Sean C Hutchison
CEO / Head Coach
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Under
Sean’s guidance, the KING Aquatic Club has seen almost
unmatched success in the pool. KING’s athletes have been
successful at all levels: state and sectional champions, individual
and relay national and junior national titlists, US National team
appointments, Olympic medalists and World and American record
setters.
Despite the success in the water, Sean’s goal as a coach
hasn’t necessarily been fast swimming. His goal is to "help
people achieve what they thought was beyond their grasp" so that
they might believe in themselves and be inspired to do great things
in their lives.
Sean is a leader in the training and technical aspects of the
sport. Although his education is founded in the liberal arts, in
2008 he became a published scientist for work done in the world of
fluid dynamics. He sits on the Pacific Northwest Swimming board,
the USA Swimming Steering Committee and the Olympic International
Operations Committee.
KING still stands by Sean’s mission since becoming head coach
in the fall of 2002:
I envision developing a model for other clubs to mimic - both in
terms of performance and administration.
I envision a prototype program that builds success through results
and feeds on it, thereby showing our athletes how to become
successful people.
I envision challenging coaches to become the best staff in the
world.
I envision a joint venture between the membership, the business
community, and the coaches to create something special,
professional, and successful that has never been seen before.
Most importantly, I envision creating an environment where
excellence is inevitable and fun!
Sean has been awarded or achieved the following accolades and
accomplishments in his tenure as KING head
coach:
- 2009 US World Championship Team Head Coach
- 2008 US Olympic Team Assistant Coach
- 2007 US World Championship Team Assistant Coach
- 2006 US Pan Pacific Games Team Assistant Coach
- 2005 US World University Games Team Assistant Coach
- Two-time George Haines Award Winner
Speaking Engagements:
- World Swim Coaches Association - World Swimming Clinic
- National Team Coaches Conference
- Rotary Club
Keith Ure
Lead Coach - Kent
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Keith is the Head Age Group Coach and began
coaching with the Kent Area Dolphins, which is now King Aquatic
Club, back in the Fall of 1987. Additional coaching experience
includes 10 years of High School Head Coaching (Hazen &
Evergreen High Schools) and 5 Years as a Summer League Head Coach
(Kent Swim & Tennis Club). Keith enjoys spending his free time
supporting the Seattle Thunderbirds and working for the Boeing
Company.
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1998, 2007 American Swim Coaches Association
Age Group Coach of the Year - PNS
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2002, 2003 Pacific Northwest Swimming Age
Group Coach of the Year
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2006-07 PNS Technical Commitee
Chair
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2007 Head Coach, PNS Pacific Coast All-Star
Team
Kenneth R Spencer
Lead Coach - Federal Way
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Another transplant from the land of pleasant
living, Ken brings his 15 years of coaching experience to KING.
Formerly the head coach of the largest team in Maryland swimming,
Ken is proud to be a part of the strongest staff on the West Coast.
On his former club, Ken’s swimmers routinely produced top 16
times, US Open and National cuts. Ken was an active member of
Maryland swimming, acting as the coach’s representative to
the administrative board and consistently serving as a zone
coach.
Ken earned his degree in psychology at
Villanova University and is currently completing his masters degree
in Kinesiology at the University of Maryland. In his other life,
Ken worked seven years for the Howard County public school system,
teaching 4th, 6th, and 7th grade. In the past year Ken has gotten
married, taken a trip around the world covering five continents in
six months, and made the move to Seattle. He is an ASCA level 4
coach.
Ash G Milad
Lead Coach - Mercer Island/Bellevue
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Ash Milad comes to us from the Washington
D.C. area where he has been coaching on the U.S.S. level since his
early years in college. Ash was born and raised in Northern
Virginia and graduated from Penn State. At Penn State he
coached age groupers with the State College Area YMCA and help
found the Nittany Lion Aquatic Club.
Upon graduation, Ash returned to Northern Virginia and worked as
Director of Managment for NVPools, Inc. While working for NVPools
Ash coached for the York Swim Club and most recently Machine
Aquatics and George Mason University. He also has extensive
experience with summer league teams.
