Meet The Team

Jon Chappell

Instructor

With SwimWay since March 2025

Hi, I’m Jon!

I have been swimming all my life; I learnt to swim around age 3 thanks to Aireborough Swimming Club and later competed for them and for City of Leeds throughout my teenage years. I was also the swim captain whilst in secondary school, before moving to competitive lifesaving and open water swimming.

I began coaching as a lane assistant with ASC at the age of 14, and through them completed my ASA L1 Coaching award in 2009. I volunteered as a youth coach for swimming whilst completing my DofE and Queen’s (now King’s) Scout award. This led to employment, and the beginning of my passion for coaching swimming.

I used ASA(SE) framework to coach and teach for a few years in Leeds before moving to the French Riviera to work as an assistant and later manager of a luxury Aquatic complex. There I set up my own after-hours swimming school (Le P’tit Nageur), coaching both children and adults. To do this in France I required a BEESAN qualification and permission from the local mayor, enabling me to coach aqua gym, synchro, water polo as well as standard teaching/coaching.

In 2015 I moved back to Leeds and completed my ASA L2 teaching qualification, as well as RLSS Rookie Lifesavers instructor in order to work in the local area whilst studying a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Management and Renewable Technology, from which I have now graduated.

I moved to London in December 2019 and began working privately, allowing me to experiment with different frameworks, and apply coaching techniques I learnt in France, as well as the knowledge in physics, biomechanics and fluid dynamics I have gained from my degree to teaching swimming. This is now reflected in my coaching style, and over the years I have found these ideas drastically change a swimmer’s understanding of water, and how we move through it.

Building knowledge, lifesaving skills and technique over shorter distances before working on stamina and speed allows people of all ages to learn comfortably, safely and have fun while still allowing them room to push themselves and develop quickly, This is the main reason I am excited to teach with SwimWay, as I believe their framework and methodology reflects this – it provides a solid foundation in all strokes and ultimately develops strong and competent swimmers that enjoy the sport. I am always looking for new ideas and methods in order to develop my own understanding and improve the lessons I deliver.

Aside from swimming, I enjoy board sports (wake/snow/surf/skate), travelling, hiking, reading, playing guitar and singing (terribly), and also play rugby for the Old Wandsworthians every now and then!