for us, the pull of swim coaching was too great and Tai is back on the pool deck.
Greg has been leading coach development throughout New Zealand and has developed interests in psychological type and learning preferences.
With Greg’s knowledge and Liz’s experience it was a natural development that they would develop Liz van Welie Aquatics.
Originally from Alexandra in Central Otago, Liz moved to Dunedin when she was 16 to pursue her swimming career under the famous “Mr. Laing” and the rest is history. A semi-finalist in 200M Fly at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, one of the only two to make it so far, Liz went on to claim silver in the 400M IM at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.
Having gained degrees in both Physical Education and Marketing, Liz has a love of learning and now enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. Liz and her husband Greg opened the swim school in January 2011. Amongst her other interests and hobbies, Liz loves to do some surfing and baking.