Swimming Gunnedah will look to be inspired by their fastest swimmer, Andre Steele, when the NSW Country Championships begin in Sydney on Friday.
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Buoyed by healthy membership numbers, Swimming Gunnedah's 11-strong squad was the largest sent to the championships in many years, said head coach John Hickey.
He said the club would "really like" to see 16-year-old Steele "up there with the best in his age group in the sprints" - especially the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly.
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"If he leads, the rest of them tend to follow," the veteran mentor added.
Hickey said the "big thing" for him was the self-motivation of his squad.
"These kids are working hard themselves," he said. "So as much as I coach them, there's a determination now in the squad to swim fast.
"The kids at the top of the tree, in other words, Andre in particular - the style in which they carry themselves really leads the squad."
Steele will compete in six events at the three-day championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, including the 100m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, the 50m backstroke and the 100m backstroke.
Jedd Rennick, 14, was another swimmer who was "stepping up", Hickey said.
Rennick will compete in the 50m freestyle and the 100m freestyle.
Hickey said the teen had previously qualified for the championships, "but this was the first time he's taken up the challenge to swim at country".
"So, it's a big step," he said. "And what it does is give all the other kids the incentive, and also the confidence, to go and race at a higher level.
"And that's what life's about - it's about taking these bigger challenges.
"And it's great that my squad, as a whole now, are chasing bigger challenges, they're breaking club and pool records, and almost every meet we go to now, at least someone in the club is breaking a record somewhere."
Hickey said "it was an exciting time" for the club - "and our kids are in good shape and ready to go" in Sydney.
Swimming Gunnedah sending an 11-member squad to the championships highlighted the club's vibrancy, Hickey also said, adding: "We're up to 70 kids now in our squad, and it's growing.
"We train hard and we've got good parents involved ... we've developed a good rapport with the council staff at the pool."
The Country Championships squad includes Zach Akinyemi, Lachlan Davey, Felicity Gough, Audrey Hannaford, Danika Jones, Baxter Knapman, Amelia Lush, Jacob Smith and Tahlia Smi.
