ISL’s London Roar Announce Steve Tigg as New Head Coach

Updated: on Thursday, the London Roar responded to our questions. The article below has been updated to reflect their responses.

The London Roar have presented Steven Tigg as the club’s new head coach. He takes over the post from Mel Marshall, who led the team in each of its first two seasons.

The club says that Marshall is “possibly not available for the whole season,” which would make a head coaching position a challenge.

Marshall first made her mark as the coach of World Record holding breaststroker Adam Peaty. Peaty was optioned to the “fan’s choice” section of the draft, meaning that the team did not make a point to keep him on the roster (though he may return, if the fans deem it the next-best choice). The club says that his upcoming AP Racing Clinics don’t conflict with the season schedule, but that Peaty is “keeping his options open.”

Since rising through the ranks with Peaty, Marshall has become one of the country’s top swim coaches as the lead coach at the National Performance Center in Loughborough.

Tigg, meanwhile, leads one of the country’s other top groups – the squad training out of the University of Stirling in Scotland. Among his charges are retained London swimmer Duncan Scott, British Record breaker Kathleen Dawson, breaststroker Ross Murdoch, Aimee Willmott, Stephen Milne, and Cassie Wild.

Of that group, Dawson and Milne are entered in the ISL draft and available, with Dawson expected to be a high draft pick (and unlikely to survive until London picks at what will be the 20th pick of day 2 of the draft).

The Roar finished as the runners-up in the 2019 season of the ISL behind Energy Standard. In 2020, without many of their Australian stars, they placed 3rd in both the regular season and the finale.

Tigg is one of two new head coaches in the ISL this season, along with Luka Gabrilo of Iron.