Darian Baker
Coach
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Darian
started her swimming career with Norwin Aqua Club at the age of 12.
She spent the next 6 years competing at Chestnut Ridge and AMS
meets, often it felt like she was at these every weekend.
During this time she had the opportunity to swim at both short
course and long course Zones meets. During high school season she
was a WPIAL qualifier in the 200 free and 200 IM. She then went on
to swim at Westminster College where her main events were 200 back
and 400 IM. Her favorite events to compete in were endurance
events, such as 400 IM, 500 free, 1000
free.
During
her first year with NAC, Darian will also be attending school to
get her Associates degree in Nursing from WCCC, with hopes of
obtaining a Bachelors degree while working. Her career aspirations
are to work on an Oncology floor of a hospital. She hopes that her
career in the medical field will help to strengthen her ability to
coach. She is very excited for the season to come and watch NAC
continue to grow, but most importantly she’s excited to coach
at “home”.
Casi Smith
Coach
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Group:
Otters/Seals/ Sharks
Casi has
been coaching with the Norwin Aqua Club since 2018. She was a
member of the club from 2005-2014. She also swam with the White Oak
Swim Team from 2003 – 2014 where she is a record holder in
the 100 Backstroke Relay and 100 Butterfly Relay. Casi was a part
of the Norwin Varsity Swim team for four years where she was a
three time WPIAL Qualifier. Casi swam for Saint Vincent College for
four years where she was a Top 10 PAC finalist and currently ranked
7th on their teams Top Times List for the 400 Individual Medley and
10th in the 200 Butterfly. Casi has been the Head Coach of the
White Oak Swim Team since 2015 and is the Assistant Swim Coach at
Ligonier Valley High School. Casi is currently a Graduate Assistant
with Ligonier Valley School District obtaining her Master’s
Degree at Saint Vincent College.
Bennett Dandar
Coach
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Coach Ben
began his swim career with swimming lessons that were sponsored
through the Norwin Aqua Club. He made the NAC team when he
was 7 years old. He has a lot of great memories of his years with
the Norwin Aqua Club. Not only the swimming and swim meet
memories, but also the friends that over the years have become like
family to him. He is so lucky to say that they are still the
people in his life that mean so much!
During
Coach Ben’s Freshman year at Norwin he began swimming for the
High School Team. He swam throughout his high school career,
and went to WCCA all four years. During his senior year he
qualified for the WPIAL Championships in the 500 Freestyle, his
favorite stroke. Other experiences that swimming has offered him
include teaching swim lessons through the Aqua Club, becoming a
lifeguard, and being the Assistant Pool Manager at Crabapple Pool
for almost 5 years. He was also in charge of organizing and
conducting swim lessons for children ages 4 to 10 at Crabapple
Pool. In addition to coaching for the Aqua Club since
November 2019, Coach Ben also works for a Printing Company called
RR Donnelly. He enjoys working out, and spending time with his
friends and family.
Coach
Ben’s goal as a coach for Norwin Aqua Club is to make the
kids feel welcome, and to be their biggest cheerleader. He wants to
help them become the best swimmers they can be, and for them to
feel proud of themselves!
Courteney Hubert
Coach
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Coach
Courteney was a swimmer for the Norwin Aqua Club for 13
years. She graduated from college in May of 2019, and became
a coach for NAC. She has a passion for swimming, and has a
love for the aqua club. As a member of NAC she participated in AMS
swimming, and competed at numerous competitive meets such as Zones
and Sectionals. In high school she competed individually at WPIAL
Championships three times. She also went to the Pennsylvania State
Championships two years in a row with her Norwin relay team. In
2015 she began pursuing her swimming career at Gannon University in
Erie, Pennsylvania. She spent four years there as a sprint
freestyler, and competed individually at PSAC’s all four
years. Currently Coach Courteney works mostly with the Seal 2 and
Shark groups at practice. She enjoys coaching every group when she
gets the chance. She is excited to be coaching this year, and looks
forward to seeing what’s in store for the future!
