COACH NISHANTHA LEADS LYCEUM TO UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
Last year, Lyceum International School Nugegoda celebrated a rare achievement by winning the Inter-international Schools Swimming Championships for the second con- secutive year. Behind this success, encouraging and motivating the swimmers, who made it possible, is the school’s swimming co-ordinator Nishantha Perera.
Nishantha has had over 20 years of experience as a coach, 12 of which has been with Lyceum in which he has even spent his time and expertise to train national swimming and water polo teams. In 2007 he assisted in coaching the swimming team for the South Asian Games that took place in Islamabad, Pakistan and a year later assisted in coaching the water-polo team that participated in the South Asian Games.
So far Nishantha – who coordinated between five branches of the school Nugegoda, Panadura, Wattala, Gampaha and Ratnapura – has trained Lyceum squads that have partici- pated in inter-international schools SLSO meets and public schools meets greater success in the latter being his next goal. Lyceum finished in the top ten at the last public schools meet, but according to Nishantha, is capable of finishing in the top four in the next meets, a goal not unachievable for the 60swimmer strong squad.
Two successes at the last inter-international swimming meet were Lasath Gamage and Kavindi Sumathiratne, who were under-12 champions for boys and girls respectively. Lasath took part in the 50m breast-stroke, 200m individual medley and 100m breast-stroke while Kavindi was successful in the 50m back-stroke, 200m individual medley and 50m breast-stroke events.
And it is successes similar to Lasath and Kavindi that coach Nishantha is aiming for, though it does comes with its fair share of challenges. One such challenge, is training for meets that take place in 50m pools, in the school’s 25m pool. To lessen the disadvantage the school affords the swimmers the opportunity to train once a week in a larger pool, in locations close to the school.
Nishatha attributes that success the school has had on the dedication of the swimmers, his coaching team and the unfailing support of the school’s Coordinating Principal Mrs. Kumari Grero and Principal Mrs. Hettiarachchi.
He also mentioned a special thank you to Mr. Mahinda Liyanage and Mr. Wilson both national coaches who had influenced him, which has seen him achieve this success.