Paul Smith
Co-Head Coach
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Paul has been a lifetime
swimming enthusiast. From participating, to coaching, to
studying the sport, it captivates him and is a significant part of
his life.
Paul has a B.A. & M.A. in
Clinical Psychology with a Coaching Minor; was a World University
Games Gold Medalist and Record Holder in 1981; is a two time
Olympic Swimming Trials Qualifier; was an NCAA Swimming
All-American in 1980 and 1981; has been a two time USMS Master
Swimmer of the Year recipient; is a multiple USMS World and
National Record Holder; has been a USMS All Star 5 times; is
a 10 time USMS All American; and is the owner of Paul L. Smith
& Associates Sales & Consulting.
He is a very involved coach and
enjoys getting to know each team member as a swimmer, and as a
person.
Laura Smith
Co-Head Coach
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Laura Smith is an Arizona native with a life long passion for
athletics. She attended Coronado High School, where her
achievements included multiple State Records in swimming, State
Record in the 800 (Track), Varsity Letterman in Track, Swimming and
Cross Country, National Honor Society, President Spanish
National Society, and Arizona Scholar Athlete of the year 1984.
Laura turned down Academic Full Ride Scholarships to A.S.U.; U of
A; and N.A.U. and decided to attend college out of state. She
was a Division I Backstroker for University of California, Santa
Barbara where she double majored in Comparative Religions and
Exercise Science with a Coaching Minor.
Laura worked abroad for 4 ½
years
in the Bahamas, West Indies, Dominican Republic and Mexico
designing and implementing sports and fitness programs for both
children and adults. Post Graduate, Laura has acquired
over 12 National Certifications in the Health and Fitness Industry
(A.C.E.; A.F.F.A.; Cooper Institute) and was the Fitness Director /
Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Vail Athletic Club and the
Arrowhead Alpine Club in Colorado. She is a three time USMS
National Champion and was a part of the 800 Women’s Relay
National Record team.
Laura and her husband Paul are the Head Masters Coaches and
Co-Directors of Mesa Aquatics Club. She currently holds a
Level llI ASCA Certification, USMS Level II Certification, and
works with our age groupers on deck and all ages running MAC's
dryland program.
Jonathan Shaw
Coach
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Jon Shaw grew up in Indiana where he was a standout age group
swimmer and achieved the #1 ranking in US in the 100 fly &
400IM, set state records in the 100 fly, won multiple state age
group and senior championships and is still ranked in the top 100
in 4 events (40th all time in the 400IM as a 13-14 year old).
Jon was recruited by and swam for ASU from 2000-2004 where he was a
Pac 10 semi-finalist in the 200 fly and 400IM, he graduated with a
BA in Elementary Education and currently teaches 7th grade Social
Studies. Jon's passion for swimming has never died, he has coached
for Sun Devil Aquatics as well as Sun Devil Masters and joined the
MAC family in September of 2009. Jon's forte is technical
instruction, in addition to coaching masters and assisting with
MAC's Senior group Jon also does private instruction.
Meg Zajdzinski
Coach
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Meg Rich-Zajdzinski, better known to us all as Coach Meg, is now
making an impact on the swimming world in Arizona for a fourth decade. Her roots in
swimming, and specifically here in Mesa, began long ago as part of
a swimming family who
spent numerous hours at the pool for practices and meets as her own
competitive career was in its infant stages. She progressed
through the swimming ladder, including an extremely successful
age group experience
with the original version of Mesa Aquatics, continuing on through
her years at Westwood High School, where she was not only an
individual State Champion herself but also a leader on some
excellent teams that
vied for State Championships. Her dedication allowed her qualify
for a college scholarship, first at Arizona State and finally at Colorado State
University. For most, that list of accolades would be enough to
last a lifetime, for
her that was really just a thorough preparation for all that has
ensued.
Meg reached out to some of the same coaches that had helped build
her own competitive career and sought their advice and counsel on getting started
on a new adventure, a coaching career of her own. She
has worked in
different programs throughout the valley, working side by side with
some of the longest tenured and most experienced coaches in our sport and she
has clearly benefited from those friendships, which now
pay dividends daily
in her work with our own young swimmers. Meg returned to Mesa
Aquatics Club in its newest version 5 years ago and has risen to become
our Age Group Director, responsible for the development
of several hundred
youngsters often younger that she was when her own swimming dream
began. To watch her
teach a skill as simple as drop pushes from the wall, is to
understand the depth of her knowledge and the unique style of her coaching, as she
incorporates in rhyming mnemonics, often incorporated into a
jingle, and small
movements which blend into an integrated whole that will become a
part of those tiny new swimmers base of knowledge for a lifetime.
