Mum’s Advice To ‘Swim On’ Opened Woodward’s World

Of all the lessons swimming has provided New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder (NSWIS) Bradley Woodward, perhaps the most pertinent is this: ‘mother knows best.’

Woodward, who has also represented Australia with distinction in life saving, vividly recalls the day seventeen years ago when he told his mother he didn’t want to swim lap after lap of the local 50m pool anymore.

A ‘lifetime’ later, and with six Commonwealth Games medals; world cup triumphs, and a haul of precious metal from national and state championships to his name, Woodward is grateful he listened to his mother’s response.

“I was going to quit when I was about seven,” Woodward recalled with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I thought I’d had enough of it, but Mum said for me to keep going until the school carnival, and, because I did alright at it, I decided to keep swimming.

“I guess it goes to show mum’s really do know best.”

With NSWIS Head Coach Adam Kable describing the 24-year-old’s performances in the recent NSW State Open Championships as ‘sharp’ – he won silver medals for the men’s 50m and 200m backstroke – Woodward is fully focused on his next two major meets.

“I’m in the gritty part of training at the moment,” said Woodward of his preparation with the NSWIS squad. “We have the Australian Championships coming up next month and I’m looking forward to ripping into that.

“The championships will be a good yardstick . . . they’ll allow for us to see how we compete against the swimmers we’ll be up against at the [world championships] selection trials [in Melbourne this June].”

Woodward, who is studying physiotherapy at university, will be pitted against young 200m hot shots Joshua Edwards-Smith and Ty Hartwell, as well as 19-year-old dynamo Isaac Cooper, who boasts a world short course silver medal and an Olympic bronze medal from Tokyo for the 4 x 100m medley.

“Some people will be fresher than others,” said Woodward of his upcoming challenges. “So, I think you need to go into these events ‘ready to race’ while gaining experience at the same time.

“Do well and you’ll get confidence, but, if you come away feeling as though you’re a bit behind where you thought you were, it’ll give you something to work towards.

“I’ve had a few races now and while in-season racing can be hard, I’ve been happy with my times and how training is going.”

Woodward said he’s being pushed hard at training by his NSWIS squad mates, but he’s adamant the sense of camaraderie that’s been forged under coach Kable has provided each swimmer with great purpose, and the squad with a sense of unity.

“We have a really good group, and we’re all working towards one goal – which is exciting,” said Woodward. “I think in the past we may have had a few people who were working towards different things.

“Now we have eight guys who are really focussed towards 2024. We come together at every session and work towards that goal. I think when you have that spirit it becomes like being in a team sport . . . that feeling where you’re in it together . . . even though we’re competing in individual [events].

“I think that’s the reason why we’re so strong at the moment – we’ve developed a special culture of supporting each other to reach our individual goals.”

Woodward said it was easy to thrive at tough training session due to the energy that’s generated by the likes of Tokyo Olympian Se-Bom Lee; William Yang, who has won Commonwealth Games and world championship gold medals, and Shaun Champion, a silver medallist at last year’s Australia v USA Duel in the Pool.

“It’s important because there’s days when you come to training quite tired,” he said of the squad’s collective energy. “But when you see guys who are in the pool and doing well it’s like a kick up the bum. It gets you going.

“The consistency [you gain from training] is so much more when you have a group like we do. Being a smaller group means it is tight knit, and there’s also lot of trust. My belief is when you have a group that possesses that trust and is working towards a goal, it breeds success.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS