Top 10 TigerSharks

By Gavin Staindl
ON the back of last week’s performance at the National Age Championships in Sydney, Casey TigerSharks coach Ben Hiddlestone is confident his swim team can make it to the top 10.
Returning from the biggest meet of the year where the TigerSharks finished 23rd overall out of a potential 1200 clubs around the nation, Hiddlestone has set his sights on winning the three-metre pennant flag awarded to the clubs finishing in the top 10.
“Within three years we want to be top 10,” Hiddlestone said.
And considering where the club was five years ago you would not want to bet against the prediction.
In 2005 when Hiddlestone took over the TigerSharks helm, they finished 180th at the Age National Championships and from there they have progressively bettered their performances.
“When I came to the club I set the bar very high in training and in attendance and the swimmers have responded… we did lose a few at the time who wanted to remain training only a few times a week, but people like Rob Carlson and Craig Watson have stepped it up.”
“It has really become part of the culture at the club,” said Hiddlestone.
Reaping the rewards from years worth of training was Josh Beaver.
The potential junior Australian representative raced in the combined 17-18-year-old 200-metre backstroke and came away with a silver medal.
The 17-year-old finished in a time of 2:02:91, enough to have put him in the top six in the country.
In the same race Mattson Lawson stunned his coach and himself by finishing fourth in a time of 2:03:99.
“It was a massive improvement. He didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect it. Just a fantastic race,” said Hiddlestone.
Also earning big points for Casey was Stephanie Demestichas who won silver in the 15-year-old 800-metre freestyle and Mitchell Pratt who claimed bronze in the 14-year-old 200-metre butterfly.
Although the overall result surprised Hiddlestone, he believed his team would have performed better if his swimmers had been injury free.
“Steph (Demestichas) has been battling illness on and off all year and Aleysha Tokai, one of our better swimmers who took out four medals last year at these champs has her shoulder in a sling after shoulder surgery.”
“Hannah Smith had her points taken away from her because she is still a Kiwi. She has been living here for a while but because she is not a permanent resident, her points didn’t count towards the overall score,” Hiddlestone said.
The junior swimmers are now enjoying a two-week break but they better make the most of it because come 27 April it will be full-on training again until the next age championships next year.