Mike
Phelps: Founder / Coach / Chairman of Gloucester Masters Swimming Club 1998 –
until his death aged 76yrs on 7/5/2009
The
following are tributes received in website feedback (most recent ones at the
top):
( Esther Murray’s report as presented to the “Citizen”- though the
version that appeared had been edited despite request to leave it intact)
The death of Mike Phelps on 7 May 2009 will have deeply saddened
all who knew him, especially those throughout the swimming fraternity. Swimming was Mike’s life long passion. Although few of us ever saw him swim!!
Mike Phelps founded Gloucester Masters Swimming Club and served as
Chairman and Chief Coach since its inception in 1988. A talented and committed coach, Mike had the capacity and desire
to nurture swimmers across all ability levels from novice to European record
breaker.
When Gloucester Leisure closed in 1998 the Club no longer had a
base. There was concern that it would
fragment, or worse, for lack of training opportunity. Mike was determined not to let that happen and the hunt for
alternative pool time began. He
accepted ever single hour on offer and for four long years training rotated
between the pools of Ribston Hall, Dean Close, Sir Thomas Rich, St Edwards,
Cheltenham Recreation Centre, Kingsmead,Tewkesbury School, Bath University and
Cheltenham Lido. When GL1 eventually
opened, swimmers flooded back and membership soared.
Mike was a man with a reputation!
A reputation that extended way beyond the City boundaries. Swimmers from
all parts of the county and neighbouring counties too travelled in regularly to
be coached by the ‘master’.
A reputation for continually delivering structured training
sessions, seemingly off the top of his head, for he had no script.
A reputation for innovation.
Any new technique or training method to emerge in world-class swimming
was soon implemented into his teaching.
Mike seized on the benefits of warm weather training some 20 years
ago, when he organised a training camp to Lanzarote. That training camp became a firm fixture and has run every year
since. Just two months ago, Mike was in
his element, at the end of the pool, working away with his swimmers and
socialising with the other coaches using the facility alongside Gloucester
Masters.
The performance and achievement of Gloucester Masters Swimming Club
has gone from strength to strength under his leadership and swimmers will
strive to attain that same level of success in his memory.
Mike was a top class coach, mentor, chairman, friend, prolific joke
teller and a true gentleman. To the
swimmers of Gloucester Masters (and everyone else who knew him) Mike was, and
always will be, ‘the special one’!
Esther Murray May 09
What a fantastic coach, friend and daddy figure, always there to
coach us through life and the odd bit of swimming for me! I will make a
promise now, that I will swim again (regular) to be a part of the Gloucester
master big family once again. Mike you were ace and will never be
forgotten. Helen & Mikes kids you did him proud, well done and take
care all.
Angela Wadley
I looked on the
poolside.
Where he used to
sit;
Our revered old
Mike,
In his coaching
kit;
With warm up
finished,
A session to
start;
He would stroll to
the end,
Swimming tips to
impart;
His seat is now
empty,
No more does he
reign;
My soul it is
aching,
And racked with
pain;
Not just a coach,
But good friend
indeed;
He nurtured his
swimmers ,
Like a growing
seed;
You were special,
so special,
And now you are
gone;
The pool seems so
empty,
As we try to swim
on;
Yes, life will
continue,
But it won’t be the
same;
We have lost a
loved one,
And no ones to
blame;
I see a shadow,
It looks like
Mike;
I reach out my
hand,
And he fades out
of sight
Mike I will miss you greatly and thank you for not once grumbling
at me or being late!!(well maybe a only little bit). You were there to get me
back into swimming, you took me to 22 place in the world. You have kept me fit
and a few sizes smaller. You have given me a group of lifelong friends who I
cherish greatly. I remember our putting the world to right at the shallow end
of Barton pool.You came to my wedding and took my babies heart rate with that
thing!!
I could go on and on ......I will never forget you.
Sue Dermody
It was only yesterday that I found out
that Mike had died and felt very saddened that, having moved away from
Gloucester, I had only had the opportunity to see him a couple of times in
recent years. On the occasions when I did meet up with him, he always welcomed
me with a big smile and a hug and treated me like a long lost daughter.
I first met Mike when I was ten and I was put into his group at
the Gloucester City Swimming club. At that time, he was a ‘big’ man with a big
personality and a loud booming voice and I was a little over awed by him.
