About GoggleSquad
From competing to teaching…the brief story of GoggleSquad…
GoggleSquad was founded by former England and Great Britain synchronised swimmer Nicola Ayers.
Nic’s background is key to her success as a swimming coach and leader. Having trained and competed at the highest level, she has a thorough understanding of how the body moves and performs in the water.
GoggleSquad’s goal is to produce confident swimmers by offering top quality swimming lessons in calm and welcoming environments.
Nicola’s essential priorities guide every decision at GoggleSquad, from hiring and training instructors to lesson planning and selecting new venues. Like all the best teachers, Nic is always learning and the GoggleSquad swim programme reflects that, harnessing a variety of proven methods and resources to provide the best possible lessons for all learners.
Nicola’s swim teaching qualifications and affiliations
Swim England SEQ L.1 Swimming Teaching
Swim England SEQ L.2 Swimming Teaching
Swim England SEQ L.2 Teaching Babies and Toddlers
Swimming Teachers Association Baby and Preschool Diploma up-skill
Swimming Teachers Association Baby and Preschool Submersion up-skill
Aqua Sensory Member
Aqua Sensory Foundation Course
Swim England Front crawl and Backstroke
Swim England Improving Breaststroke
Swim England Improving Butterfly
Swim England Adult Swimming
Swim England Pupil-centred learning
Swim England Effective sculling techniques and development of the four strokes
Swim England Fun approach to learning to swim
Swim England Front crawl faults and corrections
Swim England Breaststroke faults and corrections
Meet the team
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Nicola Ayers
GoggleSquad founder Nic is an ASA Level 2 instructor and has taught swimming for 15 years. She competed for England and Great Britain in synchronised swimming and founded GoggleSquad in 2020. Nicola teaches at East Molesey, Walton-on-Thames, Claygate, Cobham Notre Dame and Cobham Feltonfleet.
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Adam Messeder
Adam has been a Level 2 swimming instructor for over 15 years and is qualified to ASA Assistant Club Coach level. Alongside swim teaching, Adam works as a firefighter for West Sussex Fire and Rescue and has worked in the fire service for over 13 years. Adam teaches at our Cobham Notre Dame and Feltonfleet venues.
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Sophie Cowan
Sophie has been a Level 2 swimming instructor for over 14 years and teaches children and adults at our Notre Dame venue. As well as teaching, Sophie is also a qualified water fitness instructor and has her national rescue award for swimming teachers and coaches.
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Suzan Laverick
Suzan has over 10 years’ experience teaching children to swim and joins GoggleSquad after a decade at Water Babies, the respected swim school dedicated to baby swimming, where she was a senior swimming teacher. Suzan teaches at our Walton-on-Thames, Claygate and Cobham Feltonfleet venues.
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Taya Harvey
Taya started her lifelong aquatic adventure as a very junior member of the respected Kingston Royals swim club. Little did she know that this early start would lay the foundation for a remarkable journey in the world of swimming. Taya teaches at Cobham Notre Dame and Feltonfleet Schools.
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Sarah Warren-Smith
Sarah Warren-Smith is a Level 2 swimming instructor and preschool teacher with many years’ teaching experience; she’s also a British Gymnastics high performance coach and teaches children at our East Molesey venue.
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Miguel Armstrong
Competitive swimmer and Level 2 instructor Miguel has taught children and adults how to swim for more than nine years. A competitive water polo player and surfer, he teaches at Feltonfleet on Sundays.
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Alex Armstrong
Alex is a seasoned Level 2 swimming instructor with eight years’ experience teaching learners of all ages. He is also an accomplished competitive swimmer who has made a significant mark in the world of swimming.
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Rachel Weaver
A seasoned Level 2 instructor with 17 years’ experience, Rachel has taught a diverse range of learners, from newborns and toddlers to the advanced stages of the Swim England Framework.
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Tanya Van Straaten
Tanya is a Level 2 swimming instructor with a specialist qualification for teaching parent and child classes. She has been teaching swimming for more than eight years and instructs babies and toddlers at our Claygate venue.