Since joining the KING Staff in 2004 Ash has been a member of the
PNS All-Star Team staff for the last three years and serves on the
Pacific Northwest Swimming Board of Directors as an at-large
member. Ash and his wife Kate live in downtown Seattle and
enjoy spending time with their dogs Moseley and
Mable.
David A Kienlen
Lead Coach - Fife
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Dave is the lead coach at the Fife
Swim Center and brings years of competitive coaching to KING.
He began his coaching career in 1970 as Head Coach with the Joliet
Swim Club in Illinois where he developed dozens of state and
regional champions along with multiple national finalists in both
US Swimming and YMCA competition. He continued his coaching career
in Oregon during the 80’s with the Willamalane Swim Team and
again produced state and regional champions. In 1990 he left for
North Carolina to become the Head Coach for the Sharks Aquatic Club
and developed the team from a small group of 40 swimmers to over
160 within 3 years. While in North Carolina he not only produced
state and regional champions, but several junior national swimmers
along with the first ever State High School Championship for Kings
Mountain High School. In 1993 Dave moved to Washington where he
took over a struggling Issaquah Swim Team (IST). During his seven
years with IST he developed the team from 60 swimmers to over 220
swimmers, six junior national swimmers and several state high
school champions. In 2001 Dave was selected to become the first
Head Coach for the South Sound Titans. There he developed the team
from about 70 swimmers to over 140, produced several junior
national swimmers, over a dozen US Open swimmers and led the team
to a 7th place finish in the US Swimming Women’s Senior
National Championships. He also coached Olympian, Megan Quann, to
over 5 additional National Titles during her career with the
Titans. Dave is currently the Aquatic Coordinator for the City of
Fife. He has held the following positions or titles with Pacific
Northwest Swimming: PNS Senior Chair, PNS Board of Review,
President – Greater Seattle Swim Association (GSSA), PNS
Senior Coach of the Year – 2002 and 2003.
Samuel King
Lead Coach - Covington
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Sam enters this season as the Lead Coach at
the Covington Aquatic Center at Tahoma. Sam came to KING after
a stellar career with the University of Wyoming Cowboys men’s
swim team as their IM/Butterfly expert. While at
Wyoming, Sam earned First Team All-MWC
honors, Academic All-Conference award, and a four time
letter award winner. Sam’s hometown is Missoula, Montana.
While attending Sentinel High School, Sam was the
Montana state record holder in the 200 IM. He was an All-State
selection all four years of high school and was a state champion in
the 500 freestyle and 200 IM. He was an All-American in the 200 IM.
He was the Sentinel school record holder in the 500 freestyle, 100
breaststroke and 200 IM. He was a team captain as a junior and
senior and a four-year letterwinner. He was a USA Swimming Academic
All-American, a four-time honor roll member and a member of the
National Honor Society. While not serving KING as a coach, Sam
also works for Aquatic Management Group at the Kent Pool and Mount
Rainier Pool.
Darren Grose
Lead Coach - Des Moines
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Darren enters his first year as the Lead Coach
at Mount Rainier Pool in charge of the Developmental
& Novice swim team programs. Darren has been swimming all
his life. He was a four year letter winner and team captain at
Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington. He began his career
as a collegian at the University of Michigan. Although he was not
nearly accomplished enough to join the Michigan swim team, he
continued to swim on his own. After two years at Michigan he
transferred to Pitzer College, where he competed for three seasons,
and also ran track. Darren enjoys chocolate milk, Gossip Girl and
all things swimming related.
Thomas W Anderson
Coach - Covington
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Tom is one the coaches at Covington
Aquatic Center at Tahoma. Tom started coaching for KING April
of 2000 and has worked at many of the KING training sites.
During this time Tom took a couple of years off to focus on
his teaching career.
Tom’s aquatics career has spanned
nearly four decades as a swimmer and coach. He swam club at the
West Seattle YMCA and Husky Swim Club, summer league at Arbor
Heights, high school at Kennedy HS, college at Central Washington
University, and finally at the masters level. His coaching career
has been very exciting, as he has had the chance to work with the
entire spectrum of athletes from beginning novice to national
caliber swimmers. Tom has coached: club teams-Ellensburg Area Swim
Team, Husky, Kent Area Dolphins, and now KING; summer
league-Arbor Heights and Twin Lakes; high school-Ellensburg High
School boys and girls, and Highline High School boys and girls; and
finally masters-Southwest Seattle Masters.
