Former University of Kentucky swimmer Isaac Jones switches attention to teaching

But now it's for enjoyment rather than striving to knock a second here and there off a personal-best time.

Jones, now 24 and embarking on his first year as a high school teacher, is re-establishing himself in Warrnambool after a five-year stint in the American college system.

The self-confessed "swim nerd" found himself at a crossroads in mid-2018.

He had been offered a scholarship extension at the University of Kentucky - a National Collegiate Athletic Association division one college - to complete his teaching rounds and earn his degree.

Jones decided he couldn't commit fully to swimming which altered his path.

"When I finished those four years I still could've done teaching rounds and swimming (for a club) but I would've had to skip some training or come in halfway through training," he told The Standard.

RELATED:

"I decided to fully dive in and give 100 per cent to teaching and get that done. The door is always still open to get back in the pool.

"It's the lifestyle, I tried to take a break from it and do other things but it made me miss it more. I don't have the desire to be like it used to be, 10 times a week in the pool, just a nice balance."

Jones was a standout performer as a junior swimmer, winning countless medals over a distinguished career in Australia, including a 4x200m freestyle relay silver medal at the FINA World Junior Championships. But as he grew up he found teaching swimmers - he helps at Splash Factory and Aquazone now - gave him just as much satisfaction.

He coached a junior swim team during his final year in America.

"At the end of the four years I was a bit burnt out and I told myself I would take a few months' break but when I started my teaching rounds and coaching a team, I fell in love with that a bit," Jones reflected.

"I was happy to do that. I like helping others and making others feel better. The team was getting off the ground and being successful so I was really devoted to that."

Jones decided a career in the classroom was his preferred option.

The next question he had to answer was 'where?'.

He applied successfully for a teaching gig in the US but, after five years away, the pull of home finally caught up with him.

Jones moved back to Australia in July last year and started his job as a maths teacher at Emmanuel College - the school he once attended - last week.

Jones admits there are times he contemplates the 'what ifs?'.

Had he remained in Australia rather than take the US college path, would his Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games ambitions come to fruition?

But he is comforted knowing he gained invaluable life experiences and a college degree without the financial burden.

"Sometimes I do question if I did make the right decision. Obviously I could've stayed here and 'what if, what if, what if?," Jones said.

"But I am set-up for life now. Over there the depth is so strong. In Australia, you have one bad day at countries and maybe I still win or maybe I get second.

"You have a bad day over there, you go from being second to not even making the final and finishing 20th."

Jones said moving away at a young age "made me who I wanted to be".

"Living in Warrnambool, small town, I had mum and dad, and they cooked your meals, did your laundry, drove you everywhere until you were 18," he said.

"I didn't realise how much I took them for granted or how much they did for me or how convenient it was for me to have the pool five minutes from where you live.

"Moving across the world, being exposed to different cultures, different people, a different country, it kind of hits you in the face and you're like 'wow'."

Jones is proud of his career-best times in his pet events - 1.58 in 200m butterfly and 3.52 in 400m freestyle - while he "broke 14 minutes in the mile which is kind of a big deal".

"I definitely got better as a swimmer even though I didn't do as good at the (Australian) nationals I went to," he said of his progression at the University of Kentucky.

"Without making excuses, coming back across the world two days before a meet, you're jet-lagged.

"It took me a few years to work that out and each time I got back I got better."

Jones' schedule with the 50-strong Kentucky swim team was hectic.

"School started in August there, you'd get there, do pre-season and in October the season ramps up," he said.

"You'd do an in-house camp, so we'd only get four days' break over Christmas and January through to March you're competing every weekend."

Injury marred senior day - a special occasion to honour student athletes - for Jones.

In his last race he touched the wall and broke his hand.

That was in January 2018.

He qualified for the NCAA championships prior to his break, was in a cast for six weeks, missed the conference swim meet and returned to the pool a week before the nationals, where he placed 17^th and 23^rd.

"That was super frustrating," he said of the broken hand.

"2017-18 I was doing really well, I hit my stride in training and had the best times I'd ever done.

"A little bit of regret would be breaking my hand because I would've come back and done Commonwealth Games' trials."

Joining Kentucky's 30,000-student strong university meant embracing its sporting programs.

For Jones, being a Wildcat was one the rewarding parts of his swimming career in the states.

"When I got there our team was at the bottom of our (SEC) conference and we worked our way up into the middle by my last year," he said.

"You're swimming with people beside you and you want the person beside you to do good whereas in Australia it's 'I don't want them to do good because I want that spot'.

"Over there they definitely turn swimming into a team sport and it's probably why they do so good at the Olympics. Their retention rate across all Olympic sports between the age of 18 and 22 (is great)."

Jones, who is recovering from knee surgery, remains a student of the sport and pays close attention to trends.

"I think that notion of swimmers developing young comes from old training methods," he said.

"Before the 2000s, the kilometres were so much, it was just over and over, and people just broke down.

"I think coaches and teams are training smarter now. You look at the Olympics and over the last five the average gold medals for age, men and women, is getting older."

Jones, whose parents Paul and Clare and brothers Andrew and Michael all live in Warrnambool, also recognises his best memories aren't of victories, that it was the journey which was more important.

"The things I do remember are the people I met, the things I learned, the funny things that happened or 'did we mess up, did we get in trouble, did we do good?'," he recalled.

"I can't really remember the races themselves. There's a handful that stick out and I've kept a few medals that mean something."

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.