When Daniel Davies received an e-mail from the Swim Wales recently he was jubilant and who could blame him since the talented freestyle and individual medley swimmer was informed that he had been selected as one of only five swimmers who had been selected to represent Wales in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa!
Dan had high hopes of competing in the games after an immense amount of hard work over the last year, and even before that since he started out with John Amos in Tenby a decade ago, and the letter from team manager Claire Rosser confirmed that he would be jetting out from London with the rest of the Welsh contingent for all the sports involved.
Really looking forward
“We leave on the 1st September for the Games, which are to be held in Apia, the capital city of Samoa, and they take place from the 5th to the 12th September,” Dan told us, “and since swimming is one of the earliest sports I am hoping to be able to watch some of the athletics and sevens rugby after we have finished.”
Prior to take-off, however, there are other important dates, starting with an ‘Orientation Weekend’ in June in Swansea, followed by a kit-fitting weekend in Cardiff in July, and then the ‘Holding Camp’ in Swansea for a week prior to setting out, where the last touches to training, and the chance to bond as a team, will play an important part.
There are also vaccinations to be sorted out and a host of other matters to complete but Dan is rightly looking forward to this very special event, which is fitting reward for so much hard work.
Training sessions to make you wince
Nowhere is this more typified than in his training sessions, which would surely make most other sportsmen wince.
“On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays I am up at 5am and grab some cereals to eat because I have to at the pool in Haverfordwest Leisure Centre by 5.45am to do my poolside warm-up, followed by swimming from 6am to 7.30am. I get back home around 8am and luckily Tasker Milward is nearby so I can get to school for my AS Levels!
“In the evenings I repeat the process every weekday, this time from 4.50pm (stretch training) through to about 8pm by the time I get home, when I grab some more food, get some school work done and then I’m off to bed ready for the next day!”
Training explained
It is also worth noting that Dan swims around 6 kms every session, broken up into a ‘build set’ to get the heart pumping well, a ‘main set’ where the graft is done, a ‘race set’ where he swims as if he is in a competition and a ‘swim down’ before leaving the pool. Now that is some schedule!
During this time, Dan and his fellow swimmers are ‘encouraged’ by PCCC swim development coach Craig Nelson or his assistant Sam Jones, who are not slow to point out if performances are not top-notch!
Swimming in the Olympic Pool
To gain qualification for this momentous trip, Dan has had to amass points throughout the season, including the British Championships at the Olympic Swimming Pool in London.
“It is an amazing venue and makes you gasp as you walk into it – and at one time I would have been a bit overawed,” said Dan, “but now I just tell myself that I have worked as hard as anyone else on the starting blocks alongside me and so I don’t get so nervous.
“It was made harder, though, knowing that only the top two boys born between 1997 and 2000 would be selected – and after leading the way for a while I managed to overcome a spell out because of injury to finish up just behind Joe Clark, who hails from Guildford but has a Welsh father.
Wonderful family support
Dan would be quick to sing the praises of his mother Sharon for her total support, which includes rising at 5am with him and taking him across to the pool
“Mum has been brilliant and I couldn’t have managed to do so well without her encouragement.”
“She is my greatest fan,” Dan told us, “and she was there in London to cheer me on. No one could do more for me and my sister Ffion (15), who is a very good swimmer as well.
“John Amos really encouraged me when I started in Tenby; Craig Nelson and Sam Jones are also very good coaches, as was Paul Dowey before them. He lives in New Zealand now and it would be nice to chat to him when we have a stop there on the way to Samoa.”
Warm weather training
Dan has also gained experience this year on a few training camps, the most spectacular being a fortnight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in January.
“There were three boys and seven girls which we knew had to be reduced in number and we had the most amazing outdoor facilities in warm sunshine. There was a 50 metre pool and a smaller one as well – and when I came back I achieved a new personal best at the British Championships in Sheffield.
“Then I went to Fuerteventura for a week with the county squad in February and again there was a 50m outdoor pool – and again Craig made sure that I pushed myself to the limit in the training sessions.
“We had to do things like pack bags in Morrison’s to raise funds and again I felt it benefitted my training schedule to go abroad.”
All systems go – and praise from coach Craig
So now it is all systems go for Dan as he aims to compete in Samoa in the 200 and 400m freestyle, plus the 200m individual medley (that is 50 metres each of butterfly, breaststroke, back stroke and freestyle) all testing events.
But as development coach Craig Weston told us,
“Dan has worked tremendously hard to achieve this wonderful feat and it is no more than he deserves because of his skill, allied to total commitment and willingness to learn.
He is the first from our county to be selected at this level and now sets the bench mark for others to follow – and we are all very proud of him.”
We at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk could only agree with Craig and we wish Daniel Davies every success in Apia when he represents Wales in swimming at the Commonwealth Games Youth Championships later in the year!