Tom’s coaching experiences include 4
summer league titles with Arbor Heights, 2 district titles with
Ellensburg High School, league titles at Highline High School,
teams that included 2 HS All-Americans, Northwest Age Group
Regional title with Husky Swim Club with several National Top16
swimmers from those groups. He also has the notoriety of being the
final Head Coach of the Kent Area Dolphins, one of the teams that
merged to create KING.
In real life, Tom has been an elementary
teacher for over 20 years. He taught fourth grade for 12
years, was a Mass Media Specialist for 4 years, and is currently a
Reading Specialist at Sherwood Forest Elementary in Federal Way. He
lives in Redondo with his wife. Tom loves to read, do crossword
puzzles, play and watch all sports (Husky season ticket holder),
live theater (season tickets to the 5th Ave. Theater), traveling,
and playing on the computer.
Go KING go!
Thomas Hannan
Coach - Federal Way
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Tommy Hannan enters his first year as a
KING coach of the National & Regional training
groups at KCAC in Federal Way. Previously, Tommy served
three years as an assistant coach with the University of
Washington after successful swimming careers at the collegiate and
international levels. Hannan worked primarily with the sprinters
and oversees recruiting for the men’s team.
Hannan was a three-time member of the USA
National Team and was a member of the gold medal-winning 400 medley
relay team at the 2000 Olympic games. Hannan served as team captain
at the 2003 USA Pan American Games, won a gold medal at the
1999 World University Games, and qualified for the 2004
USA Olympic Trials as a member of King Aquatic Club.
A Baltimore, Md. native, Hannan swam four
years at the University of Texas where he won three NCAA team tiles
from 2000-2002. He also won two NCAA titles in the 400 medley relay
and one in the 400 freestyle relay, setting American and NCAA
records in the event. A 17-time All-American, Hannan served as the
Longhorn’s team captain during his junior and senior
campaigns, and graduated with a degree in finance in 2003.
Damien G Chambon
Coach - Federal Way
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I was born in the south of France and lived
for eight years in Paris. I joined my first swim club when I was 11
years old, but I really started to train when I was in college. At
this time, swimming became a passion that I will have
forever.
At the end of my career as a swimmer, I
became assistant coach and age group coach for my club - RCF - in
Paris. After three years being an age group coach, I moved into a
co-head coach position in Lyon, France. After two years in Lyon, I
moved back to Paris for a co-head coaching position with RCF.
During my career, I have worked with several top swimmers such as
European champion Elena Bogomzova and African Champion Salim
Iles.
Today, I’m happy to join King Aquatic Club and work with Sean
Hutchinson. Becoming a coach in the USA has always been a dream for
me. Swimming has given me a lot of joy and many great friends. I
hope to help my swimmers enjoy the sport as much as I
have!
Je suis né dans le sud de la France, dans une petite
ville où à l’âge de 11 ans j’ai
pris ma première licence de natation. Lors de ma
première année universitaire, à
l’âge de 18 ans, j’ai découvert la
natation de compétition et c’est devenu une veritable
passion. Cette passion ne m’a plus jamais quittée. Au
terme de ma carrière sportive, mon entraîneur parisien
m’a proposé de devenir son assistant ; c’est
donc tout naturellement que je suis devenu
entraîneur.
Durant ma carrière, j’ai eu
la chance de travailler avec plusieurs nageurs olympiques notamment
la championne d’Europe du 50m brasse Elena Bogomazova et le
champion d’Afrique Salim Iles. La natation
m’apporté beaucoup de satisfactions, des joies et des
émotions, quelques déceptions aussi. J’ai eu le
bonheur d’y rencontrer ma femme. La plupart de mes amis sont
d’anciens nageurs ou des
entraîneurs.
