After spending the last two years in Melbourne leading the Surrey Park Swimming Club Matt Brown will be returning to Brisbane at the end of April to take the position of Head Coach at Rackley Swimming Parkinson.
Before taking the position at the Surrey Swimming Club he had spent the previous 12 years coaching in Brisbane with the Nudgee Brothers Swim Club. While at Nudgee Brown’s star pupil was Emily Seebohm, who he coached for all 12 of those years.
Brown is excited for the challenge of building a team from scratch in a brand new facility, “It is a 10 million complex,” explained Brown. “It has an indoor teaching complex a 20 meter pool that we can use in the mornings as power orientated a huge gym facility upstairs that opens up to an outdoor 8-lane 50 competition pool.”
Over the past few years Brown has been training a large group of Chinese swimmers. If he was going to make a move he needed to find someone who was willing to support his work with the Chinese, “My new boss is really keen for me keeping my relationship with the Chinese. I am now working with the National Junior Team. I just finished a five or six week camp with their best junior aged kids. After national games this year I will get together with the senior guys as well.”
Brown had a very big influence on Fu Yuanhui (bronze medalist in the women’s 100 back at the 2016 Olympics) and Xu Jiayu (silver medalist in the men’s 100 backstroke at the 2016 Olympics).
When taking the job in Victoria two years ago Brown and his family decided that he would live in Melbourne while they stayed in Brisbane. That decision has taken a toll on Brown, but he is now excited to spend time with both his wife and daughter
“I am going home!” said Brown with tremendous enthusiasm.
Good luck Matt.
Hopefully you are being rewarded for ur services. Can’t say I know any management companies that all about the $$ T End. None of them give back to competitive swimming and only pay coaches minimum wage (YMCA Belgravia etc).
wow … The Rackley program is really making a name for itself as providing a base for Chinese Swimmers in Australia.
– Rackley Miami – Denis Cottrell
– Rackley Runaway Bay – Brian King/Sun Yang
– Rackley Parkinson – Matthew Brown / et al
I presume Rackley is outside the podium and ASC funding network?
They have a few decent Age Swimmers, I would have thought their state association at least would be chipping in assistance in the form of funding and/or support?
If they are outside the funding/support network, I guess they are free to pursue the financial benefits of supporting the Chinese. However, it’s a shame the Rackley brand / business model is completely financially driven.