No let up for Plymouth diving guru Andy Banks as show goes on
ANDY BANKS gave himself little time to recharge his batteries and even less to reflect upon his Olympic success before diving into the backlog of paperwork in his office at the city's Life Centre.
Last weekend, Plymouth and Great Britain coach Banks was poolside as the BBC's sixth-highest Olympic TV viewing audience watched city diving phenomenon Tom Daley win a bronze medal.
Daley, despite his youth, defers to few men, but it was to Banks the 18-year-old turned when he called for a re-dive in round one of the final.
The flashbulbs – a no-no when divers are about to compete – had blazed into life just as Daley opened his six-round routine, putting off the Plymothian.
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Banks was at Daley's side – while millions of viewers held their breath – as he has been since Daley first showed better than average ability when no crowds were present to watch him perform.
The 48-year-old Londoner had a vision for Plymouth Diving, even in the 'Stalinist, Soviet-style' facilities Banks and co worked at in the late – and largely unlamented – Central Park Swimming Pool facility.
He still has the same drive and the same admin chores to make sure any loose ends are well-and-truly tied tightly with the vexed subject of funding looming large on the horizon.
"It (paper work) all has to be done, I'm afraid. There's no time off for the coaching staff at the moment," Banks told Herald Sport.
"The guys (divers Daley, Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow) are all taking a break after the Olympics and deservedly.
"Helping and watching Tom reach two finals in London and winning a medal was highly satisfying, although I can't say I was that conscious of the cameras being on us talking to the officials over his first dive.
"Really, Tom's success is the coming together of a long-term plan we've had at Plymouth for the best part of a decade.
"Now we've got the Life Centre, which is, I think, the best facility for divers and swimmers in the country, bar none.
"So much so that we're going to get exciting and talented young divers from outside the city to come down and join Plymouth Diving.
"That's a big compliment to us but we don't take anything for granted.
"It's hard work making sure you've got funding in place, which is key."
Daley, Couch and Barrow have all confirmed their intention to compete at the next Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
Does Banks fancy a lap of honour in Brazil, given he has coached Daley to World, Commonwealth and two European titles in the past five years?
Synchro combination Couch and Barrow won the European title back in May before scoring their highest competitive points haul and fifth place in the same discipline's final in London.
Banks said: "That's a way off yet and we'll have a few championships in between.
"But it's good to plan in advance, isn't it?"
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