A strong administrator, elite athlete, and dedicated family woman, Anna is uniquely qualified to direct a USA swimming club. She earned a Master’s degree in College Student Development with an emphasis in Sports Administration from the University of Denver in 2010. Prior to her time at DU, Anna was educated in secondary education at the University of Wisconsin, where she was a three-time Academic All-American, 9-Time NCAA Division I Swimming All-American, Captain of the Badger Women’s Swimming and Diving Team for two seasons, and a three-time Dean’s list scholar. During her time as an athlete, Anna garnered numerous accolades on the local and national levels, including being the only person other than Missy Franklin to win every individual event she competed in at the Colorado high school state championships. Over the course of her career, she qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials in 7 different events, demonstrating unique versatility. This blend of competitive experience and advanced education is a powerful combination for use in leading a team and a business. A native of Colorado Springs, Anna’s mother served as board president on her local club, exposing her to the inner workings of the business of swimming. Each of Anna’s three brothers also swam NCAA Division I, representing Stanford, Arizona State, and Southern Methodist University. Anna is renowned for her administrative prowess, her attention to detail, and for her tough coaching style. She and George have two children, Sophea and Isabella, born in 2011 and 2014.
George has always been known for his individualistic and creative approach to coaching, stemming from his art education at Carnegie Mellon University. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he came to Colorado Springs for the USA Swimming National Team Coach Fellowship in 2007, a prestigious one-year internship that lead him to a long term position on the National Team staff. In his time there he served as a performance consultant, traveling the country and world to serve the sport’s best swimmers and coaches. His team assignments included the clubs of 2012 Head Olympic Coaches Teri McKeever and Gregg Troy, as well as Jon Urbanchek, Frank Busch, and Dave Salo. During this time, George developed strong relationships with these and other world class coaches, resulting in a unique mentor-apprentice bond by which he was tutored in swimming at the very highest levels. In 2011, he was promoted to National Junior Team Program Manager, charged with designing and implementing every aspect of the feeder system to the USA Swimming National Team. One of George’s passions lies in Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD). His work with the National Team has armed him with distinctive and practical experience in designing holistic programming for athletes at every level. Early in his career, George head coached several parent-run swim teams, earning a reputation as a builder-of-clubs. Over the years he has coached summer league swim teams, high school swim teams, USA Swimming clubs, US Masters swim teams, and taught lessons of all kinds to athletes of all levels.
Originally from West Virginia, Ms. Joselyn has been with Pikes Peak Athletics for over 5 years. She has had her hand in numerous roles at Pikes Peak Athletics and is currently the Swim Team Business Manager. Additionally, she runs all retail and rentals for the Training Center. Joselyn earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College in Politics and Sociology and her Masters degree from UCCS in Public Administration. She is a collegiate swimmer who has turned to running mountain trails since moving to Colorado Springs in 2014.
Carolyn earned her bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University in journalism and mass communications and obtained a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Northern Colorado the following year. She is Pikes Peak Athletics’ Lesson Program Manager.
Carolyn has over 15 years of experience in swim instruction and coaching. Her passion for swimming and working with children makes her an essential asset to the program. Additionally, Carolyn has years of experience working with diverse and special needs populations. Prior to joining the PPA team, she was a reading interventionist and middle school language arts teacher. Carolyn swims on the Pikes Peak Athletics masters swim team and enjoys writing in her spare time.
Rory began his aquatics career as an athlete in South Florida, learning the highest levels of the sport from 6-time Olympic Coach Michael Lohberg. During his high school years, he trained alongside dozens of Olympians and World Record Holders including his primary training partner, Dara Torres. He led Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School to 2 State Championships and competed in the 100m freestyle at the 2008 US Olympic Trials. Rory earned a scholarship to swim at the University of South Carolina, where he earned a degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology. Upon completing his swimming career, Rory then joined Performance Aquatics, where he helped former ASCA Vice President and USAS Board Member Kathleen Prindle grow the program into one of the most successful in South Florida. During this time Rory assisted in coaching US Olympic Trial Qualifiers, National Champions, National Record Holders, and Olympians, as well as multiple Ironman World Championship qualifiers. He also served as Head Coach of FAU High School in Boca Raton FL, leading both the boys’ and girls’ teams to their highest finishes in school history.
