The ballots for four open seats on the USA Swimming Coach Advisory Council has been mailed out to register USA Swimming member coaches.
Coaches who didn’t receive the email are encouraged to check their spam inbox, as there have been reports of some being flagged as junk mail.
26 coaches are vying for a seat at the table for the influential advisory board representing USA Swimming coaches in internal USA Swimming decision-making matters. The group represents the 18,000-or-so USA Swimming member coaches.
Originally formed in 2022, the committee includes 12 coach members, six athlete members appointed by the Athletes Advisory Committee, and two staff liaisons (currently Joel Shinofield and Maggie Vail).
The coaches whose terms expire this year are the committee chair Tim Bauer of Tennessee Aquatics, Adrian Damasco of First Colony Swim Team in suburban Houston, Mary Liston of the Rockwood Swim Club in St. Louis, and Terry Stoddard of Pasadena City College and Swim Pasadena in California.
All but Liston are running to retain their seats.
This committee flexed its muscle last year when it published a public letter asking for changes from USA Swimming after growing tension between coaches and CEO Tim Hinchey. That letter, along with one published simultaneously by the American Swimming Coaches’ Association, is considered a moment that turned the tide on Hinchey’s tenure before he left the organization a few months later.
26 Candidates for 4 Seats
The list of candidates is a diverse one, representing every level of coaching from recognizable names that send swimmers to the U.S. Olympic Trials every year to coaches who work primarily with age groupers.
There is also an impressive diversity of geography in the candidates, with some coming from perennial powerhouse programs, and others coming from states less-often associated with swimming stardom.
A few of the candidates are former elite swimmers themselves – Rhi Jeffrey won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and Bryce Bohman spent time as a pro swimmer. One is even a Masters coach.
The committee is designed to give voice to all USA Swimming member coaches, from new graduates venturing into their first jobs to veteran coaches most interested in the top level of the sport. The Committee, at times, has also been called upon to guide the proletariat of coaches, with an initiative launched at their April meeting to “look at the unification of Staff and Membership where there has been divide in the past.”
The Committee’s most important formal authority is that they have decision making authority for the Coaches Assignment on all USA Swimming committees, a power that was granted to them by the House of Delegates this fall.
26 Candidates:
- Jeff Arce – Head coach, Rise Aquatic Club, Illinois
- Andrew Austria – Age group coach, Plymouth Whitemarsh Aquatic Club, Pennsylvania
- Tim Bauer – Head coach, Tennessee Aquatics, Tennessee
- Bryce Bohman – Lead gold 2 & Silver Coach, NCAP West, D.C. area
- John Bruenning – Lead gold & National assistant, Sarasota Sharks, Florida
- Lucas Curotto Ferreira – Head Coach, Gwinnett Aquatics, Georgia
- Adrian Damasco IV – Senior Coach, First Colony Swim Team, Texas
- Tarrik Daou – Head Coach, Daland Swim Team, California
- Dave Dorak – Head Coach, Glacier Aquatic Club, Montana
- Chrissy Gentry – Head Coach, Lakeside Aquatic Club, Texas
- Mark Gole – Head Coach, Northwest Arkansas Aquatics, Arkansas
- Ross Hedrick – Head Coach, Nu Wave Swim Club, Louisiana
- Rhi Jeffrey – Head Coach, Atlantis Aquatics, New Hampshire
- Andy Kershaw – Head Coach, University of Miami, Florida
- Alexis Keto – Associate Head Coach, Bolles School Sharks, Florida
- Catherine Leach – Head Age Group Coach, Tide Swimming, Virginia
- Kyle Margheim – Head Coach, Sioux Falls Swim Team, South Dakota
- Paul Murphy – Masters Coach, Greater Tampa Swim Association, Florida
- MacKenzie Novell – Assistant Coach, Fort Collins Area Swim Team, Colorado
- Alan Pfau – Futures, TAG 2 Coach, TAC Titans, North Carolina
- Mike Salpeter – Associate Head Coach, Tide Swimming, Virginia
- Jeffrey Scrivener – Head Coach, Columbia Aquatics Association, Maryland
- Richard Shipherd – Head Coach, La Mirada Armada, California
- Jeremiah Stanton – Head Coach, MAKO Aquatics Club, New Mexico
- Terry Stoddard – Head Coach, Pasadena City College/Swim Pasadena, California
- Steven Tatgenhorst – Head Coach, CHAWP Swim Club, California
Current Committee
| Committee Member | Year | Official Role |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Bauer | 2024 | Chair |
| Joel Shinofield | Staff Leader | |
| Maggie Vail | Staff Liaison | |
| Scott Goldblatt | 2025 | Athlete |
| Kristine Julian | 2025 | Athlete |
| Chase Kalisz | 2024 | Athlete |
| Jeremy Linn | 2025 | Athlete |
| Jay Litherland | 2024 | Athlete |
| Katie McLaughlin | 2024 | Athlete |
| Jamie Bloom | 2026 | |
| Marcia Callan | 2025 | |
| Adrian Damasco | 2024 | |
| Jennifer Gibson | 2025 | |
| Michael Lawrence | 2025 | |
| Mary Liston | 2024 | |
| Alison Pick | 2026 | |
| Pete Raykovich | 2025 | |
| Shawn Smith | 2026 | |
| Gregg Troy | 2026 | |
| Terry Stoddard | 2024 |
I don’t expect that good coaching skills would equal good governance skills, but still the candidate statements leave a lot to be desired. It’s very hard to tell what people actually want to do. I’d rather vote for candidates based on what their goals and priorities for USA Swimming are than their resumes.
These are generally nice well meaning people, and some are actually pretty good coaches, but to say this committee is influential is a bit of an overreach. If anything it has been disappointing since its inception.
This type of thing is why I’ve unsubscribed from all communication from USAS. Quality of life.
If this is “the” Chas would you care to expand/amplify your comment here?
It is not Chas Morton.
Bryce Bohman is an awesome coach and the perspective of a recent competitive high-level swimmer is important.
To be fair, the six athlete members of the committee bring that perspective as well.
Only three women on the list for consideration. Wish there were more… 53.6% of USA swimming is female
I count five. Gentry, Jeffrey, Keto, Novell, and Leach.
Current committee is 5 women in 12 slots (among coaches), and 2 women in 6 slots (among athletes appointed by the AAC). Staff members are 1/1.
I know “masters coach” looks interesting but if you click on Paul Murphy’s name you will see in the comments in some old swimswam articles featuring him that he’s just not a great option.
Paul Murphy nearly destroyed the Dayton Raiders in the few months he was there. It was an unmitigated disaster!
Masters coach is only interesting in that masters swimming experience seems irrelevant to the needs of USA Swimming.
Paul Murphy claims to have coached tons of Olympians. He is the guy that if he talked to you at a meet one time or coached you on a zone team or at a camp he tells people he was your coach. His resume is thoroughly embellished which is how he keeps getting jobs. He was a disaster at Dayton Raiders and he bounces around from team to team every year or two. Club administrators need to learn that if an older coach bounces around this is a big red flag and there are probably reasons they can’t hold a job long term.
Paul Murphy shows that this is now a self nominated position. No one wants him in there from any of his long list of past teams. Feel free to ask them, they are more than happy to share their experience with his leadership. Do not vote for Paul without looking into his history first.