Liverpool Swim Club head coach Darren Howard loves his job

Liverpool Swim Club head coach Darren Howard loves his job. He’s been nominated for a Service to Sport award as part of the Local Sports Stars competition.

Darren Howard is the head coach at Liverpool Swim Club. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

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Ever since he was a child, Darren Howard knew he wanted to be a swim coach.

At the age of 18, he applied for a coaching licence, paving the way for a job he still loves today.

Mr Howard, 42, recently joined Liverpool Swim Club as its head coach and, in a matter of months, has injected new confidence into its squads.

“I come from a swimming family and even as a swimmer I was always interested in why we were doing different training sessions and then I had a great rapport with some of my coaches,” he said. “For me, the coaches were always big influencers in my life.”

Mr Howard has been nominated for a Service to Sport award. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

Mr Howard, who also works for Swimming NSW as a coaching co-ordinator, said his top priority was to help junior swimmers realise their dreams — whether that was competing against the nation’s best or winning their school swimming carnival.

Mr Howard said fostering confidence, enjoyment and pride in young swimmers was his goal.

“Some of these swimmers, they come to training in the morning from 5am until 7am, they pretty much go home and go to school and they come back to training.

“You end up being a role model to them.”

He hopes to highlight the talent coming out of Liverpool and propel Liverpool Swim Club into the top five clubs in western Sydney.

Mr Howard has been nominated for a Service to Sport award as part of the Local Sports Stars competition, which is sponsored by Featherdale Wildlife Park and Bankstown Sports.