She is also a big part, along with her husband Chris, in building a
team within a team, as they have 4 children between 12 and 16, all swimmers of course,
who you will see daily as part of our program. You will also
often see Chris
swimming with our Masters program, and when the competitive spirit
moves her, Meg also will jump back into competition as she did when we
hosted Masters Nationals here in Mesa a few years ago, and
what was her
contribution to that effort, National Championships in the 200 and
500 freestyles. They are a family that will sometimes take part in an open water
swim simply because the family that swims together at least gets
to carpool. They live
the typical lives of swimming families, up early, often just as
transportation for teenagers who have 5 am practices at different pools or to
coach one of her own practices.
Meg is an ASCA certified Level III swim coach, in addition to also
being ASCA II certified as a masters coach, but those are not the most important measures
of her value to our program. She and her family are one
of many shining
examples of our team philosophy, "Water is life, swim for life" and
each and every day she instills those same values into athletes as young as 6
or 7 years old, ensuring that the torch will be passed for
many more
generations.
Jack Giles
Coach
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Jack joins our team with long history of coaching in Arizona. He graduated from Saguaro High school, where he swam for the Varsity Team. From there, he coached a summer Rec league at South Lake Tahoe, a team of 80 kids. When he came back to the valley he spent 13 years with the City of Scottsdale working as the summer team coach, team program coordinator and pool manager.
Jack graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 1983 with a BS in Psychology and Child Development. He was the Assistant Coach for the Marcos de Niza swim team for two years before moving to the Arcadia district where he coached Arcadia High School to 9 State Championships! Jack was the Aquatics Director at the Village Athletic Club for three years before returning to school to obtain his Law Degree from ASU.
He has always been a fan of swimming, a participant of swimming, and his passion and knowledge of the sport has led to the success of his swimmers.
Bear Behrmann
Coach
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Bear grew up in Arizona where he swam for Mesa Aquatics Club and
Mesa High School. He swam in the state meet all four years of
high school and still holds school records in the 50, 100, and 200
yard freestyle. After high school he left for a two year LDS
Mission to Germany and Switzerland. When he returned from his
mission he married his wife Tycee (who is also a swimmer) and
attended school at Arizona State University. There he
competed on the swim and triathlon teams while earning his
Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. Bear and Tycee have
been married almost six years and have two beautiful
children. Their four year old daughter, Berlyn, can already
swim freestyle across the pool. They also have a seven month
old little boy, Bridger, who is starting to love the water as
well. Bear has 5 years teaching and coaching experience with
swimmers of all ages. He loves everything to do with swimming
and continually seeks to improve not only as a swimmer but as a
coach. He enjoys watching swimmers improve and helping them
to reach their goals.
Dillan Keith
Coach
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Dillan loves the sport of swimming. He grew up swimming rec league at Brimhall and Shepherd Junior High. He has swam competitively for 5 different clubs throughout the valley growing up and has been exposed to multiple idelogies regarding stroke acquisition and training. He medaled at the high school state championships his senior year in high school and competed at the same meet all four years. After graduating high school, Dillan served a 2 year LDS mission in Louisiana. Upon his return home, Dillan swam at the club level while attending Arizona State University where he graduated with a B.S. in industrial and organizational psychology. He will enjoy attaining his masters at the University of Southern California shortly. He has coached high school for four seasons and has learned valuable skills from top coaches throughout the valley coaching club.
Dan Leibrand
Coach
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Cindy G. Clutter
Coach
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ASCA
Certified
Michael S Herrmann
Coach
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Mike Herrmann moved to Arizona in 1970 and swam rec teams from 4-10
at a private club in Phoenix until we moved to Tempe in 1977. In
1978 I started swimming with the Tempe Makos which eventually
turned into the Tempe Swim Devils. For a 2-year period I swam for
Mesa Aquatics 1980-1981 but returned to Tempe Swim Devils in the
fall of 1981 when I started High School at Marcos De Niza where I
swam all 4 years and competed in the state meet every year. After
graduation I had a decision to make if I would walk on at Arizona
State University or quit swimming. One of my biggest regrets was to
quit swimming at that point. I attended Arizona State University
and graduated in 1990 with a degree in Marketing with an emphasis
on sales and sales management. In January of 1991 I opened the
Michael S Herrmann Insurance Agency, Inc, a Farmers Insurance
Agency. Our agency has prospered over the years and allowed us lots
of time to do the things that I am most passionate about such as
swimming and coaching. I have been an assistant coach with Corona
Del Sol High School for the past 5 years. I am very grateful for
the opportunity to coach in the USA swimming ranks and have a goal
of being able to free up enough time to be able to coach more.
We are excited to welcome Mike to our coaching staff,
primarily working with Coach Eric at Kino with our S1/NTG
groups.
