In a radical enhancement of current sports training thinking, Olympic medallist turned entrepreneur Michael Jamieson is adding Wellbeing Awards to existing certificates for life-saving and performance at his popular Swim Academy.
In a move enthusiastically welcomed by the increasing number of parents whose children attend his private-pool classes across Central Scotland, learners will now be assessed on a number of factors affecting communication, trust and emotional intelligence.
As well as performance-based achievement, pupils at the Michael Jamieson Swim Academy (MJSA) will be able to aspire to awards in areas such as Building Connections, Self-Worth and Resilience. Positive behaviour such as sportsmanship, curiosity and confidence will also be identified by coaches and rewarded.
The assessments are a natural extension of the philosophy expounded by Jamieson – who has spoken openly and frankly about mental health issues he experienced in his competitive career – that sport has a critical role to play in teaching valuable life lessons.
Jamieson, 34, who won Silver at the 2012 London Olympics and has a clutch of other World, Commonwealth and European medals, said: “It is not just the increasing pressure to win medals in the top echelons of sport, but striving to be the best you can be can take its toll at so many levels.
“While I think there should be more formal recognition of mental health issues by sport’s governing bodies, people like us in the mainstream of training can make a very positive contribution by being aware of behaviour and reinforcing the personal benefits sport can bring to individuals.
“On a practical level, our coaches – who are all Level 2 rather than the more standard Level 1 – are being trained to be more aware of behaviour and to guide social skills on a basic, underlying level and to recognise achievement through a certification process and through social media.”
The high-achieving Scot has previously revealed how a brutal training regime led him into depression and how he “just really went too far” with what he perceived as his responsibility to do the best possible job that he could.
Since he founded MJSA in April 2018, he has stood out in a very competitive field by offering parents the smallest class sizes in the sector, with just four pupils per lesson, as opposed to the industry norm of six and council-run classes of up to 12.
He has also increased the number of staff – up from six during lockdown to 34 now – the number of venues with which he is in partnership and the number of learners, now up to 1,700 a week with a target of 2,000 by next year.
Michael said: “Our growth is testament to the hard work and passionate team we have built at MJSW and with our focus on in-house training and development, the team is committed to delivering the best experience possible for the children enrolled.
“If a new child comes into a three- to four-year-old class and introduces him or herself and engages with the other children, that level of social skill should be recognised and encouraged.
“Valuing and respecting yourself and others, staying positive and keeping going in challenging situations are all serious lessons. And it is never too early to learn.”
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