David hopes Batley supports Olympic dream
DARREN Mew is one of Great Britain's brightest hopes to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Athens.
Ranked world No1 in the men's 100m breaststroke, Mew has been tipped to be crowned Olympic champion and if he does strike gold he will owe a great deal to his coach, former Batley man David Lyles.
A former Batley Grammar School pupil, David, who used to live on Timothy Lane Upper Batley, is in Athens as part of the Great Britain swimming coaching team.
His swimming career began at Morley Leisure Centre in the E-Group classes before representing the City of Leeds and Great Britain Juniors. He is currently head swimming coach at Bath University and the pick of several highly rated swimmers who he coaches is Mew.
While living in Batley, David was often given permission to leave the Grammar School early to train at City of Leeds.
David's dedication saw him win several Yorkshire and North of England titles and he also represented Great Britain juniors.
The then head of Batley Grammar School, Mr Fallows, even allowed David to sit his O Level maths exam at 6.30am to allow him to join the England Juniors for a competition in Italy.
David's dad, Geoff Lyles, still lives in Batley and his dedication in the early part of his son's career played a major part.
Geoff explained: "It was fine in the beginning, travelling to Morley for one-hour sessions three times a week, but when David got in at Leeds things changed.
"I had to be up at five o'clock, five mornings a week to take him to training and then return six nights a week. Little did I think then that it would lead to this but all the hard work has definitely paid off."
David remained a member of Morley Swimming Club in the early party of his City of Leeds career and often faced Dewsbury Dolphins in competitions and galas.
Geoff was a keen table tennis player in the district and played cricket for Staincliffe, Thornhill, Batley and the former Dewsbury CC, but often sacrificed his own sporting career for that of his son.
It was while David was taking a degree at Carnegie College in Leeds he took up coaching and after finishing his further education, moved down south.
David, 36, moved to Bath eight years ago and has been a swimming coach at the university since 1998.
David said: "I left Batley in 1989 and I've lived down here ever since. Unfortunately, with my coaching commitments, I don't get back to Batley as much I would like.
After attending a training camp in Athens David along with the rest of the GB swimming party made final preparations in Cyprus before transferring to Athens on Wednesday.
David added: "Darren has a good chance of winning a medal and I hope the people of Batley will get behind him, knowing a Batley lad has coached him."
Darren's 100 metres breaststroke heat is on Saturday, the first day of competition, and if he qualifies the final will on Sunday.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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