John Sargeant talks about his plans at City of Hereford Swimming Club after becoming their new head coach

John Sargeant has taken over the helm of Alex Dallimore, who decided to step down last year following the most successful year in the club's history.

The 30-year-old has been involved in the sport since he was seven, but narrowly missed out on going to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 after sustaining a serious shoulder injury, forcing him to retire.

Sargeant therefore took up coaching, enjoying successful spells at the City of Cambridge Swimming Club and Bishop's Stortford Swimming Club.

He arrived in Hereford last month and says he is excited about what can be achieved at the club.

"They had their most successful year and I aim to continue with what has been done at Hereford, but I like to aim big and surpass what has been achieved because there is a lot of potential there," said Sargeant.

"The vacancy came up, but at the time I wasn't quite sure.

"But I had a chat with Alex [Dallimore] and, after doing some research, I decided to apply for it.

"It's good that the club has two other clubs in Ross and Leominster that feed into it.

"Currently, I am just getting to know the club, but I know the Water Polo section has developed some Welsh Junior performers and one or two GB juniors.

"I am still learning that side of the club, but anything I can do to progress it, I will."

There are around 200 members at the club, but Sargeant believes it can be increased by at least 100.

"When I joined at Cambridge, they had about 250 and I got it up to 250," said Sargeant.

"If anyone wants to come and join, the doors are always open.

"I think results speak for themselves and you can see that the club is performing well."

Sargeant believes his experience as a swimmer can help the club's members.

"I've been involved in swimming since I was seven and competitively up until 2010," he said.

"I'm an ex-national champion and have represented England a couple of times.

"I didn't qualify for the Commonwealth Games because I got injured at the wrong time and had to retire.

"I had surgery, but I didn't qualify, so didn't get the funding.

"I tore the tendon that connects the bicep to the shoulder and it was a bit more serious than I thought.

"I was quite a late developer and my first nationals was when I was 15.

"But I've got experience of being a national champion and I know what it takes to get there."

James Cockroft, chairman of City of Hereford Swimming Club, said Sargeant stood out because of his roundedness, level headedness and aspiration.

"The club has just enjoyed its most successful season with 12 medals at national and home national championships, as well as a national champion in James Bilbao in the boys 14 years and under," said Cockroft.

"The club is now looking to build upon this success with the appointment of John Sargent as the new head coach.

"Alex Dallimore spent five years at the club and transformed its performance, with national recognition and the focus now is to consolidate the platform that has been built up and look to further those successes – with more national champions and youth Olympic qualifiers a realistic target.

"While the club is a performance programme, we do cater for all abilities and ages.

"John’s remit as head coach is at the performance end of the spectrum, but he recognises the need to balance that with providing a platform for all abilities and helping every one of those swimmer reach their own personal Olympic gold."