
Patrick Novak
Head Coach
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Coach Patrick brings
years of experience to the Cruzers. He began his coaching career at
Northwest Swim Club in Bethlehem, PA. Next, he coached at Catawba
Valley Aquatics Club (CVAC) in Salisbury, NC before coaching summer
league swimming for Broomall’s Lake Country Club in Media,
PA. Most recently, he coached Division III Cedar Crest
College.
Patrick swam
competitively for 17 years, in his high school career he received
All-America Honorable Mention honors all four years. He swam for
three years at NCAA Division II Catawba College in Salisbury, NC,
breaking multiple records throughout his
tenure.
Patrick graduated from
Catawba College in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science in
Business Administration. After his undergrad, he completed his
Juris Doctor in 2014 from the Villanova University School of Law.
Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Education Degree from Cedar
Crest.

Stephen Novak
Assistant Coach
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Coach
Stephen has over 14 years of
swimming experience, from age group swimming through his freshman
year of college, when he switched over to collegiate water polo at
Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. He was a multiple-year age
group state champion in various backstroke and sprint freestyle
events. He coached for four years at the Northwest Swim Club and
the Bethlehem YMCA in Bethlehem, PA.
After college, Stephen
attended culinary school and opened a restaurant in Somers Point,
NJ. He was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food
Network in 2015.
Stephen recently
relocated to Austin and is the Head Chef at St. Andrews Episcopal
School, and a volunteer coach for Lost Creek
Aquatics. He is ecstatic
about his return to the pool deck and looks forward to bringing his
knowledge and enthusiasm to the Lost Creek
Cruzers.

Taylor Poehl
Assistant Coach
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Coach Taylor is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and
has over 15 years experience in swimming.
From summer league, competitive and high school swimming,
lifeguarding and swim lessons, Taylor has always loved being in and
around the water. While at TAMU, Taylor ran swim meets and realized
how much she missed being around the sport. She enjoys teaching
children of all ages the importance of water safety and loves to
encourage athletes to reach their personal goals.

Susannah Balcezak
Assistant Coach
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My mom signed me up for
the Cruzers when I was 5, and I fell in love with swimming that
first summer. I swam with the Cruzers for 6 years and for LCA for 3
years, and now I am a certified lifeguard. I am a junior at
Westlake High School, and worked as a lifeguard for the City of
Austin last summer and for the Special Olympics. My little sister
swims with LCA and the Cruzers, and I have really enjoyed passing
the love of swimming down to her.

Davis Bearden
Assistant Coach
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I have been a swimmer
my whole life. I really love to be in and around all aspects of the
pool! I go to Westlake High School and have swam for the high
school team! I started my swimming career with the Cruzers when I
was 6 years old, and continued with the program until I was 10. In
that time period I also started swimming with Lost Creek Aquatics
with Steve Jones. I currently still swim with LCA in the
Gold/National groups. Additionally, I am a Red Cross certified
lifeguard and I have guarded and taught swim lessons for the City
of Austin at various pools such as Deep Eddy! I also have
volunteered and now lifeguard for the Lake Travis Thunder Swimming
Special Olympics Team, which focuses on working with kids of all
ages who have different needs. I am very glad to have the
opportunity to be a Cruzers coach!