Gloucester City Swimming Club head coach James Richards is not a man who likes to stand still.

Whether he’s coaching, looking after his swimmers or thinking about the club, he’s always got a positive outlook.

And for Richards, who has held the top coaching job at Gloucester for the past four years, it’s very much a question of quality as well as quantity when it comes to the club.

“We’ve got some great swimmers at the top end of the club,” enthused Richards. “We’ve got a really strong national and regional group.

“We’ve got lots of swimmers coming through county level, at 12 and over we are very healthy. We have space at the bottom end in the younger age groups, that is where we are trying to recruit new swimmers.”

The club currently have about 105 members and Richards would pretty much like to double that.

“I’d love to be a 200-club,” he said. “Pre-pandemic we had 120 but I think it is realistic over the next five years to get to 200. In the past 10 years we’ve never been higher than 150 but there’s enough swimming in Gloucester in terms of lessons to increase the numbers.”

And Richards insists that increasing the numbers will not lead to a reduction in quality at the club.

“It’s an aim that sits alongside the performance drive,” he said. “Bringing swimmers up to the next level is the most exciting part of being a coach, from swimmers trying to get their first county qualifying time to those at the top level.”

And Gloucester City have certainly got some very good swimmers at the level at the moment including para-swimmer George Kelman-Johns.

The 20-year-old has been identified as someone with podium potential for the Paris Paralympics in 2024 and is part of British Swimming’s World Class Podium Potential programme. 

His main event is the 200m S14 freestyle – he’s also very good at the 100m S14 backstroke – and Richards is excited about the possibilities for the one-time Bournemouth Swimming Club member who is a student at the University of Gloucestershire.

“He joined Gloucester City at the start of the pandemic and he’s very talented,” Richards said.

“His stroke technique is great, he’s very strong and he has a great feel for the water. When he grabs the water he really goes for it with every pull, it’s amazing.”

And it’s not just the swimming.

“The sport has given him structure, it’s given him confidence and support,” said Richards. “He knows people he can ask if he needs anything and he’s got himself a job.”

That job is as a lifeguard at GL1 and while Kelman-Johns is clearly benefiting from all things Gloucester City, he’s not alone.

“It’s really rewarding coaching someone at George’s level,” said Richards. “I see George every day, we have a very strong coach/athlete relationship.

“We work together, it’s a joint journey, it’s not just me telling him what to do. There’s a lot of inter-action, it’s a great journey to be on.”

And Kelman-Johns is certainly not alone because the club have half-a-dozen other para-swimmers.

And Jacob Wood, an S9 freestyler who swims anything from 100m to 400m freestyle, is hoping to travel on the same path as Kelman-Johns.

“He’s been with the club three years,” said Richards of the 15-year-old. “His second stroke is breaststroke, his 100m breaststroke is very good. He’s just been selected for Swim England’s National Event Camp.”

Amos Starkey, meanwhile, is an able-bodied swimmer who is also catching the eye having just been invited to attend Swim England’s National Event camp.

The Sir Thomas Rich’s School pupil, 16, has been with the club for eight or nine years and specialises in the 1,500m freestyle.

“He’s come through the ranks and I’ve been fortunate enough to be his only coach,” said Richards.

“For him it’s entirely about mindset, he has such a great attitude. Nothing is ever too hard, give him some work to do and he’ll enjoy it, everything is a challenge that can be beaten.

“He’s incredibly fit, he’s swimming nine times a week and land training four times a week.”

Land training is strength and conditioning without using weights and Richards has become a big fan.

“We started doing it in lockdown when we couldn’t use weights,” he explained. “It involves lots of really slow movements and some really explosive movements.

“A lot of the swimmers came back from lockdown stronger and they also came back very motivated.”

And the evidence is there for all to see.

“We had seven swimmers at the winter nationals in Sheffield in December, we had three swimmers at the para-nationals in Swansea, also in December, and we’ve got five swimmers who have already qualified for the British Championships in Sheffield in April.”

Those championships in Sheffield are a Commonwealth Games qualifying meet so to have five swimmers – Cam Lewis, James Bunyard, Rhiannon Bulpin, Mae Singer and Amos Starkey – heading up there is pretty impressive and Richards is confident that they will be joined by at least a couple of others too.

“The club are doing well,” said Richards who is helped on the coaching side by Lily Lowe, who is a county coach, and Craig Skinner, who is a swim skills coach.

“Both Lily and Craig are skills coaches for the Swim England Gloucester County development camp,” added Richards, who himself is three parts of the way through the UK coaching focus development programme, something he was put forward for.

That’s good news for him, of course, but also for all the swimmers in his charge.