WOODSTOCK — After spending a year coaching the Chinese National Team swimmers, Ron Turner has decided to return stateside to lead the Woodstock division of local swim club Stingrays Swimming.

Turner has coached swimmers who have competed in the Olympics and the World Aquatic Championships, as well as many athletes who have participated in national teams.

In April 2010, Turner traveled to Nanjing, China, to coach the Chinese National Team and world championship swimmers to help develop the athletes’ skills to compete at the 2012 Olympics and the 2011 World Aquatics Championships.

Ranked by the American Swimming Coaches Association as a Level 5 coach, Turner’s numerous accolades include YMCA Coach of the Year in 2006 and two-time North Carolina Coach of the Year.

A 2001 graduate of the University of Tennessee, the South Carolina native was a 2007 USA National Team coach, coached the 2007 USA Pan-American Games Team in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and also coached at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

In May, Turner began coaching the Stingray Swimming team, which is currently ranked in the top six swim teams in the United States for 2011 in the 18 and under category.

No stranger to the metro Atlanta area, Turner got his first head coaching job in 1991 with the Georgia Jets, a now-defunct swim club, and went on to coach Chattahoochee Gold in Woodstock.

Turner credits much of his success to his coaching style.

“I think what sets me apart is that I establish a good rapport with each swimmer,” he said. “I try to understand what motivates each athlete, what’s important to them and what they care about.”

Turner said his strategy is to find out his swimmer’s strengths and weaknesses and use his experience to maximize each individual’s performance.

“I always tell my athletes not to put a ceiling on things,” Turner said, explaining that most of his students’ goals can be achieved with the right plan of action.

Another reason why Turner decided to return to the area after his year abroad is because his job provided him with the opportunity to expand professionally outside of the pool.

His new lifestyle coaching business, Lifestyle Designers, will launch in January.

“It will allow me to reach out and coach people not just in swimming, but personally and professionally,” he said.

Turner said he expects to draw from his 25 years of coaching in his new venture.

“As a swim coach, I’ve always been more than just a coach,” Turner said. “I wear a lot of hats.”

He said someone suggested the business idea to him a year ago.

“I took it to heart and created my new business,” he said, adding that he’s already had a few clients who have benefited from his services.

As for now, Turner’s 11-to-18-year-old swimmers are currently in the middle of their short-course season. At their last competition, he said about 90 percent of the team achieved their career-best times.

Still, Turner’s goals are simply to teach his athletes the basics.

“For me, this first year is to teach the fundamentals of swimming, including teaching my swimmers how to train, set goals and get the confidence needed for success in the future.”