Lynda Wakefield- Assistant Coach
Lynda joined the Coaching team at the end of 2019 after becoming a member of the Blue Fins family in 2018, when her daughter joined our lessons programme.
Lynda herself started swimming lessons at the age of seven, as growing up on the South coast her parents wanted her to be able to enjoy the sea whilst staying safe. It soon became evident that she had talent, and she was promptly scouted by a Coach at Poole SC and asked to join their junior squad. From there she flourished and went from strength to strength with success at Open Meets, County Championships, Western Regional Championships and qualified for Nationals at the age of 12.
At 13 Lynda and her parents were approached by a Coach from Portsmouth Northsea who invited her to join their senior squad. It was evident by this stage that she would benefit from additional training, so Lynda took the opportunity to train with Portsmouth at weekends which resulted in a change for the whole family. So, during the week Lynda trained with Poole whilst at school and living home, and then at weekends she stayed with the family of team members in Portsmouth and trained and competed with them. Quite a commitment!
This all paid off, and at the age of 13 Lynda won her first of five golds in National Championships in the 100m and 200m Backstroke. She was then invited to be part of the England Junior Squad, followed by the Intermediate and Senior Squads through to the age of 17. In addition, she competed for England Schools and World Schools and enjoyed travelling across Europe representing England.
Today Lynda channels her swim passion into Coaching and supporting her children who both swim for Blue Fins. She loves seeing the improvement in swimmers and the happiness on their faces when they achieve their goals and realise they are doing well and that the training is paying off! Instilling confidence and self-belief is a vital part of this. To date, her favourite set is the Olympic set she worked on with Charlotte for the Junior Squad (formerly Mini Fins 1), when she enjoyed watching the team attack the set and produce some fantastic swims.
Lynda’s hobbies include running (although she is not a fan!), which she uses to challenge herself both physically and mentally. You will not be surprised to hear that one of her mantras is “pain is your friend”, and you might hear her uttering this to herself when out on a 10km run! She also enjoys reading, baking and projects around the home.
Fun fact – Lynda is a qualified Masseuse
