David Proud Accepts Newly-Created Endurance Coaching Role in Australia

David Proud is headed back north up Australia’s eastern coast.

After spending the past year as head coach of the NSW Southern Performance Centre in Sydney, Proud has accepted a position as Lead Coach for Endurance Swimming at Miami Aquatic Centre, according to a release.

Proud accepted the new role after Olympic coach Richard Scarce left Miami to take the head coaching role at TSS Aquatic in Southport.

His tenure will begin in July.

“Miami has always had a great tradition of high-performance endurance swimming,” Proud said in a post on the Miami Aquatic Centre’s Instagram page. “When I arrived in Australia in 2010, it was one of the programs I visited as a young coach to gain experience and I was always impressed with the strong working environment within the program and club. I am excited to be part of the coaching team contributing to the great group of coaches and swimmers already in the program.”

Miami, Australia is located roughly an hour southeast of Brisbane. It is a newly-created role under the umbrella of Rackley Swimming, a swim club with multiple locations across Queensland.

“We are thrilled to welcome a coach of David’s calibre and experience to our already strong Miami coaching team,” said Anastasia Ellerby, Director of Coaching & Sport Pathways for Rackley, in the release. “His expertise will enhance our squad training programs, serving over 400 junior, regional, national, and open swimmers across pool, surf, and open water sports.”

Proud is plenty familiar with the Queensland region, given he has served coaching stints at TSS Aquatic, Nudgee College and Chandler at the Swimming Australia Brisbane Performance Hub.

A former open water swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 2002 European Championships, and the 2003 and 2005 World Championships, Proud will focus on developing swimmers in the 400, 800 and 1500 meter events, as well as 5-10km open-water events.

He has coached numerous elite endurance athletes, including Australian Dolphins Kiah Melverton, Kai Edwards, Jess Walker, Maddy Gough, Thomas Raymond, Bianca Crisp, and Tiana Kritzinger.

In 2022, Proud was named the Swimming Coaches And Teachers Association Multi-Class Coach of the Year, mainly for his role in helping Will Martin win Paralympic gold medals in the 400 freestyle S9 and in the 100 butterfly at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.