A coach responsible for cultivating the talents of a host of world-class swimmers has been awarded top honour at the annual Sports Council for Wales Coach of the Year awards.

City of Cardiff Head Coach Dave Haller was presented with the Coach of the Year award at a ceremony held at the Sports Council’s Welsh Institute of Sport in a year which has seen his protégées shine on the international swimming circuit.

The 61-year-old former sprint freestyle swimmer has long been cultivating the talents of one David Davies - Olympic Bronze medallist and 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist at 1500m freestyle and bronze medallist at 400m freestyle at the venue for the awards.

And Davies is quick to highlight the contribution his mentor has made to his flourishing career:

"My medals are as much Dave’s as they are mine. He is with me at every training session, he’s a great motivator and we are so lucky to have him here in Wales - his experience is second to none, his knowledge is superb and more importantly he’s an understanding coach and a great person."

And the 21-year-old champion from Barry is in good company as those formerly under Haller’s wing include Olympic champions David Wilkie and Duncan Goodhew as well as former World Champion Mark Foster.

Cowbridge based Haller is no stranger to winning the award. The very same honour was bestowed upon him in the year that saw the then 19-year-old Davies splash onto the scene with a bronze medal in the 1500m Freestyle at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Haller HQ has also attracted Davies’ Olympic stablemate and Melbourne multi-medal winning Scotsman Gregor Tait.

Tait relocated from the Scottish capital to Cardiff in 2004 to team up with Haller in the build up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games where he secured two individual golds and a bronze medal together with a medley team bronze at the Melbourne Aquatics Centre. His total added to Davies’ two equates to a magnificent tally of six commonwealth medals for their coach.

Needless to say, Haller’s career is dotted with a host of highlights. He retired from competitive swimming in 1965 and embarked on the beginning of his 41-year coaching career.

Highlights include his appointment as Olympic coach for both the 1976 and 1980 Games. During his tenure, Team GB finished second at the Men's World Championships and won BBC Sports Personality’s Team of the year award. His talent took him to Honk Kong for a period of 10 years, before his return to take charge of the City of Cardiff Club based at the Welsh Institute of Sport.

Other coaches collecting their accolades today included:

FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR

Sue Parry, Swimming, Abergele

COACH TO DISABLED SPORTSPEOPLE: PARTICIPATION

Matthew Broadbent, Swimming & Boccia, Penarth

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