When I joined Gloucester Masters in my early twenties, I realised
what a truly caring, dedicated man he was. When I was going through a bad patch
with my swimming or my personal life he was always there with a shoulder to cry
on…and boy did he see some tears!
Mike will be remembered not only for his dedication to swimming,
he has been behind the success of so many of us, but also for having a huge
positive influence on so many of our lives. Thank you Mike, you were one in a
million.
Julie Whitehouse
(rec’d 20/5/09)
Very saddened. Only just read of Mike’s death in tonight’s
Citizen newspaper. Someone from the club may have tried to contact me but we’ve
moved house and telephone number. Unlikely now that I can get time off work for
tomorrow’s celebration of Mike’s life – feel dreadful.
Having played County League Squash for 21 years, I packed it
in almost overnight to focus on a sport that I wasn’t particularly good at.
Why? The answer was, of course Mike Phelps with his enthusiasm and genuine love
of swimming. It wasn’t just that, though. Mike made me, and dozens before and
after me, feel as if he believed that I had the potential to progress. Within a
year, Mike had taught me all four swimming strokes and I was obsessed to the
point that became a Swimming Teacher myself.
I was so lucky to find myself working at GL1 with Mike
mentoring me on the coaching side, and Helen putting me straight on Swimming
Teaching – what a partnership!
My first experience of a Masters Competition was at Ponds
Forge, Sheffield. I was sat next to Mike as an “observer” when he learned that
one of his swimmers would not be able to make it to the Meet. After a mild
expletive, Mike turned to me and said “Put your trunks on, Paul, you’re in the
relay – the race after next”! Some Masters debut!
I have to admit that I feel regretful that I didn’t fulfil
my potential quite in the way Mike would have hoped – we all make mistakes,
perhaps me more than the average. I am still involved, though, in
teaching/coaching swimming - with young disabled adults – the Mike Phelps
legacy lives on.
I was connected to the club for only a relatively short
period of time (I hope to return one day as a swimmer now that I’m in the 56-60
bracket!), but so many happy memories of Mike. As a coach I find myself using
Mike’s phrases and words – what a motivator he was! But most of all I’ll
remember that fantastic smile and wonderful laugh.
I’ve always said - he’s going to be a tough act to follow…’m
sure that Gloucester Masters will continue to thrive – we owe it to Mike to
ensure it does.
All the best. Paul.
Paul and Lesley Orsler,
If it wasn't for Mike I would not have got back into swimming
nor would I have stayed in Gloucester.
I first met Mike when he spotted me swimming in a public
session 23 years ago, he pressed ganged me into his squad and
I have stayed with swimming and Gloucester ever since.
He was a great influence on me and my life has been so
enriched because of him. I feel it has been a privilege to know him.
He steered me down a great path and for this I will always be
grateful.
Mike's enthusiasm, dedication and love for the sport have
been second to none.
One Senior GB coach once told me that the most important
thing a coach needs is charisma;
well Mike certainly had this in bucket loads!
I am sure as most of his swimmers you have many anecdotes but
one that always sticks in my mind is when I split my hand open
after catching it on another swimmers foot (Keith
Henderson!), I got out and said to Mike I better stop because I can see bone!
Mike just taped it up and said "you'll be fine, now get
back in there and finish off those 200s!"
What a character! and I know that next time I feel tired
during a swim session I will hear in my mind his "gentle" words of
encouragement
"Get a move on you lazy idle lot!"
John Anderson
It's ten years since I last swam with
(or was it "for") Mike. Like so many others I got back into
competitive swimming after many years lay off thanks purely to his lunch time and
tea time lane sessions and then Gloucester Masters. I even met my wife in
Lanzarotte, so I have much more to thank him for than just the swimming.
The best tribute I can pay him is that
at the age of 42 I ended up swimming faster than when I was a teenager and
enjoying it a damn site more as well. A man of unusual but endearing coaching
techniques and unconventional motivational methods but the best damn swim coach
I ever had.
Aberdeen
I’ve trained on and off with Mike for about 20 years now but he
remembers me from before then when I trained with Henry at Gloucester City SC.