Rory is a USMS, USAS, and ASCA Level 2 Certified Coach and is certified as a SwimAmerica site supervisor. He served 2 terms on the USMS Open Water Committee, 2 years as the Sanctions Chair and 1 year as the Coaches Chair for the Florida Gold Coast LMSC. Rory has also competed in 2 Ironman Triathlons, including the North American Championship race in 2015, and is currently working on becoming a USMS Level 3 Coach.
Besides his experience as an athlete, Rory has worked professionally in the aquatics industry since 2011. He began as Aquatics Director at Longcreek Plantation in Blythewood, SC where he oversaw operations and programming, resurrecting a swim team that had not existed for decades. Upon graduating from college, he moved back home to oversee the brand-new recreational aquatics facility at Florida Atlantic University. Wanting to serve a more competitive demographic, Rory moved down the road to assist with the aquatic facility at the Grandview Preparatory School where he spearheaded several of the largest projects in the facilities 30+ year history and hosted dozens of college winter training camps each year.
Rory and his wife Christina relocated to Colorado in 2020 in search of cooler temperatures, better scenery, and nicer people! He has been certified as a Red Cross Lifeguard for over 12 years, a Swim America Site Supervisor for 8 years, and a Certified Pool Operator for 4 years. Rory is currently pursuing his Aquatic Professional Designation from the Association of Aquatics Professionals and is a member of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
Coach Chris is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Pikes Peak Athletics. He programs extensive dryland workouts for the age group through senior teams. Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in Strength and Conditioning from UCCS and is interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in the future.
Chris also works as a personal trainer certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association at PPATC and specializes in clients with performance-based goals. He is always looking for the opportunity to expand his knowledge and enjoys integrating exercises and drills from a variety of training modalities.
Specialties: Sport Performance
From Monument in north Colorado Springs, Coach Cade comes from a large family of swimmers. He started swimming when he was 8 years old. Throughout his swimming career he made several All-Area and All-State teams, competed at 5 Sectional Championship meets, and qualified for Junior Nationals by his senior year of high school. His swimming career continued at Lindenwood University, a Division II school in St. Charles, Missouri, where he specialized in the 200/400IM. When in Missouri, he volunteered for the Disabled Athletes Sports Association (DASA) for several semesters teaching young people with various disabilities how to swim. Since leaving college and moving back to his home state of Colorado, Cade has coached for several teams across the front range, including VillaSport Athletic Club, helping the team grow from 12 swimmers to over 30 in a span of 6 months. Cade grew up swimming for the Woodmoor Waves, where he served as interim Head Coach when he came home in the summers of college, and eventually moved to Denver to coach for the Colorado STARS. Coach Cade has been refining his coaching skills working with a wide range of ages and a much larger pool of swimmers. Cade’s past swim coaches have influenced him in their own unique ways, inspiring him to pass along his knowledge and passion for swimming. Coach Cade believes dedication, determination, and the desire to find comfort in being uncomfortable are the keys to success in and out of the water.
Andy comes to PPA with a wealth of experience of competing internationally in swimming & triathlon since 1994. From his teenage years as a swimmer, a successful college career of both swimming & running at the University of Michigan, into a storied, one of a kind, professional triathlon racing career, Andy is passionate about sharing his hard earned knowledge with those who love endurance sports.
Andy has represented Team USA in both swimming and triathlon on the international stage. A medal winner at the World University Games in swimming, a champion at the Pan American games in triathlon, a two-time World Champion, and a very rare feat of being an Olympian and Paralympian (guide), he has seen it all. Andy has won races all over the world, races that last two minutes to over eight hours!
His experiences as an athlete have made Andy into a curious, yet giving coach. Always willing and eager to share his mistakes as well as learn more about sports and people, Andy is excited to help other achieve their goals.
