Waking up at 04:55 isn’t every teenager’s ideal morning routine but, for freestyle swimmer Sam Sterry, maximising his time in the pool before and after school is essential for achieving podium success for Team Jersey and further afield.
Jersey Sport last month announced that a total of £103,500 has been allocated to allow the athletes – who compete in 11 different sports – to access professional development workshops on the Performance Sport Programme.
One of the athletes set to benefit from the scheme is 17-year-old swimmer Sam Sterry who has swam with Tigers Swimming Club since 2015, and already been named British age-group champion across multiple events.
Ahead of his appearance for Jersey at the Orkney Island Games this summer, Express sat down with the Hautlieu student to chat about his sporting ambitions, and how the new funding programme will help him to achieve them…
Can you tell us about your sporting journey so far?
Like my most kids, I started swimming because my parents wanted me to be safe in water and to be able to access and enjoy other water activities and sports.
As a young child I had a go at lots of sports – gym ,rugby ,tri, hockey, running etc – but swimming always stood out to me.
Right from the beginning, I loved the feel and freedom of being in water, and trying to move in and trough it.
When I completed the Tigers’ ‘Learn to Swim’ programme, I moved into a squad to train to compete and, for many years, enjoyed on-island competitions and training.
When I was 14, I had the opportunity to compete at a national level and that was the point I wanted to commit to see how far I could go in the sport.
By this point, I was training in the pool about 14 hours a week.
The following year, I was selected to swim with Team Jersey at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad, and I also became British age group champion across three events: 1500m free, 800m free and 400m free.
In 2024, I retained these titles and medalled in three additional events. This led to my selection for the Swim England National Performance squad and selections to swim for both Team GB and Swim England in international meets in Europe, including the Luxembourg Euro meet in January.
Did you expect to get this far in your sport?
I initially started swimming for fun, but about three years ago, my ambition to compete and push myself as a swimmer really kicked in.
The sport requires a lot of commitment, with intense training including four early morning and after-school pool sessions each week, but I’m fortunate that both the training and competition still feel like “fun”.
I love doing strength and conditioning work with Nick and Lauren at the Strive Academy, and they have been great at helping me understand when and how to train hard, and better understand the importance of rest.
As you progress in swimming, new opportunities open up, whether through qualifying for squads or competing at higher-level events, which has naturally fuelled my ambition as my performance has improved over the years.
What do you love about your sport?
Firstly, the friendships. Spending so much time together in training and competition, especially when traveling for UK or international meets, has created strong bonds.
Many of my closest friends are teammates who have shared the hard work, the highs, and the lows with me.
Secondly, the opportunities to travel through swimming have been incredible. Sheffield is a regular destination, but I’ve also competed in places like Mallorca, Trinidad, Rotterdam, and Luxembourg.
I love experiencing new places, meeting new people, and I’m grateful for these experiences.
I also appreciate that in swimming, consistent, intentional, and high-quality training usually pays off in competition.
While I can’t always control whether I win or lose, I can control my approach to a race; my effort, race plan, and mindset.
Finally, I feel incredibly fortunate to have top-quality coaches like Nath Jegou and Sian Silvester at Tigers.
Waking up at 04:55 multiple times a week is much easier knowing we have coaches we respect, trust, and genuinely enjoy training with.
How do you feel about being chosen to benefit from the Performance Sport Programme?
It’s great to be selected for the programme amongst a highly committed group of performance athletes.
The financial support is invaluable, as the costs of competing nationally and internationally are high.
It is also a real benefit to be able to receive additional advice and support with aspects of training; I’m particularly looking forward to working with Kit on nutrition over the next few weeks.
How will the programme assist your sporting progress?
The performance programme will allow me to attend competitions and training opportunities off-island that I would otherwise have had to opt out of.
The additional holistic support will also help me develop my approach to maximise the likelihood of me meeting my potential, and performing at the highest level possible as a senior athlete.
What is your sporting dream?
My swimming dreams or goals are broken down into categories.
This season, I would like to secure selection to swim at the European Juniors meet with Team GB and medal for Jersey at the Island Games in Orkney.
Next season, I would love to be selected to swim for Team Jersey in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games and to secure a swim scholarship for university
And looking to 2027 and beyond, I aim to regularly position myself to gain selection as a senior for major competitions as part of Team GB
Anything you’d like to add?
I’m thankful to Jersey Sport for assisting me move towards my aspirations as a performance swimmer.
I’d also like to thank all of the team involved at Tigers for showing me what is possible in a pool, and creating an environment to thrive in.
Finally, thanks to my family, I’m fortunate to swim in the same squad as my brother and sister, and appreciate this is pretty cool.
My parents have been, and continue to be, a massive support on many levels helping me see, believe and take opportunities to see just how far I can go with swimming.