He inspired me to always train hard and race the best I could. And despite how
I felt generally, I still got in the pool, trained and always looked for his
approval. We may have used some odd accessories – towing those bottles, that
pulse thingy, the starter gun, music in the pool etc but still training was
fun.
For me, there are various words/phrases that Mike often
used but one sticks in my mind, something along the lines of “come on you lazy
bone idle lot” … and the best recent picture I’ve seen of Mike was from this
year’s Lanzarote trip as ‘The Hoff’, with his Baywatch Babes - 20 years on –
simply awesome. One of funniest memories for me is of Mike in Lanzarote a few
years ago with someone’s knickers on his head, sat in the pool bar area after
one of our ‘treasure hunts’ - always there in the thick of it and having a
laugh J
Mike was/is unique, one of a kind, a generous person who
I’ll miss more than I realise. Training/swimming and Gloucester Masters will
never quite be the same without him there, but, he will always be with us in
spirit no matter where we are, and he’ll never be forgotten. It’s just not
possible to ever forget our Mike Phelps …
Karen Hilton (nee Taylor )
P.S. Here’s something I found on the net re History of
Gloucester City SC mentioning Mike:
Mike Phelps who through
some special quality has produced swimmers of quality and stamina that progress
through to Henry, no mean feat when considers the quality demanded at the level
of swimming found in Gloucester, and the very tender age of some of the
athletes. When at any gala where Mike if officiating, it is fascinating to see
the younger swimmers following his every move and hanging onto the words of
wisdom, praise and sympathy that is his hallmark.
Mike has always been there for me,
throughout my earliest swimming days at CSWPC, my rebellious teenage years at
Gloucester City SC (Sorry about that Mike!) and in more recent years at
Gloucester Masters. I will miss Mike dearly - he wasn't just my coach, he was
my inspiration as a masters swimmer and he has played such a large part in my
swimming life for so long that I know my memories of him will continue to fuel
my passion for the sport and he'll always be in my head and my heart.
It has been a privilege to be one of
Mikes extended swimming family and I feel like the luckiest girl ever to have
come back to swimming in later years only to find Mike exactly where I'd left
him over 20 years earlier, still on the poolside with his "magic
stopwatch" in hand.
I loved the grumpy old bugger to
pieces.
Sandy Jones
It all started during the
Easter holidays in 1985 when my children were having lessons in the Learner
Pool and I went into the No. 2 Pool next door to join the lunch-time lane
swimming session. After a few lengths pottering up and down I got out and Mike
said to me “Are you going to swim in my Open Meet then?” Once I realised
that this was just the new name for a swimming gala, I agreed to do the 50
Backstroke – my first race for about 15 years, on very little training and I
must say I have NEVER been so nervous in my life!
However, I soon got the
‘bug’ again and started training properly. Little did I realise what I was
letting myself in for – most memorably bottle-towing whilst wearing hand
paddles and fins – imagine trying to tumble turn without getting tangled up
with the person in front or behind! It is credit to Mike that 24 years on I am
still swimming. He was a great motivator and training was always interesting.
He taught me many things but the most important lesson of all was ‘NEVER GIVE
UP!’
Swimming apart, Mike was
a wonderful story-teller with a great sense of humour. I loved listening to
tales of his childhood escapades or his early days coaching. I will also always
remember him for his warm, generous nature and his words of encouragement and
support at difficult times, especially recently.
Mike you were a great
coach, but also a lovely man and a special friend. So glad you made it to Club
La Santa one more time after missing out in 2008 – it was good to see you
smiling and laughing again.
We will miss you for
ever.
Jane Brown
I have known Mike since I joined the City Swimming club. His enthusiasm
and drive to help swimmers achieve will be hard to match. Mike has been there
as a swimming coach and water polo coach (in the early 80’s) for me since 1970.
Under his coaching, particularly with the Masters, I have seen a number of
swimmers achieve lifetime best times, myself included. Mike gave so much of his
time to help us improve.
Mike had a great sense of humour with many tales to tell of days
gone by. It was a very rare day that I did not see Mike with that massive smile
on his face or ready with a new joke to tell. I always looked forward to our
exchange of views and will greatly miss the banter between sets. He had
wonderful phrases of encouragement like, “you lazy great big fat idle waste of
space, get moving!!!”, he certainly knew how to get me going! While training on
Tuesday night I found myself looking towards the poolside seating in The Barton
Pool and I could see Mike in my mind’s eye with that stop watch that he never
learnt how to work, I am sure.