Born and raised in Southern California, Larry was introduced to swimming and water polo at a young age and competed in both sports throughout his childhood and through school. In California, the sport of water polo is closely akin to swimming, and water polo players typically train with swim teams. During years of grueling swim workouts under renowned swimming coach Bud McAllister, Larry qualified for Junior Nationals in backstroke and freestyle events. After graduation, Larry played water polo at one of the more prestigious polo programs, Pepperdine University, where he was a stand-out and team captain.
While still in high school Larry was selected by the US Junior National Coach for the USA Water Polo Elite Development Pipeline. He competed at the 2002 world championships in Cairo and remained a member of the US National B Team throughout college. Larry’s hard work and talent afforded him the opportunity to travel the world in pursuit of one of his passions. Larry was later selected as an alternate for the USA Water Polo Olympic Team in Athens in 2004.
Larry has coached for over two decades in both swimming and water polo at the club and high school levels. He is an avid water sports enthusiast, engaging in open water swimming, kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boarding, and pretty much any other sport that involves H2O. Larry still swims regularly with the PPA masters team and tries to avoid a heart attack at every session. PPA is so lucky to enjoy and be a part of Coach Larry’s passion and enthusiasm for sport and life.
Coach Rob began his swimming career in Longmont, CO, where he earned all-American status and 1992 Colorado Swimming Inc. Swimmer of the Year honors. From there, Rob earned a scholarship to swim at the University of Kansas. His proudest moment as a Jayhawk was being named Team Captain his senior year. Upon completing his swimming career, Rob coached several teams in Colorado, including Longmont Swim Club, Loveland Swim Club, RallySport, and Greenwood. During that time, he coached numerous US Olympic Trials qualifiers, US National qualifiers, LSC All Stars, State Champions, and others. Coach Rob has been known to go on long cross-state bike rides, and when he is not at the pool he can be found camping and fishing all the best spots in Colorado.
Coach Aaron began his coaching career at the age of 14 while at the same time starting competitive swimming. Throughout high school, Aaron played water polo, swam, and played baseball, but his love for the water played the biggest role. Aaron attended CSU Bakersfield in California and was a member of two National teams under the direction of Coach Bob Steele. After a serious injury, Aaron switched to coaching and fell in love with it. He has been coaching with a USA swimming team since 2000.
Aaron has worked with a wide range of swimmers from 10 & under to collegiate athletes, beginning swimmers to Olympians. His philosophy is a Japanese term “Kaizen”, which means always improving. Every athlete always has room to grow and develop, and this is what he enjoys most about the sport.
Aaron lives with his wife and two kids. He enjoys anything outdoors; primarily camping, hiking, and trail running.
Mr. Andrey has been swimming for his entire life. He began swimming competitively at the age of 4 and was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to represent Arizona State University as a member of the men’s swim team.
He is a proud supporter of Pikes Peak Athletics and has two kids swimming competitively with PPA, both of whom came up through the ranks of the lesson program, Base Camp, and swim team.
He has his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology from Arizona State University and looks forward to helping his students reach their swimming goals!
Ms. Jann’s strong background in education and commitment to swimming makes her one of PPA’s advanced instructors. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology. Swimming has always been part of Ms. Jann’s life, whether it be competing, coaching, or teaching. In fact, Ms. Jann, her husband, and both of her daughters all swam for PPA. Even her donkey Roscoe has made appearances! She is the 2017 Colorado Masters State Champion for ages 50-55 in the 50 breaststroke and 50 freestyle. When she’s not swimming, Ms. Jann enjoys donkey hiking and snacking on chips, goat cheese, and olives.
Ms. Bonnie Sue began her lifelong love of swimming as an age group and high school competitor in Wyoming. She lead her Laramie High Swim Team to four straight state championships, winning a total of 9 gold medals. She worked her way through college as a swim instructor, lifeguard and coach. After moving to Houston she began a swim team at the Jewish Community Center and continued teaching lessons and water aerobics. While raising four daughters (also swimmers!) Bonnie Sue got back into coaching as a way to support their swimming goals and loved it. In the Kansas City area, Bonnie Sue was one of the founding coaches for the Tsunami Swim Team. Over the course of ten years she lead the local summer league team to two league championships, and was twice selected to coach the 9-10 year old Missouri Valley All Stars. She was also nominated for MV Age Group Coach of the Year.
