Elijah Gatica

Primary Squads: High Performance, Youth Performance

Qualification: Swimming Australia accredited coach

Eli is a former national-level swimmer who started coaching in 2017. He has worked across all levels of swimming, from learn-to-swim to high performance, guiding multiple swimmers to state, national age, and national open medals and finalist spots, as well as Victorian, New South Wales, Canberra, and Queensland state records and titles.

Eli was head coach of Ginninderra Swimming Club and played an integral role in rebuilding the program to over 250 swimmers 12 months after the COVID-19 pandemic. Eli has worked closely with Australian Team representatives at ACT High-Performance Hub and St Andrews Swimming Club on the Sunshine Coast. At St Andrews, he worked in a National Development role and also as an assistant to the High-Performance Squad coach, working closely with Australian Team members.

Eli believes a coach plays a significant role in instilling values and a strong work ethic in athletes. He believes every athlete’s unique personality should be fostered and creates a fun, positive, and supportive environment for long-term success in and out of the pool.

Eli sees challenges as opportunities and wants to support every athlete to realise their potential at Surrey Park. As head coach, Eli is committed to creating a pathway for Surrey Park swimmers into the 2032 Olympics. 

Key achievements

• Developed Australian trials finalists, developed Australian National Open Medallists, developed 30+ Australian Age Medallists, developed 5 National Age Champions 
• Coached swimmers to Australian Age, Victorian, New South Wales, ACT Records
• Involvement across Swimming Victoria, Swimming NSW, Swimming QLD, Swimming ACT pathways programs