
Mitch Gold
Head Coach
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Mitch brings over 15 years of experience
successfully coaching athletes of all ages and abilities. As an age
group swimcoach he has led swimmers to the Sectional, Zone,
and Junior Olympic Level. Coach Mitch is an American Swimming
Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 3 Coach, a member of the Positive
Coaching Alliance and brings an extensive background in physiology
and sports psychology, as well as an elite level structured and
positive coaching style to the Palm Desert Swim Club. Mitch also
chairs the Eastern Committee, Southern California Swimming for his
second term.
2017 brought Sectional level times to
Mitch’s coaching credentials along with 12 Junior Olympic
medals, including the 1500 Gold Medal and Silver Medal in the
400/800 via AVS and an11th place women’s team finish as the
top small team.
In the 2016 Long Course season, his squad of 15
Sr & Jr swimmers earned 9 medals at the Summer Junior Olympics
including 2x JO Champion, Akemi Von Scherr in the 800/1500 with
Sectional time cuts (a first for PDSC). Mitch also added a Top 10
Nationally ranked swimmer to his list of coaching accomplishments
in Emmi Von Scherr finishing the 2016 season in 6th place
in the 1500.
During a breakout season in 2015, Mitch proudly
took four athletes to the Southern California Swimming Club
Championships earning two medals (Erin Shen/50 breast and Lucas
Brunett/50 back with a National Top Ten Time). Mitch also had 8
swimmers qualify for the Winter Junior Olympics in 41 events and
earned 12 medals, including the crowning of a Junior Olympic
Champion in the 100 IM (Lucas Brunett). Mitch also took 19 of
athletes to the June Age Group Championships and Summer Junior
Olympics.
Mitch brings a wealth of coaching experience to
PDSC. Before joining the PDSC staff, Mitch filled the Head Age
Group Coach with the Palm Springs Piranhas and Head Coach for Palm
Desert High School Boys Team.
An athlete with a National caliber running
background, Coach Mitch is also a multiple USAT All-American,
13-time World Triathlon Championship Qualifier and two-time Armed
Forces Champion of the World Triathlon
Championships.
Mitch is retired Marine Officer and University of
Maryland graduate.

Tom Burbank
Head Age Group Coach
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Head Age Group Coach Tom came on board as an
Assistant Coach in May,2016. He retired in June 2016 after
spending the previous 25 years as a high school social studies
teacher with the Desert Sands Unified School District. During
four of those years, he served as the president of the Desert Sands
Teachers Association. In 2016 he coached the JV swimmers
(both boys and girls) for Palm Desert High
School.
Prior to his career in public education, Tom
spent 15 years as a swimming coach, literally from Maine to
California, and is an ASCA Level 3 certified coach. His
successful experience includes being head
coachof three club teams, head age group coach of a
fourth, and head coach of three high school teams. His
swimmers competed at local, state, regional, and national
levels. His teams have won state championships, and
individual athletes training with him have gone on to become
national collegiate champions. At every turn, Tom has been
involved in the administration of the sport as well as the
advancement of the coaching profession. Between 1988-90, he
served as the first National Director of
ASCA’s SwimAmerica program. He also
was selected to the coaching staff of the Southern California
Swimming Western Zone team in 1986.
Before becoming a coach, Tom swam competitively
on interscholastic, club, and intercollegiate teams, specializing
in middle-distance freestyle, breaststroke, and individual medley
events. He is a 1975 graduate of Union College, Schenectady,
New York, where he earned a B. A. in Political Science and was
captain of the swimming team. He was born and raised in South
Portland, Maine. Tom is married to Julia Alberg-Burbank, with
whom he shares six children and stepchildren as well as three
grandchildren.

Ann-Britt Dyrvig
Head Developmental, PT and 8&U Coach
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Ann-Britt brings a successful coaching and teaching career that spans over 20 years, the majority taking place here in the Coachella Valley. Her swim coaching career has included jobs with the Piranha Swim Team, Palm Desert Aquatics, Palm Springs High School, and her native swim club Horsholm Swim Team in Denmark were she found her passion and talent for teaching swimming.
As an outstanding competitive swimmer in her native country Denmark, Ann-Britt was invited to swim with the Danish National Team as a teenager, traveling and competing all over the world at the International level. She was an Olympic Trials qualifier and over her career competing at Denmark's National Meet, Ann-Britt earned a National Championship in the 200 meter backstroke, three bronze medals in the 100 meter backstroke, and made finals in several other events. Holm is still swimming when she can find the time and as a Masters Swimmer won the 2010 Southwest Zone Championship in the 200 IM.
Ann-Britt earned her A.A. in Early Childhood Studies from the College of the Desert. She is also an accomplished figure skater that qualified for Adult Nationals in 2000. Besides athletics she is skilled in the arts and has done many performances as a solo singer as well as performs at the Palm Canyon Theater.

K.C. Carlene Dinneny
Age Group Coach
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After
8 years of competitive swimming with PST and the Palm Desert High
School Swim Team, K.C. Carlene Joins the Palm Desert Swim Club
coaching staff.
K.C.
Carlene reached the Junior Olympic and Winter Age Group
Championship level and is currently College of the Desert and
majoring in Liberal Studies to become a kindergarten teacher. K.C.
Carlene is working with Coach Ann-Britt to develop our 8 &
Under and Pre-team Programs and is very excited to be coaching for
Palm Desert Swim Club alongside Coach Mitch and Coach Ann Britt who
were my coaches throughout her swimming career.

Felipe De Jesus Avendano-Vela
Assistant Coach
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Felipe joined the
PDSC Coaching Staff in August 2017 and works with swimmers of all
levels. Coach Felipe primarely works with our Pre-Team and
Developmental level groups. Felipe is from the Coachella Valley and
swam competitively at Coachella Valley HS and at the University of
La Verne.
Felipe
has a BS in Movement and Sports Science with a concentration in
education and works especially well with children, so you can
understand why we’re so happy to have him join our
staff.

Kelly S Emmer
Assistant Coach
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Coach Kelly joined the
PDSC Coaching Staff in September 2017 and works with our Pre-Team
and 8 & Under groups. Kelly is a former Palm Desert High School
Swimmer and Water Polo player and continued to play Water Polo at
the University of Redlands.
Kelly brings a wealth of
experience in aquatics, and served as the PDAC Program
Director and the YMCA "Y Be Fit" Program
Director.

John Mook
Assistant Coach
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John works with our Jr
Developmental group preparing them for the next level of
competitive swimming. John joined the PDSC Coaching Staff in
September 2017.

Joshua Otteson
Assistant Coach
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Coach Josh works with our 8 & Under group and the Sr
Developmental group preparing them for the next level of
competitive swimming.
Josh swam competitively for 8 years and was a lifeguard/swim
instructor in Malta, MT before moving to the Coachella Valley. Josh
completed his Bachelor’s degree in ’99 and an MA in
Educational Administration in 2006.
Coach Otteson has been a physical education teacher for PSUSD for
14 years and is currently the Department Chair for our Elementary
PE staff for PSUSD.

Isaiah Terrones
Assistant Coach
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Isaiah joined our coaching staff to work with our 8 & Under
group preparing them for the next level of competitive
swimming.