COACHING STAFF

National & Oversight 13O

Coach Richard joined Tide in August 2016 as Associate Head Coach and was promoted to Head Coach in August 2019. Born in Iowa, he grew up in southern California and swam for the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Richard went on to the University of California at Berkeley and swam for the men’s team from 2004 – 2008.

After graduation, Richard joined the staff at Mission Viejo and coached in various capacities from novice to all levels, with swimmers age eight to eighteen. Richard primarily served as the 13/14 Division Director, National Team Assistant Coach, and Dryland Programming Director. In 2009, Richard spent a month in Japan running and facilitating a sports camp for Japanese children ages four to sixteen.

Richard was honored with the Virginia Swimming Senior Coach of the Year Award in both 2019 and 2020. “I coach because I am passionate about helping young people discover their own path and goals in life. I feel blessed to be able to help them find enjoyment in the process, not just the end result. “

Lead Coach Pre-National and Oversight 12U

Tide was pleased to add Coach Danny to the full time staff in the summer of 2020. Danny's previous position was as Co-Head Coach for Westside Aquatics. During his time at Westside, he led the age group swimmers to a gold medal team finish (small team division) at the 2019 spring Age Group Championships as well as a 3rd place team finish (small team division) at Sectionals.

Danny's athletes also set a few Southern California records. Before Westside, Danny was the Director of Strength and Conditioning with the Mission Viejo Nadadores. His primary focus at Mission was coaching their 13-14 year olds, but he also branched out to other age groups. Danny also developed the strength and conditioning programing which complemented the water training for twelve Rio Olympic Trial Qualifiers and Ous Mellouli (2012 Gold medalist, 1500 Free, and former world record holder).

Before Mission Viejo, Danny started his coaching career with Buenaventura Swim Club as the Bronze Group Coach and quickly moved up to Senior Sprint Coach and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. Danny also spent nearly three years as the Strength and Conditioning coach for the men's and women's water polo and swim teams at Ventura College. Danny earned an Associate of Science degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Moorpark College.

Most recently, Fitter & Faster and ASCA chose Danny as one of the Top 50 Age Group Coaches for 2024.

Lead Coach Senior Silver & Age Group Silver 14U

Coach Sito joined Tide in 2022 as one of our Swim School Instructors and transitioned to the full time staff of Tide Swim Team in August 2023. He is from Palmyra, Virginia and moved to Virginia Beach in the fall of 2020.

Throughout his career he has served as Assistant Coach for Virginia Wesleyan University, Assistant Coach for Monticello High School, Assistant Coach for Charlottesville Virginia Gators, as well as Head Coach of his summer league team, Lake Monticello Swim Team. Sito earned a Communication Studies degree from Randolph Macon College where he swam competitively all four years.

"I am excited to continue my coaching career with Tide while sharing my passion for swimming and working with kids to focus on perfecting technique and having fun."

Senior Gold Assistant, Senior Bronze, & Lead Masters Coach

Coach Callie joined Tide in the fall of 2022. Callie was born and raised in Virginia Beach. She started swimming at the age of four with Carolanne Farms Swim Team and then swam with a local club team until 2012 when her family moved to San Diego, where she swam for Coronado Navy Swim Association.

Upon moving back to Virginia Beach in 2014 she joined TIDE and is a proud Tide Alumni, class of 2017. Callie attended the University of Mary Washington and swam all four years for the varsity team. She specialized in the 500 freestyle, 400 IM, and 200 breaststroke. She graduated Cum Laude in 2021 with a Bachelor's of Science in Communications and Digital Studies with a double minor in Business Administration and Sports Management.

Callie continued her education at ODU, working on her masters in Sports Management. Four years of college swimming just wasn't enough so she took her Covid year of eligibility and swam a 5th year during the 2021-22 season while at ODU. Callie is so grateful for this opportunity to coach for the team that gave her the best opportunities to swim in college and help set the foundation for not only her swim career but for life. "I'm super excited to give back to the team that gave me so much."

Age Group Bronze Elementary School & 9-10 Division Director
 

Coach Cat joined Tide Swimming in 2013 so she has over a decade of experience with the team! She was born and raised in Virginia Beach and is a graduate of Old Dominion University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science & Physical Education.

Cat has been involved in the local swimming community as both a swimmer and a  coach for over 20 years and hopes to continue sharing her passion for the sport for many years to come. Cat has held several roles throughout her tenure with Tide including Swim School Director, Head Developmental Coach, and Head Age Group Coach. She is also actively involved in Virginia Swimming Governance by serving on various committees from year to year. Cat was recently named Junior Coach Representative to the Virginia Swimming Board of Directors for 2024-2026.

Coach Cat is dedicated to establishing Tide as a top tier USA Swimming Age Group program and works tirelessly with coaches, athletes, and parents to uphold our team values and create an empowering culture that provides meaningful experiences through TEAM.

Lead Coach  Age Group Silver 12U, AG Dryland Lead, & 11-12 Division Director

Coach Fefe joined Tide in 2023 as lead coach of both Age Group Prep and Senior Bronze at Princess Anne, and as an assistant coach for Age Group Bronze (middle school) at Mt Trashmore. She swam completely for 14 years, including the collegiate level at Old Dominion University. Coach Fefe graduated with a major in sports management and a minor in marketing. During her senior year she  did an internship with the ODU swim team and helped with the recruiting process which sparked her interest in coaching.  After graduation, Coach Fefe moved back home and became an assistant coach for the Silver Medal club, Virginia Gators, for two years. She was also a co-head coach for Lake Monticello (summer league) Swim Team.  "I am passionate about introducing and teaching young athletes how to build up their confidence with swimming."

Lead Coach Senior Gold, Age Group Gold, & 13-14 Division Director

Coach Ricky joined the Tide staff in September of 2019. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Ricky began his coaching career with numerous assistant coaching positions around the state and then continued coaching throughout college.

He competed for and graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Sports Performance and Fitness Entrepreneurship. During his time there he continued to coach club swimming, volunteered with the Eastern Michigan Women's swim team, and volunteer coached with their strength and conditioning program.

Since then he has gone on to interning with UW Health at The American Center focusing on strength and conditioning and athlete development.

Assist AG Bronze (ES) and AG Bronze (MS) Mount Trashmore

Coach Emily joined Tide in August 2018 as an assistant coach at our (then) newest location, the Taylor Bend YMCA. Emily has been involved with swimming her entire life. She grew up in Portsmouth and swam for a local club team and her high school team. Emily went on to attend Mary Washington University and swam all four years, from 1999-2003.

Emily graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and continued her education into graduate school, earning a Master's in Education, specializing in Instructional Technology, in 2004. Emily teaches fifth grade for Chesapeake Public Schools at Chittum Elementary. She has coached swimmers from beginners to state qualifiers.

She has coached Pre-Novice, Novice, Developmental Silver, Developmental Gold, Age Group Bronze, and Age Group Silver. During the summers, Emily has leveraged her experience in swim instruction by directing operations and instruction for Tide Swim School at one of its summer lesson sites.

Lead Rec League Program

Coach Liz joined Tide in September 2019 after moving to Virginia Beach from the Northern Neck. She is a graduate of VCU with a degree in Health and Physical Education and a teaching certificate for grades K to 12.

Before coming to Tide, Liz coached and taught swim lessons for over 20 years for the Greater Richmond YMCAs as well as for a USA Swimming club team and a summer swim league on the Peninsula. Liz has a love and respect for the water.

She says, "I find it super important for children to learn the basics of swimming and I love seeing their skills progress beyond that." Liz currently works for her husband at SEiGLER Reels and is mom to Cosmo, an English Bulldog.