I will remember Mike not just as a coach but a friend, and someone I
will miss for the rest of my days. Many memories that will never fade, thank
you Mike, you will be greatly missed.
I too am writing this with tears rolling down my cheeks but also
a huge smile across my face for the wonderful memories I and my family have of
Mike Phelps. I started swimming with him from the age of 12 and he played a
major part in my life with his humour and wit, even boyfriends had to pass the
Mike test. His encouragement and support was relentless and he managed to
get the best out of us swimmers even when we didn’t believe we could do
it. I continued to swim with him at lunch times when I started work, and
no training session was ever complete without being shouted out and land exercises
on the poolside (just how many squats was a girl expected to do?) When I
moved away I continued to swim but have never found another Mike Phelps!!!
These would have been too big shoes to fill. Whenever I visited I would
walk onto the poolside and be greeted with the biggest smile and hug and it
felt like I’d never been away. Thank you Mike it was a privilege to know
you and I’m so sorry I will not be there to pay my respects to such a wonderful
man!
Dawn Henderson and all the Henderson family
I have know Mike for the best part of 40
years, firstly as Henry's back up and secondly as the coach with the Masters,
he was always there for me during hard times in and out of the pool and I
respected him and held him in greatest esteem, it was a honour to have known
him. My thoughts are with Ian, Jacky, Penny and Butch and it just remain
for me to say goodbye to a wonderful man who touched the hearts of many.
Sue Freeland, Davies, Sullivan
I have known Mike since I was of
the age of 10, I joined Gloucester city swim club where Mike was my
first coach, and yes he was grumpy and bossy in those days as well, but
after a pint at the pub everything was forgotten. Back in those old days, Mike
had us training with tin cans on our heads! They weren't allowed to fall
off, otherwise there was trouble. Later, this progressed to Headphones to
use in the pool whilst we were in training, so we could always hear him
shouting at us, just in case we couldn't hear him from the edge of the pool
side.
Mike inspired myself and my family in
many ways, he was always so committed to his coaching.
Myself and my wife have some very fond
memories of Mike, he used to tell stories of when he was young and
starting out, and sometimes we were unsure whether he was joking or this story
was real. And, those jokes, whilst life guarding on shallow end of Barton
Pool, Mike coached the training lane, every lunchtime and evening, and
always had a joke to tell. He always shared his knowledge with us
all, and he had such great respect from all that knew him.
We will all miss Mike so much;
he has had a big impact on our lives and how we developed as people, and was a
great role model and inspiration.
Keith, Sarah, Lily-Jai and all the
Henderson family
In the coming weeks and months it will
be impossible to swim at GL1 without feeling a strong sense of Mike's
presence. He gave so much to the club and in particular to his
swimmers. A larger than life character whose forceful personality always
got the best out of everyone. His methods were unique; who cannot
forget towing large plastic bottles on long rubber leashes for length after
length! It is the stuff of legend! But his results were outstanding
and the club is a fitting memorial to his life's work.
On a personal note I would like to
remember and thank Mike for all the happy times spent with him. Training
was never dull, Lanzarote was, well Lanzarote! He was a great motivator
and was always a source of real inspiration. I will miss him enormously.
Bless you Mike, a wonderful coach but above all a warm and loving person.
Dave Langley.
I first came into contact with Mike
nearly forty years ago, he was coaching the water polo team at the time, as
well as training juniors and intermediate swimmers. What was remarkable about
him was his sheer enthusiasm for swimming in all its many guises. That
enthusiasm was just as strong when he was 76 years old. (God Bless Him). Mike
loved socialising, enjoyed a drink and good conversation. He could and did lose
his temper, and many a swimmer felt the lash of his tongue. I hasten to add
that the chastisement was always deserved. The next day all was forgotten, he
never held a grudge. Mike was one of the old school who believed that
Loyalty, Respect, Responsibility and Duty were part of ones daily
life, and that's how he lived his. A far cry I fear from what younger people
these days stand for. In 1985 Mike started to teach me to swim properly he
succeeded apart from the backstroke where I still use the old double arm
stroke. I only wish that I could have swum faster just to repay him for all the
hours he gave to me.
