Nothing has a greater influence on the quality of children's sports than the excellence of the coach. The Highlander Aquatic Club staff consists of professionally trained coaches. As member coaches in the American Swimming Coaches Association, they have training and experience in the subjects of physiology and psychology of adolescent development.
Our coaching staff assures that the time your children spend in swimming will be quality time. The team will strive to provide the environment which springs from success. We believe in empowering swimmers with skill and information so that personal judgments and decisions can be intelligently made.
In a very short period of time, since 1993, the ever-growing Highlander Aquatic Club has produced many athletes ranked in the Top 10 in the United States. The coaching staff uses the commitment, dedication, and understanding necessary to swim from the perspectives of both a swimmer and a coach.
Mike Curley
mcurley@lhps.org
Coach Curley, has twenty-three years of coaching experience. Curley has been the Head Coach at Cornell College, the Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Ohio State University and is currently the Aquatics Director at Lake Highland Preparatory School, Head Coach of both the Varsity Men's and Women's Teams, and Head Coach of the Highlander Aquatic Club. He is ASCA Level 5 certified and has had the privilege of coaching numerous High School State Champions and High School All-Americans. He has a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science and a Masters Degree in Physical Education from the University of Iowa. He currently is a member of the Physical Education staff at Lake Highland Preparatory School. Coach Curley is married to the former Jan Denise Penningroth and they have three boys, Harrison (16), Mitchell (13) and Hayden (10).
Ty Segrest
tsegrest@lhps.org
Ty was a swimmer at Louisiana State University qualifying for Nationals multiple times. While finishing college he began coaching with the local club team, assisting with the LSU team, and coaching the Masters Team. These teams achieved much success with a Southeastern Conference Championship, a 4th at NCAA’s on the college level, multiple state championships and a top 5 USS Nationals finish with the club team, and a masters team that grew to over 70 members with over 10 competitors in the Hawaiian Ironman Competition. After leaving Louisiana, Coach Segrest worked 8 years in San Diego with the Blue Fins Swim Team as the Head Age Group and Masters Coach. The time with the Blue Fins included an “ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year” Award, 7 JO championships, having 5 National Top 16 swimmers, and 3 Junior National Qualifiers. This time also included assisting with the University of California San Diego for two years where they finished 2nd at Division 3 NCAA’s both years and 2 years as Assistant Coach at Mt.Carmel High School. Ty came to Orlando with an underwater video business. Clients included Auburn University and Swim Camp, Lakeside Swim Club in Louisville, KY, and Dynamo Swim Team in Atlanta among many others. Now back in coaching, Coach Ty is assisting with the High School and Senior programs, and running the Masters group. His wife Gaby and he have a 3yr old son Eric, newborn Tyler and live in Oviedo.
Eric Nelson
enelson@lhps.org
Eric comes to the Highlander family from Wichita, KS where he spent 11 years as Head Coach and General Manager of the Wichita Swim Club. During that time, Wichita Swim Club was named a “Gold Medal Club” by USA Swimming, a designation only given to twenty clubs in the country. In 2004, he placed Caroline Bruce on the US Olympic team in the 200 breaststroke and Jarrett Perry on the US Paralympic team, the only coach to place swimmers on both teams.He was also Director of Central Zone for USA Swimming and served on the Board of Directors for USA Swimming from 2002-2007. He was voted “Coach of the Year” for Central Section Region VIII three times and Missouri Valley LSC five times. Nine of his swimmers have qualified for the US Olympic Trials. His swimmers have also won events at the Sectional, Junior National, Senior National and NCAA level. Eric is a member of the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and is a certified Level 5 (highest) coach.
Pat Kane
pkane@lhps.org
Lydia Tate
ltate@lhps.org
Joe Caruso
jmcjr@earthlink.net
Coach's Responsibilities
The coach's job is to supervise the entire competitive swim program. The Highlander Aquatic Club coaching staff is dedicated to providing a program for youngsters that will enable them to learn the value of striving to improve oneself. Therefore, the coaches must be in total control in matters affecting training and competition.
- The coaches are responsible for placing youngsters in practice groups. This is based on the age and ability level of each child. When it is in the best interest of a swimmer, he/ she will be placed in a more challenging training group by the coach.
- Sole responsibility for stroke instruction and the training regimen rests with the Highlander coaching staff. Each group's practices are based on sound scientific principles and are geared towards specific goals of that group.
- The coaching staff will make the final decision concerning which meets Highlander swimmers will attend. Accordingly, the coaching staff makes the final decision concerning which events a swimmer is entered.
- At meets, the coaching staff will conduct and supervise warm-up procedures for the team. After each race, coaches will offer constructive criticism regarding the swimmer's performance. (It is the parent's job to offer love and understanding regardless of their youngster's performance.)
- The building of a relay team is the sole responsibility of the coaching staff. The coaching staff is constantly updating and improving the team
Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you.
Aldous Huxley