MICHAEL JAMIESON admits that when he first dipped his toe into the coaching waters, he wasn’t sure it would be for him.

But six months after launching the Michael Jamieson Swim Academy, the 29-year-old admits that he is loving his new pursuit. And his academy, which is based in London, is already a resounding success, so much so that it is already expanding.

Initially, the Olympic silver medallist’s academy was a squad of a dozen-or-so young London-based swimmers, all of whom were elite-level or aspired to reach that standard.

But today, Jamieson will launch the latest leg of his academy - a ‘Learn to Swim’ programme in his home city of Glasgow. The aim is two-fold; to encourage more people, young and old, into the water, and to give young athletes an avenue to pursue the sport seriously. And while Learn to Swim programmes already exist, Jamieson believes there is considerable scope for improvement and that is, says the Glaswegian, vital for the city.

“There’s loads of ‘Learn to Swim’ providers already but I looked at it and I felt like we could create a better pathway to take swimmers up to pre-club level and then as we expand and grow, we can establish really meaningful links with the clubs,” he said, ahead of today’s launch at St Roch’s Secondary School in Royston.

“Glasgow hasn’t had many top-class swimmers come through the system from a youth level in a long, long time. Other than myself and Ross Murdoch, there’s not been many Glaswegians come through the ranks so, for me, this is about trying to improve the number of people in the water – kids and adults - but also creating that pathway.”

Jamieson has made the transition into coaching seamlessly and he admits that he is relishing his new career. The former breaststroker has spent much of the year since his retirement talking about the mental health of elite athletes and his own struggle with depression throughout his career. There is, he suggests, a huge benefit to elite athletes having more to their lives than solely training and competing and he has carried this theory into his coaching.

He strives to develop well-rounded individuals as that will, in turn, produce better athletes. But he is also enjoying immersing himself in the minutiae of coaching. “The coaching has been great and I’m really enjoying working with the athletes so closely, especially on the technical side of things,” he said.

“One thing I’ve always really enjoyed is the analysis of the sport and this has given me a good chance to really get my teeth into it and treat each of our swimmers here like a little project if you like.

“Coaching forces you to do the routines that you know are the best for the whole group and you’ve got to be 100 percent focused on what’s best for the athletes.”

Jamieson may have had a laser-focus purely on swimming when he was an athlete but in his retirement, he has a number of projects on the go. As well as his Swim Academy, he was recently revealed as an ambassador for the prestigious organization Laureus, joining the likes of Pep Guardiola, Frankie Fredericks and Nico Rosberg. The variation is, says Jamieson, a joy. “Things have been super-busy but I’m really enjoying having a few different projects on the go at once,” he said

“That’s been good - it means that every day is different and I’m really enjoying everything that’s going on. It’s a busy period – I’ve got about 12 flights in the next four or five weeks – but I’m just trying to embrace that and I’m really grateful that all the opportunities I’ve got are so exciting.”

The Commonwealth Games are now just two weeks away and this is the first major championship in a decade that Jamieson has not been aiming to qualify for. Letting go of elite sport is not always easy and it is something that the Glaswegian has admitted struggling with in the past.

But he has now found closure on his competitive career and is comfortable with the fact that he will not be heading to Gold Coast with the aim of picking up some silverware. “The timing of everything that’s happening has been good because I’ve not really had time to think about that fact that I’m not competing,” he admitted.

“I still keep up with the results and I don’t think that part of me will ever die off. I still feel like an athlete and I still try to treat myself like an athlete but I guess the areas you focus on change a little bit. But your attitude and routines remain pretty professional. I feel like I’ve definitely moved on and I’m enjoying being on the other side and supporting the team now.”

Looking to the future, Jamieson has plans to expand his academy further and continue to use his experience to help the next generation of athletes. And despite experiencing some tough times throughout his swimming career, he is hugely appreciative of how much the sport did for him and he is certain that he wants to use his efforts to repay that in any way he can.

“The goal with the academy is to be happy with the product and the whole point is to create something that we believe is better than what’s out there at the moment,” he said. “I had the support of so many people throughout my career and I want to use that and give something back. I want to expand throughout Glasgow and there’s a really good opportunity to do that.”