Shelly Rawding
Head Coach
Email
Shelly grew up
in
Seattle
and swam for Cascade Swim
Club and the
University
of
Washington
Huskies
. She is married to
Dan (a Husky Swimmer also) and has four children. The oldest,
Justine (24), graduated from
Niagara University in
2009
where
she swam for the Purple Eagles as she pursued a
degree in Psychology with a minor in Statistics. She received
her Masters Degree in Human Resources & Industrial Relations
from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of
Management, and currently works for ExxonMobil in Houston,
Texas. Brett is 23 and has enlisted in the Army, where he is
a Blackhawk crew chief currently stationed in Germany. The
youngest two, Jacob and Mariah, are in 11th
grade.
Shelly has 10 years
swimming experience and 24 years swim coaching experience in a
variety of settings. She came to the HRVST in 1996 and has
been head coach since spring 2000. The past few years she has
assisted Oregon Swimming as well by participating on the Board of
Review and by helping to coach the All Star and Zone teams.
In 2009 Shelly was awarded the USA Swimming ConocoPhillips
Outstanding Service Award and the Oregon Swimming Coaching
Excellence Award. She currently is the Oregon Swimming Coaches
Association Chair. Swimming is different to many local youth
sports since our coaches are professional coaches on a
salary. We take pride in the fact that our team provides
funding for continuing education for all our coaches to keep them
up to date on current coaching practices. Our assistant
coaches also attend clinics and they all share a video library to
keep working towards the same shared goals.
MJ Caswell
Lead Age Group Coach
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Growing up in southern California, Mary Jane (MJ)
Caswell enjoyed swimming competitively both as an age group
participant and at the high school level.
While competing for the University of California at
Irvine, MJ had the opportunity to teach swimming to all age group
levels in addition to conducting introductory classes in
competitive swimming.
Currently MJ and her husband Michael, enjoy
training and competing for the Columbia Gorge Masters Swim Team. MJ
especially enjoys the camaraderie and support of both the
Masters’ group and the local aquatic community. Her
favorite events are the 200 and 500 freestyle and the 100
butterfly, which were the shortest events she swam in college. This is
MJ's third year coaching for the HRVST, where she enjoys working
with the kids (and masters swimmers) and passing on her knowledge
of the sport.
Keith Ebbert
Columbia Gorge Masters Head Coach
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Keith Ebbert calls the Gorge home
having lived in Carson, Underwood, White Salmon and Hood River in
his formidable years. Keith began his swimming career in the White
Salmon municipal pool, we all know and love, and his first
competative meet and disqualification was performed at The Dalles
Invitational in 1983. His 15 year long swimming career took him to
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a swimming scholarship where
he received both his BA in International Business and a Master of
Community and Regional Planning. Keith and his wife Jamie have a
two young sons, Charlie and Cassidy .
Keith's best events were the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Individual
Medley. His senior year in High School he broke the Oregon state
records in each of these events, but came in second in the 200 I.M.
As a collegiate athlete he participated at the NCAA meet in both of
these events and qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials in the 100
Butterfly. Keith has trained and competed against a number of well
known Olympians including World Record Holders and Gold Medalists
like Penny Haynes, Peter Jackson, and Adam Pine. Keith joined our
team in 2010 and is excited to be part of the Hood River Columbia
Gorge Masters program and can't wait for them to "experience the
burn."
Sue Harrington
Age Group Assistant Coach
Email
Sue grew up swimming in
lakes and didn’t discover competitive swimming until
9th
grade when, thanks to Title
IX, she joined the boy’s swim team for a year. By
her
senior year, a girl’s
swim team had formed, but the distances were short – 25 and
50
yard races! At the
University of Rochester, the swim coach suggested Sue join
the
team after catching her do
some laps. Sue swam all 4 years in college. Her team
had
an undefeated season her
freshman year, with Sue being a key member of the
final
winning (but slated to
lose) relay, and a 40 – 4 record over the 4 years.
Sue’s main
individual events were (and
still are) the 50 and 100 breaststroke and
freestyle.
Renowned swim guru Bill
Boomer was the head coach of the UR teams and Sue
had
many intensive stroke
instruction sessions under his critical eye! Boomer’s
gold
standard for what team
spirit can do for individual swimmer’s times continues to
be
from the UR women’s
team during Sue’s college years.
Sue grew up swimming in
lakes and didn’t discover competitive swimming until
9th
grade when, thanks to Title
IX, she joined the boy’s swim team for a year. By
her
senior year, a girl’s
swim team had formed, but the distances were short – 25 and
50
yard races! At the
University of Rochester, the swim coach suggested Sue join
the
team after catching her do
some laps. Sue swam all 4 years in college. Her team
had
an undefeated season her
freshman year, with Sue being a key member of the
final
winning (but slated to
lose) relay, and a 40 – 4 record over the 4 years.
Sue’s main
individual events were (and
still are) the 50 and 100 breaststroke and
freestyle.
Renowned swim guru Bill
Boomer was the head coach of the UR teams and Sue
had
many intensive stroke
instruction sessions under his critical eye! Boomer’s
gold
standard for what team
spirit can do for individual swimmer’s times continues to
be
from the UR women’s
team during Sue’s college years.
