Everyone associates Laing with double Olympic gold medallist Danyon Loader but van Welie was arguably his other star pupil.
She competed at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, finishing 15th in the 200m butterfly, and won a 400m individual medley silver medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games two years later.
"Mr Laing was like a second father, I guess. He loved you like his own kid and treated you like his own kid. He did that with all his swimmers," van Welie told the Otago Daily Times last night.
"I'm going to miss him dearly and I don't think I realise how much I'll miss him."
Van Welie, who retired two years ago and now lives in Tauranga, said she had been coached by Laing for about nine years.
She knew his methods, and his personality, inside out.
"He was a tough, tough man but he always had a big heart, so he could be really gentle.
"He instilled a belief in us. He also had a feel for swimming. He looked at it as an art, more than a science.
"I had huge trust in him that he could make me the best I could be. We believed in each other."
Van Welie did not have Laing by her side when she won her Commonwealth Games silver medal.
She can't remember exactly what her coach said when they got an opportunity to speak about her achievement.
"I think the race was on about 6am New Zealand time. I heard he was too nervous to watch. All his swimmers watched at the pool and he stayed in his chair and tried not to look.
"We'd talked earlier about the two races I was in and he told me not to get fourth in both of them."
Van Welie got to know all the Laing family well.
Laing's son, Rick, was her mentor, and two other sons, Stefan and Graeme, were significant influences on her career.
She last saw her coach in Dunedin in June.
Van Welie will fly to Dunedin tomorrow and attend Laing's memorial at the Edgar Centre on Wednesday.
