SwimMAC Elite-trained Roy Burch has been announced as the new swimming coach at Lake Norman Charter School in Huntersville, North Carolina.
Lake Norman Charter school is a public, college preparatory charter school, which opened in 2008. The school’s team is composed of approximately 60 boys and girls and has seen success in its short history. According to Athletic Director Matt Schlegel, the squad has had multiple individual state champions since starting the program in 2009-10.
“We have won our conference championship for the past 4 years and the girls finished 4th and the boys finished 6th at the State Championship last year,” Schlegel tells SwimSwam.
Burch sought out the Head Coach position, which was left vacant by Kevin Happ who left for another role at Princeton University. “With a resume and experience in and around the pool that Roy has, he stood out from the others that applied,” said Schlegel.
Burch, who represented Bermuda at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, was gearing up for his 3rd Olympic appearance when he suffered a season-ending injury in 2015. The incident resulted in bi-lateral patella rupture in both his knees. Burch was in a wheelchair for 3 months and his bid for a Rio Olympic berth was derailed.
The 30-year-old sprinter has had plenty of coaching experience through the ranks of SwimMAC, where he and other elite swimmers would frequently conduct clinics and lessons for the age groupers in the pool at the club’s several locations.
“I’ve worked with many different levels of swimmer but now I have the opportunity to be consistent,” Burch tells SwimSwam when asked what he’s most looking forward to with his new coaching role. “Coaching should help me reapply my skill set.”
Burch isn’t done with the pool for his own career, as he’s looking to train for the 2017 FINA World Championships set for Budapest, Hungary. He has recently started back training in Charlotte.
In the meantime, Schlegel says, “We are excited for what Coach Burch will bring to our swim team and look forward to his leadership as we continue to grow our program and build upon its past success.”
Welcome to 1A/2A, Roy! See you on deck!