DC Trident Hire Cyndi Gallagher to Lead All-Female Coaching Staff

The DC Trident of the International Swimming League (ISL) have announced former UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher as their first-ever head coach. Gallagher retired as the head coach of the UCLA women’s swimming & diving team in May after 31 years in charge.

What’s more, the team has added Rachel Stratton-Mills and Stefanie Moreno of their staff, committing to have an all-female coaching staff. Stratton-Mills is the associate head coach at Arizona State, while Moreno is the associate head coach at Georgia.

“Along with the roster that we’ve been able to construct, this incredible coaching staff makes me very proud,” said Kaitlin Sandeno, General Manager of D.C. Trident. “It’s not every day that you can say you’re making history, but this group of amazing, talented, experienced and passionate women is truly making history by becoming one of the first all-female coaching staff in professional sports.”

Editor’s note: The Indiana Fever of the WNBA have an all-female coaching staff, and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA have an all-female on-court coaching staff with a male strength and conditioning coach.

Sandeno attended and swam for USC – which is the traditional cross-town rivalry school of UCLA.

In Gallagher’s career at UCLA, the swimming & diving team produced 11 Olympians, 21 Pac-10/Pac-12 Champions, and 91 NCAA All-Americans. She has also coached internationally as head coach for the USA at the 2007 World University Games and was an assistant at the 1997, 2005, and 2007 World University Games. She was also responsible for coaching 3 swimmers at the 2008 Olympic Games – Kim Vandenberg, Amanda Beard, and Singapore’s Nicolette Teo.

Stratton-Mills currently is associate head coach at Arizona State, and has previously served as an assistant at Dartmouth and Maryland. She was the head coach for the 2011 National Select Camp and a member of the US coaching staff at the 2012 Short Course World Championships and 2011 World Junior Championships. While coaching at Asphalt Green in New York City, she trained then-high school student Lia Neal on to the 2012 Olympic Team where she won a bronze medal as part of the team’s 400 free relay. Neal is now a team captain with another ISL team, the New York Breakers.

Moreno was a 28-time NCAA All-American and 4-time national champion at Georgia as an athlete, is now the program’s associate head coach. She’s spent 1 season in that role after 6 seasons as an assistant. Prior to her return to Georgia as a coach, she spent 4 years as an assistant and associate head coach at Ohio State, and another 3 as an assistant at Missouri.

The DC Trident kick off their season on October 5th and 6th in Indianapolis, Indiana, where they’ll race against the Cali Condors, the Rome-based Aqua Centurions, and Energy Standard.

DC Trident’s 2019 Season Roster:

Women Men
Anika Apostalon Tristan Hollard
Brianna Throssell Zach Apple
Lisa Bratton Kevin Cordes
Natalie Coughlin Jay Litherland
Bethany Galat Cody Miller
Sarah Gibson Abrahm DeVine
Siobhán Haughey Robert Howard
Madison Kennedy Giles Smith
Katie Ledecky Jérémy Stravius
Leiston Pickett Zach Harting
Sian Whittaker Andreas Vazaios
Emma Barksdale Velimir Stjepanovic
Leah Neale Ian Finnerty
Zane Grothe

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RUN-DMC
4 years ago

Currently the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury have an all-female coaching staff:

https://fever.wnba.com/roster/
https://mercury.wnba.com/roster/

2 Cents
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

I would count it, or at least I bet the NFL would count it since Tampa Bay has a female strength and conditioning coach on their staff… and another female as well. Granted they do have 29 coaches on their roster/payroll and only 2 are female, but that is still more than any other team by a lot.

Jennifer Brinegar
4 years ago

This is an awesome coaching staff and it will be fun to watch the teams and see how the swimmers (and the league) do this year. I think Lisa’s comment below is a good one … will t-shirts for each team be available to the public? Hope so!

2 Cents
4 years ago

That’s pretty cool, I like to see that. I have not looked at other teams coaches yet, besides Troy with the Condors, but how does this work with collegiate coaches “double dipping” or coaching/managing these pro teams in addition to their NCAA jobs? This sounds like if a defensive coordinator for a college team was also the linebacker coach for an NFL team. And I do realize that an ISL coach is not actually the coach for all or any of the swimmers on the team which is why I can see it might work…. but again, how does that work? Will the NCAA coaches still travel to meets and take away their time with their current jobs?

Coach
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

But from a compliance perspective, this seems very different than coaching a local club that has individual professional athletes (Wolfpack Elite, Club Wolverine, etc.). This is coaching for a true professional team (team pays it’s athletes) and a true professional league. Obviously it must be ok. Just seems wild that it is. Unless I’m misunderstanding how the ISL works, which could very well be the case.

Recruiting: “Hey recruit, I’m the coach for Big Time U and Weird Logo ISL. Come here and we’ll get you fast enough to score at NCAAs and then you’ll have a great inside shot at joining my Weird Logo team once you’re done.”

2 Cents
Reply to  Coach
4 years ago

Bingo. I know some double dip by coaching other pro athletes, but not pro teams… if this ISL thing goes well and starts to blow up or become a bigger deal, then I dont see how the NCAA would allow this and individual schools will have to put wording in their contracts that allow having another job. I can see where maybe the ISL moves its schedule to be post NCAAs through June or July (ending before big world meets) but as it sits now, it is during the NCAA season, and right in the middle of prime recruiting season.

dmswim
Reply to  Coach
4 years ago

Weird Logo team just made me chuckle so hard…

Taa
Reply to  2 Cents
4 years ago

This isn’t really a league just a couple of 4-way duel meets.

Markster
4 years ago

Imagine if there was a team with the specific goal of having an “all male coaching staff”. How would people react?

dmswim
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

It has happened for decades. People just don’t announce it.

volmenusa
4 years ago

All women coaching staff? Sounds good on paper but what about gender balance, fairness and seeing people as people. Seems very sexist to me.

KSchwim
Reply to  volmenusa
4 years ago

Almost as sexist as the literally hundreds of years of all male staffs

Anonymoose
Reply to  KSchwim
4 years ago

Hundreds of years okay lmao. Decades would fit

dmswim
Reply to  volmenusa
4 years ago

Hmmm just checked the article that announced the all male coaching staff for the Cali Condors to see if you made the same comment. Unsurprisingly, you didn’t.

volmenusa
Reply to  dmswim
4 years ago

Oh I forgot to check that article – Thank you for the reminder.

DMSWIM
Reply to  volmenusa
4 years ago

Just checked the article again and while I saw you commented on another issue, you still haven’t commented on the lack of women on the staff…just keeping you honest.

VIc
4 years ago

Hmm

Cmon now
4 years ago

Now Rachel Stratton Mills is coaching the other Lia Neal, Leah Neale. Weird.

SwimCoach
4 years ago

They should hire Allison Beebe too. She has nothing to do now.

SwimGuy19
Reply to  SwimCoach
4 years ago

Great idea, SwimCoach….if you want her to destroy that team too.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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