I love coaching. I love coaching practice. It is the ultimate laboratory. A swimmer can experiment and get instant feedback. If we as coaches can convince the swimmer to notice objectively and without judgement the effects of that feedback then the swimmer enhances his/her chances for gain. Isn’t that what we’re here for? Not just in swimming, but in life?
COACHING
I began with Vallejo Aquatic Club (VJO) in September, 1994. While there VJO grew to 130 swimmers, with many Sectional and Far Western qualifiers. One swimmer in 2002 won five of his six 11-12 boys events at short course Far Westerns.
In June 2005 I joined the staff at Arden Hills. In the thirteen years there I coached many swimmers who qualified for Junior Nationals, Futures and Sectionals, including one eighth grade girl who made top eight at Futures before moving into the Senior group at AH. We also qualified many for Far Westerns, and they led AH (and later DART) to several top five finishes in the team standings.
A special quality of our staff at AH was how well we worked together. The success I had with swimmers in my group was the result of the work of the coaches in the groups they were promoted from. So, it is not just the relationships with swimmers I coach, although that is very important, it is also how I work with my colleagues to bring cohesion to our TEAM of swimmers. That, ultimately, made us successful.
WORK PATH
- 1979-1994 – Radio DJ with stations in Livermore, Sacramento, Monterey, Boise, Honolulu, Oakland, Vallejo
- 1995-2005 – grew to 130 swimmers from 50; coached Sectional qualifiers & Far Western Champions
- 2005-2018 – Arden Hills (also DART from 2013-2016); coached Junior National, Futures, Sectional, Far Western qualifiers, finalists and champions
- 2018 – Elk Grove Aquatics Club Gators
INTERESTS
- My wife, Michelle, introduced me to Contra Dancing when we met in 2010. She’s been involved with it for over 25 years. We’ll attend dances locally (Sacramento, Nevada City), as well as weekend dance camps (San Luis Obispo, Carmel).
- I love golf!
- Reading thrillers…two favorite authors: Stephen Hunter and Mark Greaney