Leigh Nugent runs sessions at Albury Swim Club

That's precisely the case for Albury swimmers Sienna Toohey and Isabelle Rae.

Ex-Australian Dolphins coach Leigh Nugent graced Albury Swim Club (ASC) last Thursday, after spotting something special in the two breaststroke prodigies at the NSW State Championships held earlier this month.

However, through a slight faux pas, it almost didn't happen.

"I got a phone call out of the blue, (Nugent) was coming through from Melbourne...and all he wanted to do was have a bit of a chat to me about the girls, but I talked him into doing a bit of a presentation in front of all the kids and parents," ASC's Wayne Gould said.

"I thought it was a bit of a practical joke when he rang - he left a message and I thought 'some bloke is having a crack at me here'.

"To be honest, I got that excited I got my times mixed up. I thought he said five o'clock in the morning but he meant five o'clock in the afternoon.

"So I had all my gold squad at five o'clock in the morning and he didn't turn up.

"We changed it and everyone got there in the afternoon - he was terrific, we thought we'd only have about 15 or 20 minutes with him but he ended up staying for a couple of hours."

While the circumstances surrounding Nugent's visit were slightly fortuitous, there was nothing accidental about his intent.

The experienced mentor had front row seats to see Rae and Toohey scoop the pool at the state championships, where they collected two gold, three silver and two bronze medals between them.

Gould explained Nugent's presence was invaluable for the two swimmers.

"'Nugget' is terrific with his stroke correction, he's one of the world's best stroke correcting coaches and he's got a lot of respect all over Australia for that," Gould said.

"He analyses all the races, and he was very interested in my two breaststrokers.

"They're both only about a second and a half off the Australian record, and he believes with a little bit of stroke correction he can improve their speed by about 10 per cent which would get them below that record."

Nugent picked up on the fact Toohey and Rae tick over 21 strokes in the first half of their 100m breaststroke, but ramp up to 31 in the second leg.

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Through stroke correction, reducing that number by half a dozen could be the catalyst for turning the two Albury locals into world-beating champions - a feat Gould said is entirely possible.

"It's easier said than done - there's a lot of practice which goes into it - but if they can do that, there's a really good chance they'll get down to that (Australian record) mark," Gould said.

"It gives them so much confidence when someone like that has got an eye on them, and is prepared to come down here and go out of his way just to have look at them, and talk to them to let them know what's going on.

"We're hoping these two girls in particular can go on with it now."

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