Italian coach takes charge at North Norfolk Vikings

Rudy Hentiu has a big passion for swimming and he has big plans for The Vikings, North Norfolk's premiere swimming club.

Rudy hails from Verona and has worked alongside some of Italy's national squad swimmers. He is planning to move to North Norfolk with his wife Diana and two children Alex, 12 and Monica, 17,

from Loddon where they currently live.

'I joined the Vikings because I wanted to be responsible for coaching in the entire club,' he said. 'I aim to teach well, to coach well and see every single child achieve as a swimmer.

'It is a passion. No, it is more than a passion. Swimming is a beautiful sport, it is built on using all of your muscles, working on your breathing, it's one of the most complete sports in the world.'

Rudy has been a swimming coach for more than 17 years and was formerly a swim coach in Norwich.

The Vikings are based at The Victory in North Walsham and now have more than 150 members, mostly High School and Primary School age. Their abilities range from beginners to top class Regional swimmers.

And there is room for more to join – Rudy wants to maximise pool time and help every single swimmer reach their full potential.

'I want to build our club and our swimmers like you build a strong house – from the bottom up,' he said.

So what is going to change? Already Rudy has put in place a challenging land-training routine for the young swimmers, to develop their strength and help them work together as friends in a team.

He is introducing different training regimes for each individual swimmer and he's aiming to see more Vikings swimmers win medals at galas, county events and even in national competitions.

If you want your children to join the Vikings, learn to swim, swim for fun or even become a county champion then they are welcome to join Rudy's team. You can find out more at www.norfolkvikings.co.uk or call Kirsty Smith on 07900 145866, dksmithlm@tiscali.co.uk.