'Overcoming barriers is a prime mover towards success'

The new Hungarian swimming coach, Steven Kormos, in charge of Malta's national team, has already been working with our swimmers for over seven weeks. He talks to Alex Vella about his programme for the year.

Success in life will never come easy. This dictum is particularly applicable to sports, where athletes spend hours on end going through painstaking preparatory work, before they can achieve their targets.

Steven Kormos, recently engaged by the Aquatic Sports Association (ASA) to take up duties as head coach for Maltese swimmers, is a firm believer of hard work and the right frame of mind from all the people involved, including parents of athletes, in order to get results.

Since October 10, when he took over Malta's squad, the 46-year-old Hungarian, formerly a Collaborator of Programmes for the Hungarian national teams, has been working in earnest to prepare our swimmers in a schematic way which would lead them to the 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe in Andorra.

"Swimming is a very delicate discipline and unless the season is planned meticulously and without any gaps in the programme, results will not be achieved," he said.

"The infrastructure, apart from the pool amenities and its constant right conditions, is based on having a wide platform of swimmers who are ready to make sacrifices and overcome all the barriers, including the seemingly insurmountable physical limits, to reach their targets.

"There was a belated start to the year's training schedule which was due to begin in September. The 64 sessions - five early morning and five afternoon weekly ones, making up a total of 50 kilometres every seven days - the swimmers have had so far, have gone some way towards making up for the lost ground. We cannot have any more unwanted breaks in our build-ups now."

Kormos gave details of the two phases of the calendar which is tapered for the early summer and will come to a conclusion with participation in the Med. Games in Spain, and then our token representation in the Montreal World Championships in Canada in July.

"The first phase, which started with last month's Time Trial, will come to an end early in February," he said, "with more monthly trials running into the second month of the year when the swimmers will already have been geared to a more refined condition."

When asked about the necessity of international exposure for our swimmers, Kormos said that this is an integral part of the group's preparation.

"The competitive element in such meetings abroad and the importance of training camps can never be minimised. Overseas contacts are a must for the boys and girls in all aspects of preparation.

"We plan to give our swimmers the first feeling of competition in the second weekend of December when they will take part in an International Meet in Karlsruhe, Germany. It will still be too early for any high technical results, but the Germany trip will be an opportunity for the athletes to gain more experience.

"A ten-day training camp in Rome is scheduled to start soon after Christmas, after which the swimmers will proceed to England for an International Meet. This time the members of the squad will swim in their proper events. The build-up will continue well into February with the final monthly meeting before the end of the first phase.

"The March trials will then be followed by the Easter meet at Tal-Qroqq. Another competition abroad is planned for the end of April before the start of the peak period scheduled for the end of May/beginning of June. This will be preceded by another training camp, this time in the high plains of Andorra," the Hungarian coach said.

Commenting on last Saturday's races, Kormos remarked that the swimmers in these early trials are not expected to produce top performances since they are going through hard training.

"Moreover, at this point in time I am after more stamina and versatility in all strokes, and that is the reason why I am giving the boys and girls a taste of unfamiliar events."

However, one particular race - the women's 1,500 metres - yielded satisfactory results when Angela Galea broke the 'reference' mark held by Dorisa Gaggi, to register a new national best of 18:52.26, thus adding to her array of records.

Trailing by about 35 metres was Davina Mangion whose performance was significant, considering that the 17-year-old has had a more intensive build-up than that of some other colleagues in recent weeks.

"I was also pleased to note that in other events all leading swimmers showed improved speed in their unfamiliar strokes. This is a good sign for the coming weeks and months, which opens better prospects for them," Kormos said.

"It is hoped that this work will continue unhindered in this sport which, like other disciplines, presents an opportunity for young people to prepare themselves for life-skills and refine their character qualities. Even parents have a say in this and my appreciation for their co-operation goes to them as well."

The enthusiasm of the swimmers, including several youngsters, was never so evident as last Saturday when they defied the heavy late afternoon downpour to see their programme of events to an end. At least, the water temperature in the pool was not a hindrance!

Their aspirations for continued accessibility to the 'adequately-groomed' and heated facilities throughout winter and spring should keep them in proper mental trim.

New personal bests, records and honourable results in next year's GSSE would then be within their capabilities.