Aujourd’hui je suis très
heureux d’avoir rejoint King Aquatic et d’avoir
rencontré Sean Hutchinson. Devenir un entraineur de natation
aux USA, dans un des meilleurs club du pays : c’est un
rêve qui se réalise…
Doug R Djang
Coach - Federal Way
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Doug Djang started coaching for King
Aquatic Club in 2006. At the start of the
2009-10 season, Djang worked at the Mercer Island/Bellevue
site then moved to the Federal Way site. Previously, Djang served
as a subsitute coach, filling in where needed within the KING
system. In college, Djang competed for three years for the
Seattle University Redhawks earning All-American status. As a young
swimmer in the Tri-Cities area and as a former KING National
group swimmer under head coach Sean Hutchison, Djang will
bring a wealth of experience to KING.
Before coming to KING, Djang attended Richland
High School, where he played for the varsity basketball
program. Djang is presently a history major at Seattle
University and helps coach the Redhawks swim program in his spare
time away from KING.
Amanda Swanson
Coach - Federal Way
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Amanda Swanson grew up in the Kent area and
swam for Kentwood High School, under Mark Prothero for four years
including captain responsibilities her senior year. Later she swam
at BIOLA University in La Mirada, California.
Currently Amanda is coaching in Federal Way as the Developmental
and Novice coach. She has been a longtime teacher and lifeguard at
the Kent AMG Pool and has coached for two years in Summer League
swimming for Kent Swim and Tennis Club. She believes that swimming
changed her life dramatically and hopes that the children
she coaches benefit in the same way. She loves getting to
know the individual uniqueness of young swimmers and has a
passion to teach them proper technique for
speed while having a blast. Because swimming is competitive,
she believes every practice builds the body, mind and spirit within
the swimmer.
She is currently continuing her education in the local area
majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Psychology. As she
Studies to be an Occupational
Therapist, she is thrilled to join the King Aquatic
Club coaching staff.
John B Tacke
Coach - Fife
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John has been both a swimmer and a swimming
parent for many years. He started swimming competitively at age 8
in Alexandria, Virginia, and continued with the Lakewood Swim Club
in Tacoma after his family moved to the Tacoma area. He then went
on to swim for Lakes High School and after graduation attended
Whitman College where he swam on the varsity team. He still
trains and competes with the Federal Way Masters Swim Team at the
King County Aquatic Center.
Two primary factors led to his becoming a
coach. His daughters, Emily, and Hannah, swim on King and he wanted
to contribute in a way that took advantage of his own swimming
experience. In addition, while swimming on a Master’s team,
he developed a newfound passion for understanding stroke technique
and race strategy, and realized it’s never too late to fix a
problem or incorporate a new idea.
John’s professional career also brings
experience that will be effective in coaching. He graduated with
degrees in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from Whitman and
Columbia University in New York, and worked as an engineer for many
years. He understands the mechanics and dynamics of competitive
swimming and how to translate that into successful swimming. One of
his favorite motto’s as an engineer (and as a swimmer), is
“Efficiency is a terrible thing to waste!” Currently
John owns and operates Frontline Solutions, LLC, a software
development business.
Sean R Prothero
Coach - Kent
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Sean Prothero is our Novice and Developmental
coach at the Kent Pool.
Sean has been a part of the swimming
community for as long as he can remember. He swam his first
competitive race when he was four years old for Lakeridge Swim
Club. (Summer league)
Sean became of a member of the Kent Area
Dolphins at the age of seven, and swam under the excellent coaching
of a much younger then, Keith Ure. He continued to swim for
Kent Area Dolphins, later merging with Highline Swim Club to form
King Aquatic Club. As a ten year old Sean made the PNS Zone team.
While swimming for Kentwood High School, Sean qualified for State
all four years, and was a finalist his sophomore, junior and senior
years.
Sean then swam for Central Washington State
University his freshman year in college before the program was
cancelled. Sean returned home the following year and began
coaching summer league at Kent Swim and Tennis Club and that
October for King Aquatic Club.
Sean may be young, but has a lot of
experience with swimming. He is a firm believer in the idea that
swimming should be both fun as well as a sport. That attitude
can be seen by all in the way he coaches and interacts with his
swimmers.
Patrick R Hamilton
Coach - Mercer Island/Bellevue
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