Batchelor, O’Brien to Lead Star Coaching Staffs at Junior National Camp in April

USA Swimming will host a National Junior Team Camp from April 4th-April 7th in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the respective Men’s and Women’s camps will be led byTim O’Brien from Nitro Swimming in Austin and Chuck Batchelor from the Bluefish Swim Club in New England, respectively.

Batchelor has one swimmer on each the men’s and women’s Junior National Teams (Brooke Zeiger for the women and Connor Green for the men, both IM’ers), while O’Brien has put two on the men’s Junior National squad (Matthew Ellis and Will Licon).

The staffs at the camp will be a veritable who’s-who of up-and-coming coaches, meshing perfectly with the up-and-coming athletes they’re working with, on the national circuit. Jason Turcotte, whose girls just won the NCSA Junior National Championships, will be on as a “Camp Observer”. Tommy Hannan is the National Coach of King Aquatics, whose team has broken a handful of National Age Group Records in the last 6 months or so, and recently won the Federal Way Sectional Championship (he’s only 33). He’ll serve as a Roving Coach.

On the women’s staff is Kate Lundsten, who is the head coach of the Aquajets Swim Team in suburban Minneapolis, that in addition to producing a high-school-aged Olympian in Rachel Bootsma has coached a slew of 11-12 and 13-14 National Age Group Relay Records that are just now advancing into the 15 & up levels and ready to do some damage. Even though she doesn’t have any swimmers on this year’s Junior National Team, still a more-than-worthy candidate. Russ Kasl, the South Region Manager at SwimMAC Carolina, is also on the women’s staff. Brian Brown is the head coach FAST in Fullerton, moving west from New York, where in 9 years took the famed Asphalt Green club to three Eastern Sectional Championships.

On the men’s staff, Jason Calanog is representing the Bolles staff. He has some international coaching experience working with the Philippines National Team, and is the coach-of-record for Caeleb Dressel, the first American 15-16 to go under 20 seconds in the 50 freestyle. Dan Flack comes in as the head coach of the Baylor Swim Club: one of the country’s most storied high school programs and the defending Tennessee HS State Champions for both boys and girls. Rounding them out is the country’s new hottest coach: Allison Beebe from the First Colony Swim Team. She coaches Simone Manuel, who broke the National Age Group Records in the 50 and 100 freestyles for 15-16’s last week; though that’s not her first foray into national-level swimming: she’s got a swimmer Daniel Graviss on the open water junior national team as well.

Kari Elliott and John Fedena are the managers.

On top of all of those great names in coaching, the three National Team mentors are Brendan Hansen, Katie Hoff, and Aaron Peirsol. The exploits of Hansen and Peirsol are well-told, and are widely held among the 10 greatest American swimmers of all time. Hoff, even with all of the recent record-breaking that we’ve seen, probably was the best junior female American swimmer we’d seen since Mary T. Meagher, so she well understands the pressure that these high-level teenagers are going through.

Camp Observer: Jason Turcotte (Dynamo Siwm Club)
Roving Coach: Tommy Hannan (King)

Head Women’s Coach: Chuck Batchelor (Bluefish Swim Club)
Assistant Women’s Coach: Brian Brown (FAST – Fullerton)
Assistant Women’s Coach: Kate Lundsten (Aquajets)
Assistant Women’s Coach: Russ Kasl (SwimMAC)

Head Men’s Coach: Tim O’Brien (Nitro)
Assistant Men’s Coach: Jason Calanog (Bolles)
Assistant Men’s Coach: Dan Flack (Baylor Swim Club)
Assistant Men’s Coach: Allison Beebe (First Colony Swim Team)

Manager: Kari Elliott
Manager: John Fedena

National Team Athlete: Brendan Hansen
National Team Athlete: Katie Hoff
National Team Athlete: Aaron Peirsol