We’ve been receiving a steady stream of athlete signings to the various International Swimming League (ISL) squads, but today London Roar has revealed the team’s official Head Coach.
Mel Marshall, coach of team captain Adam Peaty, has been announced as the coach for the inaugural ISL season. Per the squad’s IG post, “We’re delighted to announce Melanie Marshall as Head Coach for the London Roar this year. British Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017 @melmarshallmassive is also the coach of Olympic Champion @adam_peaty & his London Roar teammate @sarahvasey96 Before coaching, Mel was a successful swimmer herself as a 3 time Olympian & 6 time Commonwealth Games medallist. Its great to have you on board Mel! #worldsbest #swimcoach#londonroar #isl2019 “
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZ83FPgV0n/
Marshall is currently Lead National Coach at the National Centre for Swimming at Loughborough, a position she has held since December 2016. A double Olympian and former world record holder herself, Marshall is also the 2nd most decorated Commonwealth Games female athlete. She retired from competitive swimming in 2008 and joined Derby Swimming Club as Head Coach, grooming Peaty to become the dominant powerhouse that he is before they both moved on to Loughborough.
As of June 6th, London Roar‘s roster is comprised of the following athletes:
| Cate Campbell | Adam Peaty |
| Bronte Campbell | James Guy |
| Emma McKeon | Kyle Chalmers |
| Minna Atherton | Elijah Winnington |
| Holly Barratt | Alex Graham |
| Jess Hansen | Yuri Kisil |
| Taylor McKeown | Matthew Wilson |
| Siobhan-Marie O’Connor | Finlay Knox |
| Jeanette Ottesen | Cameron McEvoy |
| Sydney Pickrem | Kirill Prigoda |
| Mireia Belmonte | Vini Lanza |
| Marie Wattel | Duncan Scott |
| Sarah Vasey | |
| Holly Hibbott | |
| Boglarka Kapas |
Why can’t I get rid of thoughts that everything about this ISL stuff is kind of artificial. That it isn’t a self-sustained movement but an enterprise undertaking that depends solely on the whim of one person.
The business plan is really straight forward:
buy 100-150 swimmers ( if you are shocked with the reality of word “buy” use “sign contract with guaranteed salary”);
pay them 3-5 million dollars and promise some bonuses in the case of reasonable profit;
spend some extra on 7 meets organization and advertising;
And see if it pays back.
If it is the loss at the end of the season then say: “I’m sorry. I tried my best for the… Read more »
First off, it doesn’t seem artificial to me. The ISL appears to follow the general model of mixing business and sports that has been wildly successful in other professional sports. Would you consider the NFL or NBA to be artificial?
Second, the ISL or another organization similar was not attempted until the athletes collectively began to get fed up with FINA’s behavior, which led multiple big name athletes (Peaty, Hosszu, etc.) to speak out against FINA and call for change.
The speaks for change have been heard since the day of FINA creation. The voices of mentioned by you swimmers were mosquito buzz and they weren’t vocal until Energy Standard came to picture with its money. You are confusing cause with consequences. Recall the sequence of events. It was Energy Standard’s initiative first and then the leading swimmers got involved later to break the FINA’s opposition and to clear the way for ISL creation. It was Energy for Swim backed by Energy Standard who made a disturbance up to imposing FINA ban on swimmers. And then after got betrayed the swimmers left powerless with their loud statements.
Your comparison with NFL, NBA etc is not good. There is a… Read more »
They BEGGED me to the their coach. I said No! I am too busy refurbishing a 1997 Volkswagen Firebird!