SOUTHEND Diving’s new head coach Shân Veasey admits she was a latecomer to the sport.

But she is determined to drive the programme forward and really put it on the diving map.

Veasey took over from Damian Ball at Southend Diving earlier this summer and believes her unconventional route into diving will stand her in good stead.

“I didn’t get involved in diving until I was about 14 and saw it on TV,” she said. “I contacted Beaumont Diving Academy in Hertfordshire and said I wanted to have a go.

“I went along and had a go and it turned out I loved it but because of my age I was past it in terms of getting anywhere.

“I continued to do it recreationally and they gave me the opportunity to do my coaching qualification and it just so happened that I was a better coach than I was an athlete.”

Veasey worked as a PA but did voluntary coaching until she realised her passion was for diving.

She did a degree in sport and exercise science before landing a job with British Diving, where she worked with Ball, before coaching at Bradford.

“It was quite an unusual path,” Veasey admitted. “I’ve probably had to work harder to learn as much as other people might already know.

“I was on the back foot but thanks to people like (assistant head coach) Bill (Clark), who have supported me and given me opportunities to learn it’s coming together. And I think not having a traditional route into diving has helped me.

“I wasn’t set in my ways and that gave me the ability to listen freely to people and watch other practices and take them on board if they were successful, rather than think this is what I did and that’s what I will do.

“That has been really successful for me. I have seen lots of differing coaching practices from around the country and people love to share information and I’ll willingly accept it. I am open-minded and that’s been very positive for me.”

There are currently 350 divers in the Southend programme, ranging from youngsters through to masters-level competitors.

Veasey and her assistant Clark want to increase that number and have a number of plans in the pipeline to allow more people to dive, either recreationally or competitively.

“One of the things that struck me was that some of what was happening was still in quite early stages whereas the programme itself and everyone it had involved into quite a big successful force to be reckoned with in terms of the diving world,” added Veasey.

“But the procedures behind it had not caught up. I probably spent the first two months doing that and things have now come together nicely.”

And she added: “The plan is to make sure our coaches are knowledgeabble and make sure we are acting as a strong club within the region.

“We also want to make sure that everybody knows that they are welcome here and that we have the space and knowledge to take them forward in diving.”