Mike was also an innovator, he kept up
to date with all the new and varied training ideas, and boy did he have some
ideas?? I could talk to you about Mike for hours, but let me finish by saying
this. Mike you were a lovely, lovely man, you were unique, a one off,
totally irreplaceable. You are at peace now my dear friend and you will never
be forgotten by all the Turk family. R.I.P>
BOB, ROZ, HEIDI & MITZI.
What an inspiration Mike was to us swimmers. Just
when you felt like throwing the towel in (preferably in the deep end) he would
give you those few words of encouragement that made it all worthwhile (some of
which I seem to remember being a bit naughty!) He made everyone welcome, even
us Bristol Tarts, a cheery 'get on with it then' would greet us and off we
would go.
Lanzarote was special, especially when he turned out this year dressed as the
'Hof' dare I say cutting a far more handsome figure than the original. Thanks
Mike for being a great coach and best of all being such a great chap. I will
miss you immensely.
Kay Arkinstall
When I joined Gloucester Masters in 1991 I only wanted to plod
along to keep fit – but gradually moved up the lanes towards Mike’s
“stars”. I never became a star but Mike encouraged me to start entering
Masters events and thanks to his constant presence (and sometimes highly vocal
motivation) I am still doing PBs as I rush headlong towards the old git age groups.
“Lazy, idle good for nothing waste of space” “Why do I bother?”
“You do what you want – I wash my hands of you”.... many of us have been on the
receiving end of such comments but we knew that next session he would probably
love us again.
A great recent memory of mine is Mike dressed up as “The Hoff”
with his entourage of “Bay Watch Babes 30 years on” walking down the corridors
at Club La Santa en route to the Green Bar – shouting “Don’t worry I’ll save
ya!” and waving his stick ay unsuspecting passers by.
Mike was, is and always will be the heart and soul of Gloucester
Masters Swimming Club.
Penny Hickson
What can I say
............ such very sad news.
I
first met Mike back in the early 1980's, when I started swimming for
CSWPC. What great memories I have of him. Right from the start, he
took me under his wing, giving me lifts to training in his beloved sports
car. The many training sessions followed by a run around Pittville
Park and aerobics outside St Edwards pool! When he left CSWPC, he made
sure I carried on swimming by asking me to join Gloucester City Swimming
Club, for which I will always be grateful. I then joined Gloucester
Masters in the 1990's, and when he saw me, he had a big smile on his
face and welcomed me with a big hug!
A true gentleman.
Becky Harker (nee
Smart)
Hi Glos Masters
I was so very sad to read on the GM
website of Mike’s passing. I am sitting here at my office desk in Sydney with
tears rolling down my face. What a loss to the club! Mike was so committed,
even when his health was not great he was there taking training, or coming with
us to Lanzarote against Helen’s best wishes!! I can just picture him in my mind
saying “ Alright my lover” when I walked on the poolside - and usually
with a smile too although he could be a right grumpy bugger if he thought we
weren’t training hard enough!! End of an era really. I wish I could be there to
pay my respects – I expect the GM swimmers will be raising a glass or two to
Mike in the near future.
Isla
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Mike … you always knew we could do
better and often told us so in your blunt and (realising, once we’d got to know
you) slightly humorous way. And of course you were right, we could do
better, and did do better … because of you. I hope we did you proud
and continue to do so. You were, as ever, dedicated to the finish.
I
trust your final swim is to somewhere peaceful … and those from the swimming
fraternity already there - lounging around the water’s edge no doubt - fully
appreciate your arrival when you interrupt the calm shouting “come on you lazy
buggers you’re not working hard enough … you’re supposed to be doing LA5’s, now
let’s start working shall we!”.
Richard
Searle
Like everyone, I had the
greatest respect for Mike and will miss him terribly. I credit him for renewing
my interest in swimming 20 yrs ago and encouraging me to take it a bit more
seriously and have enjoyed the fitness and social benefits ever since. He had
great qualities of instilling determination with his firm decisive coaching and
he enjoyed the successes of his swimmers. I also liked his quirks that he
inflicted on us from time to time – e.g. famously the “towing of the bottles”,
& more recently the ill-fated electronic bleep box.
The Club he inspired will
of course carry on but the man himself is irreplaceable.
What a great chap he was.
Nick McDowall