Coaches
Wellington Diving Club Coaches
At Wellington Diving Club we pride ourselves on having a team of coaches who are passionate about diving and helping all divers in the club achieve the goals they set for themselves.
As a team, our coaches prioritise building confidence in the divers they coach while maintaining a strong focus on technique. This enables divers, no matter their level, to achieve their goals in a way that is safe and learn new skills that they will carry with them into other areas of their lives.
As coaches, our team know that what is learnt in the pool can have a much greater impact on the lives of the divers. Learning how to master skills, try new things, take constructive criticism and the value of hard work are all key components of every training session.
Read more about some of our core coaching team below.
James Hardaker - Head Coach
James took over as Head Coach of Wellington Diving Club in October 2003. Over the years he has overseen the development of many New Zealand Champions, record holders and International representatives. James has coached athletes at, Australian Olympic Youth Festival, Junior World Championships, FINA Grand Prix, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
James has put together a development pathway to allow divers at every level to enjoy their diving experience and to go as far as they wish to in the sport. His drive to see our coaches developed and supported has seen increased numbers of coaches, with a vision for further coaches as the club grows and flourishes.
James has always wanted and pushed for diving to be part of the local community and he is looking forward to helping develop programmes to get more of the community into the pool this year.
Nick Ralm
Nick started coaching in 2014 up in Auckland however he joined Wellington Diving Club as a coach 5 years ago.
He has coached a multitude of different ages from 6-year-olds to adults, beginners to competitive divers. While Nick has never been a diver himself, he is passionate about helping people achieve past their expectations in the sport and has been part of the New Zealand diving community in one way or another for even longer than he has been coaching, knowing many people in the sport and helping out at competitions whenever needed.
Nayeli Marull Misawa
Nayeli has coached at Wellington Diving Club for almost 5 years. She started diving at 9 years old and has competed both nationally and internationally.
Nayeli has represented New Zealand at Singapore Nationals, Pacific Juniors and Oceania Championships and her favourite dives are 105b and 201b. Nayeli has been coaching the Adult Squad for the past couple of years however she transitioned into coaching the Elite Squad alongside James Hardaker after a successful diving career.
Currently, she is working towards getting her Level 2 Coaching qualification so she can further her coaching ability and continue to help divers reach their goals in the sport.
Nayeli is also a Residential Assistant at a Victoria University of Wellington residential hall this year, a new challenge that she is looking forward to tackling.