Born in Sheffield, he attended university to study for a degree in Sports Science. In the late 1970’s, whilst in his 20s, Bill started his career as a swimming coach, before progressing to a full time swimming coach in Nottingham, in 1980. In this role, he learnt the leadership and people management skills essential to coaching an athlete. In his present position, Bill uses his experience to understand how and when to push people to their limits, and when to encourage productive rest, in order to achieve peak performance.
Taking to the Commonwealth Games in December of 1994, after being appointed a year prior, he took the role of head coach for the England team, for the games in Canada. At the time, he worked alongside Barbara Lancaster, who was the team manager. A year later, in March of 1995, Bill was named head coach for the European Aquatics Championships in Austria, training the British team to success. The event was organised by the LEN (Ligue Européenne de Natation).
After the games, in September of 1995, Bill resigned as head coach to the British swimming team, which at the time was run by the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain. Only a year later, he was again appointed the lead coach of the Great Britain Swimming Federation. Once American swimming coach, Dennis Pursley, resigned from his position as the head coach of the British Swimming after the 2012 Summer Olympics, Bill took the role. In October 2015, in preparation for the 2016 Olympics, he coached the Team GB swimming team.
Bill was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours, in recognition of his dedication to swimming. As a sports motivational speaker, he is regularly invited to events to feature as a sporting expert, sharing his knowledge with enthralled fans and business owners alike.
