John T Burke
Head Coach
Email
John Burke joined the
Pearland Aquatics staff in March of 2008. An ASCA level 4 USA
Swimming and Age Group coach, John is the primary coach of the
Gold group, but helps out with most aspects of the
program. Previously, John was an age group coach in Maryland
with the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and age group coach and
founder of the Annapolis Swim Club. In Maryland, he coached
swimmers who placed in the top eight and won events at the Maryland
All Star and the Eastern Zone meets. His swimmers have also
been ranked in the USA Swimming top 16, and top 10 lists. He also
serverd on the Maryland Swimming Board of Directors as the Age
Group Chair.
John moved to Texas in
August 2006 to be the Head Assistant Coach with Aquastar where he
also helped out in most aspects of the club. Since being in
Texas, John has coached swimmers who have qualified for Sectionals,
NCSA Junior Nationals, Winter Juniors, Long Course Juniors,
Olympic Trials, won TAGS, have been finalists at the Southern
Zone Age Group and Senior meets, and have been ranked in
the USA Swimming top 16, and top 10 lists. John coached Adriel
Sanes who represented the U.S.. Virgin Islands at the 2015 FINA
World Championships in Kazan, Russia, and the 2017 FINA World
Championships in Budapest, Hungry.
John met his wife Ann
while they were coaching at the North Baltimore Aquatic
Club. The Burkes reside in Pearland with their
children Emma, Klara, Anna and Jack.
Natalie Melenric
Assistant Coach
Email
Coach Natalie began her
swimming journey with Alvin Aquatic Club at the age of seven.
She later joined Angleton Aquatic Club and swam for honors such
as Sectionals finalist, Junior Nationals qualifier and Texas
Age Group (TAGS) Champion. She swam for Alvin High School for
four years and continued her swimming career at Texas
Christian University where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Communications. She
worked for Pearland Swim Academy while in college and was the head
coach of Alvin Aquatic Club for three summers prior to joining
PEAK.
Caitlin Cunningham
Assistant Coach
Email
Coach
Caitlin began swimming with the Alvin Aquatic Club summer league
team at the age of nine. In high school she swam for both the Alvin
High School swim team and the Angleton Aquatic Club USA Swimming
team. She continued her swimming career at Centenary College of
Louisiana where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts
degree in English and a minor in Spanish; while on breaks from
college, she returned home to swim with Pearland Aquatics (known at
that time as Synergy Aquatics). Coach Caitlin has been coaching for
Pearland Aquatics since 2009 and has experience teaching swim
lessons as well with both the Pearland Swim Academy and The Aquatic
Academy. When she
is not at the pool, she is a Language Arts Instructional Coach and
6th grade teacher in Alvin
ISD.
Charyl Teal
Assistant Coach
Email
Coach Charyl has been swimming since the age of 3, and along
with 4 siblings, swam competitively. At 16, Charyl
started her professional career in aquatics as a
lifeguard, summer league swim coach, and Water Safety
Instructor. For the next 10 years, Charyl worked for the City of
Columbus, Easter Seals of Ohio, The Ohio State University, and the
YWCA of Columbus. She coached several Swimming and Diving teams,
certified numerous lifeguards and has taught over 1000 people how
to swim.
After getting a Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering
Technology, working at NASA and Apple Computer, Charyl started a
family. Once her neighbors realized she taught her children
to swim as toddlers, they asked her to teach their children
as well. Through word of mouth, Charyl was able to build The
Aquatic Academy, LLC, her home-based swim school.
Charyl continues to bring her passion for swimming as a coach with
PEAK. Her daughter, Leia, is a current team member.
Ann Burke
Head Age Group Coach
Email
Coach Ann brings a lifetime of experience and
education to the pool deck. She has been passionate about the
sport since she was a young girl and has experienced it as an
athlete, coach, and parent. She originally started coaching with a
summer league team during her college swimming days and has
continued working with swimmers ever since. In addition to
PEAK, Coach Ann has worked with North Baltimore Aquatic Club in
Maryland. She has coached both Maryland and Gulf Swimming
Champions, TAGS and Eastern Zone finalists, and a National Age
Group Top 16 qualifier.
In addition to her time in the swimming world, Coach
Ann spent 17 years as a junior high English teacher, team leader,
and department chair. She holds a Masters Degree in Education
and is an ASCA Level 3 coach. Coach Ann draws upon her experience
as an educator providing focused, objective-based instruction daily
to her swimmers. As Head Age Group Coach, her goal is to
provide all of PEAK’s age group swimmers with a solid
foundation in skill, training, and competitive development.
Thuc Nguyen
Assistant Coach
Email
Coach Thuc started swimming at the age of 4
when he lived in Vietnam. He swam through high school at high
levels of competition. At the age of 20 he moved to the United
States with his family. He began his college career at San Jacinto
College and is continuing his studies at Texas Southern University.
Prior to coaching with PEAK, he was employed as a head lifeguard at
Pearland Natatorium. While working as a lifeguard during PEAK
practices, Thuc realized he wanted to share his passion for
swimming with PEAK swimmers. Coach Thuc joined PEAK in summer
2016 and works with year-round team, tech-fit, and summer team
programs.
Elizabeth Downend
Assistant Coach
Email
Coach Beth has loved swimming all her
life. She began swimming competitively at eight years old, swimming
for a summer league team in Iowa which she later coached. She swam
for a USA Swim Club in Bettendorf, IA for several years and
attended a variety of summer swim camps including one at the
University of Nebraska where she trained under Penny Heyns, Olympic
medalist in Atlanta and Sydney. Beth continued swimming in junior and
senior high school with much success as an Academic All-American,
four-year varsity swimmer, team captain, and anchor of a record
setting relay team. She was a Water Safety Instructor and lifeguard
in her Iowa hometown where she worked with children of all ages
including some who were handicapped and others who previously had
near-drowning experiences.
Since graduating from Florida State
University, Beth and her family have lived in South Carolina,
Virginia, and now Texas. In addition to coaching with PEAK she
currently teaches swim lessons at The Aquatic Academy, LLC. Beth is excited to share her
love of swimming with the young people in her group. Her oldest
son, Will, swims with PEAK.