After moving to a small town in central Kansas, she quickly became established as the local swim coach for all levels – age group, boys and girls high school, summer swim league, as well as directing and running a very successful swim lesson business in her backyard. In 2011, she led the boys high school team to their first league championship and was voted Kansas State High School Coach of the Year. Bonnie Sue and her husband, Antonio, moved to Colorado Springs in 2014 to take care of her elderly parents. After four long years out of the pool, she is very excited to be back coaching and teaching lessons with PPA!
Ms. Montana loves being a swim instructor because of her passion for swimming and water safety. Swimming is something you can do no matter how old or how able you are, that is what she loves about it. She wants to help people gain a love for the water. Montana loves working with kids because she can help them learn how to love swimming at a young age and instill water safety skills early. Currently, Montana is going to school to become a science teacher and she loves training for different types of races!
Ms. Kayla is a swimmer on Pikes Peak Athletics’ Group 5 swim team and has been swimming competitively for four years. She has been teaching swim lessons since April 2021, and she absolutely loves it! She teaches because she believes that in every lesson, she has an opportunity to change someone’s life. She hopes to spread her love for swimming to everyone she teaches! Her favorite food is French fries, and she drinks sparkling water like there’s no tomorrow. She loves hiking and car dance parties with her friends!
Ms. Tammy is from George, South Africa. She loves being in the mountains and swimming in the ocean. She is always around kids and loves to build relationships with them. Teaching kids how to swim is what makes her happy because she is teaching them the sport she loves. Her favorite foods are sushi and ice cream.
Ms. Emma has been swimming since she was six and has been swimming for Pikes Peak Athletics for four years. She enjoys teaching lessons and helping others discover their passion for swimming. Besides swimming, she loves spending time with family and friends, hiking, and running.
Ms. Kate has been swimming since she was six, and swam at Doherty High School. Her favorite stroke is butterfly. She loves teaching kids to swim and showing them how fun the water can be. She now goes to college in Seattle and is majoring in biology.
Mr. Taylor started out competitive swimming 10 years ago and has been swimming for Pikes Peak Athletics for 7 years now. In his time at PPA, he has been coached by many great coaches, but has been coached by the owner and head coach of Pikes Peak Athletics, George Heidinger, the most. They have coached him up to becoming a Junior National qualifier in the 500 yard freestyle, as well as many other achievements. He has been teaching at Pikes Peak Athletics for the past 14 months and used all of the knowledge he has gained from his coaches over the past 10 years to ensure his teaching is of the highest quality.
Ms. Lexi is currently a student at UCCS and plans on becoming a physician assistant. She swam competitively for eight years, one of which was with PPA. She has experience teaching kids of all abilities and skill levels. In her free time, she enjoys photography and spending time with her family and friends.
Ms. Torin has been swimming for seven years now, and it has turned into one of her passions. She enjoys working with kids of all ages and getting to know everyone with whom she works. Torin’s favorite stoke is backstroke, and she swims for Doherty High School. She also plays softball and enjoys hiking.
Ms. Amelia started swimming at the age of two and started to swim competitively at the age of eight. Amelia started swimming with Pikes Peak Athletics eight years ago and from her first swim practice with them, she knew she had found the perfect fit. Amelia started to teach swimming because of water safety. Learning how to safely maneuver in the water and have fun in the pool are all life skills that she believes everyone should learn. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her younger sisters and teaching her 4-year old brother how to swim as well.
Ms. Taylor is a Charlotte, North Carolina native. She swam competitively from age 7 until 18, when she graduated high school. She has been teaching for nine total years and has loved every minute of it. She has a full-time job working in public health, but sought out a part-time job as a swim instructor because she truly enjoys helping people of all ages and abilities learn such an important life skill. Her teaching style has always emphasized safety first, and she moves at the child’s pace to make sure they can cover all necessary skills in a fun and enjoyable way.
