Kyle Margheim
Co-Head Coach
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I am a Mitchell, SD native starting
swimming at age 5 in Mitchell and now started my coaching career in
South Dakota. For the past 6 years I have been the head coach for
the Mitchell Aquatic Club, growing the team to double the size from
when I started. Over my time at MAC I coached kids to All-Stars,
Zones, Sectionals, Junior Nationals, and Olympic Trials. In 2015 I
was named the SD Swimming Year-Round coach of the year and have
served as Age Group Chair and Technical Planning Chair on the SD
Swimming Board of Directors. Coaching and working with kids is what
I love to do and I think it’s important to build well-round
people that swim and enjoy the sport of swimming!
I swam competitively at the Missouri State
University (Go Bears!), where I was a 4-year letter winner and
earned all-conference honorable mention honors for the Missouri
Valley Conference championship meet and Sun Belt
Conference.
Brooke Boots
Assistant Coach
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I am originally from
Chanhassen, Minnesota where I began swimming when I was eight. I
swam for Team Foxjet for ten years before moving on to The
University of South Dakota. At the University of South Dakota I
swam for three years and dove for one. I lettered all four
years and placed top eight in The Summit League Conference my
junior year.
I began teaching
swimming lessons in Minnesota at Lifetime Fitness when I was
sixteen and have carried my love for swimming and
teaching kids with me to South Dakota. I was a coach on the
Vermillion Area Swim Team for two years before coming to Sioux
Falls. I am now a second grade teacher in Tea and am excited to
share my passion for teaching kids and to watch them grow and learn
in the sport of swimming.
Paula Gordon
Assistant Coach
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I am Coach Paula. I was a charter
member of the Brookings Swim Club, where I grew up, and swam for
the Jackrabbits for four years, graduating from SDSU. I am a
teacher and was the first Certified Athletic Trainer in the Brandon
Valley School District. I currently teach elementary PE at
Fred Assam Elementary and Valley Springs Elementary.
I have coached the Brookings Swim Club
(summer ‘83), the Snowfox Swim Team (‘98-’10),
the Seals Swim Team (‘10-’16), where I was the head
coach from 2010-2014. In May of 2016, I became an assistant
coach for the charter team of the Sioux Falls Swim Team and am
currently an assistant coach. I am also on the South Dakota
Local Swim Club (SDLSC) Board of Directors as the Safety Chair.
My husband, Rick and I have three children
and Rick has a daughter, Kelli. Our three children, Paul,
Haley and Jack, all swam in Sioux Falls and at the University of
Iowa. Swimming has played a major role in our family and I am
thrilled to continue to share the love for the sport with Sioux
Falls Swim Team!
Carla J Van Santen
Luverne Site Director
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I have been coaching the Luverne branch of the Sioux Falls Swim
Team for over 5 years. I continue to be instrumental in
implementing and bringing aquatic success to Luverne where
previously there had never been a swim team.
I have been around or in water for most of my life. As a teen I
was a state park lifeguard and eventually finding employment at the
Luverne Area Aquatics and Fitness Center where I have been for the
past 35 years. To this day I continue to instruct, change,
challenge, mentor and entertain all who enter the facility. My many
responsibilities also include instructing swimming lessons and
planning and conducting a variety of classes. My lifeguard training
course prepares the attendees to respond and prevent aquatic
emergencies. In the water safety instructor classes I
instruct/demonstrate all of the strokes and skills. These classes
incorporate a wide age range which yields an additional challenge.
I am also a certified water aerobic instructor leading
significant variety of water classes along with a certified senior
(Active Ager) trainer. This presents a diverse mixture of age
appropriate exercises and classes.
Supervisor of Luverne Area Aquatics and Fitness, instructor
trainer, personal trainer, wife, mother, grandmother, big buddy
mentor and swim coach are just a few of my many roles I embrace and
love.
Lora A Pelzer
Assistant Coach
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Coach Lora's competitive swimming experience began
in 2009 when her daughter joined the swim
team.
After three years of being a swim mom, she had the
opportunity to volunteer as an assistant coach and eventually
became part of the team's coaching staff. She joined the Sioux
Falls Swim Team staff as an assistant coach in
2019.
Lora also has two years of teaching group and
private swim lessons. Her two children have successfully competed
at the local, state, regional, and national
levels.
Morgan Willard
Assistant Coach
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Hello, I am Coach Morgan Willard. I am a
native of Pierre, SD. I am a full-time Clinical Dietitian along
with wife to Sam and mommy to Mia.
As a
young swimmer, I grew up as a member of the Pierre Swim Team. For
college, I swam for Boise State University where I was a part of
two WAC championship teams and a team captain. For my senior year,
I transferred to South Dakota State University where I was able to
swim my last year with my two younger brothers, Jim and Alex
McLain. At SDSU I was a school record holder, 2nd place summit
league finisher and New Comer of the Year.
I
started teaching swimming at the age of 14. I have had the pleasure
of instructing kids of all ages for the city of Pierre, Pacific
Swim School in Northern California and Swim America in Sioux Falls,
in addition to several private swim lessons. This is my first official coaching
position. I have missed the sport dearly since my husband and I
moved home after living in Japan for several years. I am very
excited and honored to share my passion for the sport with the
Sioux Falls Swim Team!
