After Gord Schields, head coach of Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins, retired earlier this year, in May the board appointed Strasser Sankar as the new head coach.
Sankar was born and raised in the Caribbean and was on the national team of Trinidad and Tobago from 2006-2018. He has also been the assistant coach for Petrotrin Barracudas Swim Club from 2006-2011, and from 2011-2016 maintained the position of head coach there.
The 33-years-old said he really enjoyed the challenges of swimming and the opportunities he has received over the years. Being part of a sport and representing a national team opened many doors of opportunity for him, allowing him to start coaching and studying abroad.
He studied two years at the University of Trinidad and Tobago on an athletic scholarship and received an Undergraduate Certificate in Sports and Studies. In 2016, Sankar went to the United States for further education at the University of Wisconsin where he completed his Bachelor degree in Physical education and exercise science.
Following, he received two scholarships from UK’s Nottingham Trent University — an athletic scholarship for swimming and an academic scholarship for postgraduate study completed master degree in Sports Science and exercise physiology. In addition, he is a certified Level 5 coach, accredited for the USA and Senior Coach- 301 Trained from Canada.
In 2019, he moved to Canada, looking for better opportunities and resided in Vancouver where he applied his skill in coaching with a couple different clubs there.
In May 2022, Sankar moved to Moose Jaw with his family to join the Kinsmen Flying Fins.
He said that Moose Jaw is a smaller city, making it easier to maintain a balanced life where he has time for his family, as well as his career.
“For the first time in well over 10 years, I do feel like I'm at home,” Sankar told the Moose Jaw Express in a phone interview, sharing his detailed journey from the Caribbean to Moose Jaw. “Moose Jaw is my home [now] and I have no intention of leaving.”
Sankar expressed his respect for the expertise shown by outgoing head coach Schields, after working under him for a brief time before Schields retired.
“I must say, when I showed up here, I thought it was going to be a small team and there was going to be a lot that needed to be done. But, I was pleasantly surprised that within Moose Jaw, there’s a lot of talent (and also) within the club.”
Sankar believes Moose Jaw’s swimming club is one of the top clubs within the province. Registrations have gone up 25% and he says he is excited to start the new season in September.
“I would say, just based on the amount of talent and the interest that we have in swimming, I can’t see why this club, the Flying Fins, cannot be the top club in the province,” he said. “We are not limited by the number of kids because there is a huge interest in swimming within the community.”
Board member Rick Johns said, “We’re very fortunate that he is looking for a long term home and we are looking for a long term coach. I guess all the stars lined up, and I think we entered into a very mutually beneficial relationship with the coach in the swim club. We are looking very forward to seeing the success he can bring to our club going forward. ”
The Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins club
The Flying Fins run two swimming programs — a developmental program and a competitive program. Both clubs are doing very well at this time.
Coach Strasser Sankar said two competitors from this club competed and represented their team Saskatchewan very well at the Canada Games.
Although the Flying Fins swimming talent excels in the competitive program, many kids did not qualify due to just being off the qualifying time by seconds. The developmental program sets the swimmers on a good path to success, preparing them developmentally to become good swimmers so they can advance into the competitive realm.
The Flying Fins offers a great staff of coaches and a system where the senior competitive swimmers coach the younger developmental swimmers.
“We are a club that allows the two groups to works together, rather than functioning independent of each other," said Sankar.
“It helps all the kids to appreciate the process of learning the fundamentals from the beginning…and reminds them about that the fundamentals are important even at a high level of swimming.”
In the past, the club says they take a lot of pride in going after awards at the competitive level, like the Man/Sask Championships.
“We’ve taken a lot of pride in earning the title of top small club," he continued. “Swimming is a sport that helps to build character and that’s not something I think parents should overlook."
Sankar expressed that sport development is the foundation that builds character and helps in general conditioning, muscular development and aerobic conditioning. These foundational principles are useful in any sport.
“My goal is to make this club the best club that it possibly can be and see what kind of talent we can bring out in these swimmers. We want to take them to the highest level of swimming they can go.”
Sankar advises young kids to keep dreaming of becoming an athlete or a great swimmer.
“You must work hard,” he said, “understand your responsibilities and goals you set for yourself; you can’t be a great athlete or swimmer without working hard and taking responsibilities.
“Sport is very competitive and not easy.”
To register for a swimming program with the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins or for more information visit the team's home page, Facebook page, call Strasser Sankar at 306-556-0151 or email [email protected].