Ms. Sophia swims competitively for Pikes Peak Athletics during the summer and swims at the collegiate level at Colorado Mesa University during the school year, where she is working toward her degree in political science. As one of six kids, Ms. Sophia naturally has lots of experience with children and loves to teach them how to swim. Outside of school and swimming, she loves to hang out with her family and friends, or read lots of books!
Ms. Savanna currently attends the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) where she is a pre-nursing major with Nursing intent. She swam competitively for seven years and has experience with swimming before and after her time on a swim team. She also has many years of experience in babysitting. In her free time, Ms. Savanna loves to hang out with her friends, eat ice cream (or anything chocolate), and call her parents!
Ms. Malia has been a competitive swimmer for over eight years, swimming the first five years in Denver, and the last three years with Pikes Peak Athletics. Outside of swimming, Malia enjoys reading and spending time with her cats.
Coach Macie began working with Pikes Peak Athletics in October of 2019. Originally from Northeast Ohio, she found her way to Colorado Springs through an internship with USA Swimming. Macie has been a swimmer all her life and found her love for the sport at a young age. Throughout her career, Macie competed at numerous national-level meets, including the 2012 and 2016 US Olympic Team Trials. Macie swam for four-years at The Ohio State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion, Nutrition, and Exercise Science. After her athletic career concluded, she remained at Ohio State and completed a Master of Science in Kinesiology, Sport Management.
At Pikes Peak Athletics, Macie is an Assistant Age Group Coach. She enjoys helping young swimmers learn and grow in the sport. Outside of swimming, she loves to go on long walks with her dog and explore Colorado.
Alex is an assistant strength coach and personal trainer for Pikes Peak Athletics. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a degree in education while studying exercise science and physical education. During this time he played for one of the top collegiate rugby programs in the country, winning the MAC Conference Championship each year and playing in the National Championship in 2017. He also spent time in England, Wales, and Italy competing internationally. Upon graduation, Alex moved to Austin, Texas, in search of warmer weather to begin his career as a trainer. After developing a love for working with athletes and clients with performance-based goals, he decided to move to Olympic City, USA for more opportunities. Alex is a Certified Personal Trainer as well as an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He uses a combination of his unique background and experience as well as the latest scientific principles to help clients meet their performance and fitness goals.
Specialities: General Population, Athletic Performance
Coach Kelsey joins Pikes Peak Athletics after moving to Colorado Springs to be the USA Swimming National Team Intern for the spring of 2017. She swam at the University of Tennessee, earning a bachelor’s in Sport Management and MS in Kinesiology – Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior while there. Kelsey fell in love with the sport at a young age in Lexington, Kentucky. Kelsey was named to the 2012-2013 national team, qualified for Olympic Trials in 5 events for in 2012; made finals in the 100 and 200 fly. Her coaching career began in college where she coached for summer league, high school, and US Masters teams. She most enjoys watching swimmers develop at all ages, starting from varying comfort abilities in the water and has been lucky enough to work with some of the world’s best swimming minds throughout her career. Kelsey is exciting to continue growing and learning from Pikes Peak’s program!
Swimming has been a large part of Coach Jim’s life since he was six years old. Growing up in Indiana, Jim had the opportunity to learn training and technique methods formulated by the legendary James “Doc” Counsilman. Jim has 25 plus years of professional coaching at the age group, high school and Masters levels. He is passionate about working with all levels of swimmers. He loves to talk about swimming trivia from years ago.
Jim is a certified USA Swimming coach along with completing the USAT (Triathlon) level I and USA Cycling level I coursework.
Personally, Jim is up for any type of outdoor adventure/challenge. He was a two-time high school All-American in swimming. He swam collegiately at Western Kentucky University, has qualified and completed the grueling Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championships twice. Jim has also won multiple Master’s swimming national champion titles and is always up for a mountain bike ride or ski tour. Jim is married and has two wonderful children who swim at Pike Peak Athletics.
Mr. Brian joined the Pikes Peak Athletics coaching team in September of 2018. He brings with him more than seven years of swim lessons and coaching experience. He is currently the lead instructor for our Base Camp program, and loves watching kids succeed and achieve goals they never thought they could. A software developer by day, Brian enjoys spending his spare time with his wife, new baby, and two dogs.
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