What sets Tide Swim School apart from other swim schools?

TIDE is very proud of its Swim School staff. Each instructor joins us with a unique ability to connect with children and a core knowledge of our sport. In addition to a background in competitive swimming, all Tide Swim School instructors go through a rigorous certification procedure that includes not only all customary aquatics safety certifications but also training in Safe Sport, as per the curriculum set by the U.S. Center for Safe Sport.

All instructors 18&older have passed a criminal background check.

All instructors have completed at least 8 hours of in-water training before teaching a class of their own. 

We teach students the right way to swim from the very beginning while always adapting our methods to an individual's unique needs. We believe that this philosophy, coupled with the finest instructors, is what makes us the best choice for learning how to swim.

 Amanda Letterman, Swim School Director

aletterman@tideswimming.com

Joining the TIDE staff in October 2021, Amanda is excited to join an organization she has already worked with in many different capacities! After completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Missouri in 2007, Amanda moved to the Virginia Beach area to join the YMCA of South Hampton Roads where she served in a variety of roles and positions for 13 years, most recently the Executive Director of the YMCA JT's Camp Grom. Experience in marketing, program development, aquatic knowledge and a love of working with people are all things she is excited to continue with the TIDE organization. Amanda's love of the water started in her early years when she joined the Liberty Hills Gators swim team at the age of six, accepting her first coaching position at the age of sixteen. From teaching swim lessons, working swim meets, to providing safety around water or leading a team, Amanda is grateful her skills have allowed her to share this passion with others throughout her life. Amanda is looking forward to joining an organization that practices achievement through hard work, consistency and diligence, as well as shows a strong commitment to its athletes, their families, and their staff team.

LYLA CHANDIRAMANI

Coach Lyla joined the Swim School staff in September 2019. She began swimming when she was four years old and swam for the Virginia Beach Rec league until she reached middle school and joined TIDE. Lyla continued swimming with TIDE in high school, which helped her be accepted as a member of her high school varsity swim team. Coach Lyla has continued her love for the sport in college. She is currently a student at Old Dominion University studying Information technology with computer science and business analytics. She is a member of the ODU Club Swim Team and still swims for TIDE in the masters program. Lyla's event of choice is sprints and the 100-meter breaststroke. Lyla's swimming experience inspires her to offer children the same opportunities she had in the sport. Lyla is also a Tide Swim Team coach, working with our developmental athletes.

 BRYN DEPAUL

Coach Bryn began her competitive swimming career at four years old. Since then, she has competed on several USA Swimming teams and was a senior swimmer on TIDE from 2015 to 2018. She has qualified and competed in the Virginia Senior Championship Meet multiple times. Bryn graduated from Hickory High School in 2018, exceeding a 4.0 GPA throughout all four years of school and ranking within the top 5% of her class. Bryn is a recent graduate of the International Honors Joint Degree Programme at the College of William and Mary and the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. In the fall, she will be attending Regent Law on a full-tuition scholarship. In her free time, Bryn likes to swim outdoors at the Princess Anne YMCA, read Jane Austen novels, and bake desserts! Coach Bryn started coaching for TIDE in August 2017. She loves working with TIDE's young swimmers and sharing her passion for the sport!

 JENNIE DEPAUL

Coach Jennie began swimming competitively at age 6. During the course of her competitive journey, she obtained and still holds several records on USA Swimming teams. Jennie qualified for the Eastern Zone Competition many times and represented Virginia Swimming twice on the Virginia Zone Team. During her swimming career, Jennie placed 3rd and 4th in breaststroke and individual medley in Virginia, and as a fifteen-year-old placed 3rd, 9th, and 10th in breaststroke and individual medley at NASA Junior Nationals. Academic achievement is also very important to Jennie. She holds the rare distinction of having achieved straight A's throughout all of middle school, virtual high school, and college. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the William and Mary - University of St. Andrews (in Scotland) Joint Degree Programme, having majored in Classical Studies with a Latin and Greek concentration, and is currently pursuing a J.D. at the University of Alabama School of Law. Jennie joined Tide Swim School as an instructor in March 2017 after swimming in TIDE's senior groups and loves her job! She can't wait to teach more Swim School students how to swim!

CHLOE DEWBERRY

Coach Chloe joined the Swim School staff in August 2021. She began swimming  when she was 6 years old in Chesapeake, Virginia. In high school, Chloe was in National Honor Society, Willet club, and was a member of the varsity swim team all four years. She represented her high school at states during her junior and senior years. After graduating with a GPA exceeding 4.0, she went on to Virginia Wesleyan University where she has continued her swimming career. She holds seven records at college. Along with swimming in college, Chloe represents the swim team in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This committee focuses on enhancing student-athlete experiences. When not in the pool, Chloe maintains a high GPA in the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies while studying accounting and finance. Coach Chloe can't wait to teach students how to swim and share her love for swimming!

JASON RODRIGUEZ

Coach Jason joined TIDE swimming in January 2017. Beautiful Virginia Beach has been his home since graduating from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to coaching ICS and Tide Masters, Jason is also an active US Masters competitive swimmer for TIDE, where he primarily specializes in middle and long distance freestyle events, as well as long distance open-water races. When not swimming, he loves to surf and spend time out on the water.

