Matt Yovich
Lead Discovery/Explorer Coach
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Matt has been in and around competitive swimming for a long
time. He started swimming at age 5 and swam through high
school graduation. He became a swim official at age 19 and
officiated high school, college and age group club meets for
several years. Since his daughter began swimming with the
Barracudas 8 years ago, he has been a swim parent, a board
member/officer, a nationally certified official and now a
coach. He has also been involved with Montana Swimming as
Finance Vice Chair and now as General Chair.
Matt wants swimming to be a lifetime activity for our Barracuda
athletes and desires for all to learn swimming as a survival
skill. He knows that the competitive swimming community is
different than most sports – more collegial, collaborative
and familial – and results in life-long friendships. He
gets excited by seeing swimmers attain small successes, at any
level of swimming, and the confidence and self-worth that results
over time. Those successes are the result of excellent and
efficient technique and hard work.
Jason Schoper
Lead Challenge Coach
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Coach Jason was born in
Corvallis, Oregon, and relocated to Bozeman in 2010 to attend
Montana State University. He began swimming in 2000, adding
swimming to a host of other sports that included basketball,
baseball, and track. He quickly fell in love with the sport, and
the challenge that came along with it. Over his 10 year swimming
career. he learned not only about swimming, but was lucky enough to
enjoy many lessons about having a good character, and what is
important outside of measurable success, which he attributes to his
Club and High School Coaches. These lessons helped him work with
his team to win 4 straight district titles, as well as a state
title his freshman year. He hopes to pass on not only the knowledge
he has gained about swimming over years of both competing himself,
and teaching lessons, but also the lessons he has remembered for
far longer, and create swimmers that are both good athletes, and
good people. He believes that if you work for it, you can achieve
it, and believes that the ups and downs in sports, are what create
truly well-rounded individuals.
Lisa Patchin
Lead Development Coach
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Coach Lisa has a myriad
of experience that elevates the coaching staff with the Bozeman
Barracudas. Growing up swimming in Oregon, she competed at
the Junior National level, and won numerous events and high point
awards at the Regional and Western Zone levels while she was a club
swimmer for the Canby Gators Swim Club. She went on to swim in
college at Texas Christian University (TCU), a Division 1 school in
the Big 12 Conference, a school well known for their
athletics. She also served as the team’s manager for 2
years, learning the interworkings of a high level collegiate swim
team.
Lisa received her
Master’s Degree from Baylor University in Clinical
Exercise Physiology, which studies the effects of exercise on
improving health and fitness for individuals with chronic
diseases. Her education background also includes courses in
motor development from birth to adulthood, with an emphasis on the
development of fundamental skills and their effects on future
performance.
Lisa is in her third
year with the Barracudas and has been able to work with all of the
training groups/levels, but is currently the lead coach for the
Development group. She is also using use her knowledge and
experiences to help develop a more well-rounded dryland
program. Lisa is excited to continue learning more about
coaching and developing not only versatile athletes, but also the
skills that help them develop personally and succeed outside the
pool.
Lyra Reynolds
Assistant Coach
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Coach Lyra is from Littleton,
Colorado, where she swam for 8 years competitively. Lyra qualified
for and swam at summer league state three times in the 100
backstroke and twice in the 200 free. She also qualified for
Continental A-Leagues in high school in her 100 backstroke.
Lyra is a sophomore at MSU and
studies Soil and Water science. She came to Bozeman to explore the
outdoors and get away from the crowding of the city. When she
isn’t at the pool, Coach Lyra can be found rock climbing or
skiing. Her favorite place to climb is in Livingston or back home
in Clear Creek Canyon. She loves to ski at Bridger Bowl and is
excited for the snow to start falling.
She is going into her fourth year
of coaching. Prior to this season, Lyra coached the Centennial
Piranhas in her hometown. She really enjoyed coaching all of the
age group swimmers, and even had one of her practice groups win the
Division Championship for their age group. Though she is sad to
leave her old team, Coach Lyra is super excited to join the
Barracudas this season! Lyra is ready to learn and grow with the
team and is looking forward to a fun time with the team! If you see
her at the pool or around town, don’t be afraid to say
hello!
Jesse Franc
Assistant Coach
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Cynthia Trudgeon
Assistant Coach
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Coach Cynthia began swimming in
Helena Montana at the age of seven. Cynthia quickly fell in
love with the sport. She moved to Butte and continued swimming for
the tarpons. Cynthia ended
with the Butte High Bulldogs where she received an All-State
title.
Cynthia Moved to Bozeman in 2018 to
continue her education. She is a sophomore at Montana
State University getting her degree in Biochemistry with a track in
Pre-med. Cynthia spends her
free time doing almost anything and everything outside such as
climbing, skiing and hiking.
This is Cynthia’s first year
with the Barracudas and her first year coaching. She is excited to
use
her prior knowledge and love for the sport to pass it along to the
other swimmers on the team.
