Coach praises Corrie:
Coach pays tribute to Games star
East Kilbride Amateur Swimming Club president Andy Figgins has paid a glowing tribute to Corrie Scott following her retirement from the sport last week.
Seventeen years after she made her first splash at the Dollan Aqua Centre club, Corrie has called time on her career with a bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow among her string of achievements. She also competed at the 2010 and 2018 Games in India and Australia, respectively.
The 24-year-old is a multiple Scottish national champion and Figgins, who coached Corrie at EKASC between 2005-2011 before her move to elite club Edinburgh, praised the Strathaven star for working so hard to fulfil her potential.
He said: “Day in, day out she did what it took to be the best she could.
“An impressive swimmer and person, she got a lot of really good results.
“I think as you go through life, if you achieve your potential, you can’t have any regrets.
“Every swimmer we deal with at East Kilbride, we can only ask that they do that and Corrie gave everything.
“Her bronze medal in Glasgow was a phenomenal achievement.
“When you look at the events and where the strength was in world swimming at that time with the Australians and the English, who are incredibly strong in these events, she’s done a magnificent job. “You’ve got to be very proud of her. “I think she’ll be over the moon at what she achieved in her career.
“When she came back from Delhi in 2010 she’d made a wee video and it was about making Glasgow 2014.
“She said she’d leave no stone unturned and she certainly didn’t. That was when she was still a schoolkid at Strathaven Academy.
“So she did everything she could to achieve her potential.”
Figgins first came across Corrie when she was seven-years-old. It wasn’t until a few years later that he would work closely with her, moulding her into the elite swimmer she would become.
He has worked in swimming development for nearly 20 years and led South Lanarkshire to the top team title at the Scottish National Age Group Championships in 2016, so he knows top talent when he sees it.
And from his first glimpse at Corrie in a pool in Strathaven all those years ago, he knew she had the talent to go far in the sport.
“When I first saw her you could see the attitude and focus was there,” said the coach, from Stonehouse.
“She just wanted to be the best she could be and she was still a gymnast at that stage, so she had all the benefits that go with that; she was flexible, could get into the right positions for the strokes and she did things very well in the water.
“When she started to get into the early stages of the Scottish Age Groups, the 1213 year-old period, what impressed me was she could do all the strokes, all the distances and you thought here’s a skilful athlete with lots in her locker.
“You didn’t know what she’d be best at because she was good at everything.
“She won her first two British titles on 200IM and 400IM when she was about 14, so she could do the lot and she wasn’t afraid to do it. Some people would say this distance was too long or too hard, but Corrie would just say ‘bring it on’ and do it all.
“That attitude more than anything made me think, she’ll go far.
“She’s been hard on herself and hard for herself because she sets such high standards.
“When she didn’t achieve those standards she would get so frustrated with herself because somebody beat her or she didn’t get the time she wanted, but she would refocus, get back to the processes and think ‘what am I going to do about it?’
“But she made things deliberately hard for herself to push herself further, so I can’t really say enough about her commitment.”
Over the years it wasn’t just Corrie’s work in the pool that drew appreciation and admiration from her old coach.
He added: “She was doing things in the gym that I’ve not seen fully grown male athletes doing.
“Some of the chin-ups she could do on a chin bar with a 25kg weight hanging from her belt were unbelievable.
“I just looked at that thinking: Wow. Most mere mortals struggle to do a chinup.”
Corrie may have left the competitive pool for good to pursue a career in actuary, but she leaves a lasting legacy for the youngsters at EKASC bidding to follow in her footsteps.
Figgins added: “Corrie is an inspiration and great role model for our kids.
“She’s a life member and somebody who, if she’s around, will come into the club, talk to kids and wish them well.
“Corrie will always have a special place for EK and she’ll be back often, I’m sure.
“We might let her off with not getting in the pool now, but she’ll come along and do the other stuff.
“In her heart of hearts, she knew it was the right time to stop. She seems really content and relaxed about it, so it’s the right decision at the right time.”