 ANNA EBERLE

Coach Anna joined TIDE as a swimmer in 2016 and began coaching in 2022. She   currently trains in the Senior Gold group at the Princess Anne YMCA with Coach Scott. She specializes in long distance freestyle events and events over 200 meters/yards. Anna is a student at First Colonial High School in the Legal Studies Academy and is always challenging herself academically. She is in multiple AP classes and her hobbies include reading, being a part of SCA, and many different clubs at First Colonial High School! Anna's favorite food is anything from Trader Joe's (specifically avocados and peanut butter) and her favorite games are anagrams. Anna enjoys being a TIDE swimmer because it gives her a chance to interact with so many different people everyday and learn how to be a good teammate and leader. She loves swimming competitively and is excited to share her passion with younger swimmers.

JACLYN GRINER

Coach Jaclyn joined TIDE in 2019 and currently swims in the Senior Gold group at the Great Bridge YMCA. She joined our team of swim school instructors in 2022. When she's not at the pool or second hand shopping, she's spending time with her dog Henry, whom her family refers to as her brother since she is an only child. Jaclyn has been a year-round swimmer for almost four years and has both the 100 and 200 breast senior champs cuts. She has a deep passion for working with kids and likes forming personal connections with them in order to understand what teaching style works best for them. She is so thrilled to be working with them in Tide Swim School this summer!

 MADDY HARTLEY

Coach Maddy joined Tide Swim School in 2022, and she is also a year round TIDE swimmer, currently training in the National group. She enjoys surfing, reading, painting, and anything to do with the outdoors. Her favorite food is past, but she is  always trying new food. A fun fact about Maddy is that she lived in Japan for 2 years! She enjoys being a TIDE swimmer because of all the amazing friends, opportunities, and community TIDE has! She's most excited to teach little kids the fun that swim can be and how to have fun in the water!

 GLADY JENKINS

Coach Glady joined the swim school staff in 2022 and is a year round swimmer for TIDE. Swimming is her happy place! Some of her favorite things are going to the beach, Bible study, and spending time with family and friends! She will be attending Liberty University in the fall. Swimming has always been and will always be her passion, thus sharing this great love with others is such an honor and so rewarding. She believes it is vital for everyone to have solid swimming skills, not only for the essence of safety but also for the lifelong joy it is guaranteed to bring whether that means swimming competitively or not. She's so excited to see the impact instructing at Tide Swim School will have upon so many eager young swimmers!

SOPHIA KNAPP

Coach Sophia joined the Tide Swim School staff in 2022. She graduated from First Colonial High School in the Legal Studies Academy in June 2022. After being on Tide Swim Team since she was 7, she is committed to swim and study at the University of Virginia this fall. She's so excited to teach swim school because she loves the sport of swimming! Sophia has two younger brothers who also swim on TIDE. They are a big swim family! She is so excited to give back to the sport that she loves and cherishes! Her favorite thing to do is to go to the beach and surf, and she loves "mac n cheese".

CARL KNOBLOCK

Coach Carl joined the Tide Swim School staff in January 2022. He loves coaching young people to learn to swim and to blossom, "They are our future, and I want to help in my own small way to help them grow." Carl has a goal to see every National Park and he loves the thrill of life!

PEYTON MURPHY

Coach Peyton joined the Tide Swim School staff in the summer of 2021. She began swimming on her summer league team at age five and then went on to swim competitively for a local club team. She has grown up in the Tidewater community and graduated from Norfolk Collegiate School. Peyton is currently a rising senior at Sweet Briar College and captain of the swim team. When she is home for the summer, she loves to continue swimming with Tide Masters, watch the gorgeous sunsets on the beach, and hang with friends. Peyton is most excited to teach swim again to share her love of the sport with the kids!

JAMES ROSS

Coach James joined the Tide Swim School staff in 2022. He's been swimming competitively for over 10 years now, and he's so excited to be able to share his love of swimming by being a part of Tide Swim School! James is a current member of Tide Swim Team so he spends a lot of his time in the water because he also works as a lifeguard. James recently graduated from high school, is active in his church, and spends time with friends and family. According to James, "Swimming and the community around the sport have had such an amazing impact on my life in ways I can't even begin to describe, and so I'm beyond excited to be a part of the experience for younger swimmers diving into the world of swimming."

BRODY SALPETER

Coach Brody joined the staff of Tide Swim School in 2022. He has swum since he was four years old and currently swims year round for Tide Swim Team. His favorite food is pizza! Whenever he can, he loves to surf and go to the beach. Brody says, "I am super excited to teach swim school so I can meet a bunch of kids who want to dive into a sport that I know and love." Brody has two siblings who are also swimmers.

 REILLY SCHINDLER

Coach Reilly joined TIDE in the spring of 2020. Reilly has lived in Hampton roads her whole life and swam on a local USA Swimming club team for eight years until she graduated from Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School. In addition to swimming she has been doing triathlons since 2014 and is currently a Junior on the Queens University of Charlotte Triathlon team. Queens is her 3rd college as she started her freshman year at Saint Marys College of California on a rowing scholarship. She then transferred to the Uiversity of South Carolina and competed on their club triathlon team for the fall 2019 semester before transferring to Queens. At Queens Reilly was a member of the team that won first place overall at Collegiate Club Nationals.

 PAIGE STRECKER

Coach Paige joined the Tide Swim School staff in 2022. In her free time she loves to go to the beach with friends, read, listen to music, and of course swim! Paige enjoys being a year round TIDE swimmer because of the dynamic of the group. Everyone is so supportive of one another and she has made some of her strongest friendships by being a part of the team. Paige says, "I am very excited to teach swim school because I have always loved being in the water, and I wish to bring that kind of love to other young kids." Next year she plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for pharmacy and join the club swim team to continue her love for the sport.