Emily Altier
Senior Head Coach 2020
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Coach Emily comes to the
Castle Pine Crocs with years of experience in the swimming
community as an USA club athlete, collegiate athlete,
collegiate coach and USA club coach. She grew up swimming in the
state of New York, where she was a club and collegiate athlete. She
studied and swam Division I at Niagara University in Niagara Falls.
Her specialty was distance freestyle and is still ranked
amongst the fastest distance freestylers to ever be a Purple
Eagle. After graduating from Niagara in 2016, she traveled to
Indianapolis to pursue her career in college athletics, working at
the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). While in
Indiana, she was the Head Age Group Coach for Flashes Aquatics,
which fueled her decision to coach swimming full
time. This decision lead her to accepting the
Assistant Swimming Coach and Assistant Director of Aquatic
Operations job at Wellesley College in Boston,
Massachusetts. While at Wellesley, she was the Head
Masters Swimming Coach, the recruiting coordinator, and was
heavily involved in all of the aquatic activities that campus
recreation had to offer. Being in Massachusetts gave her the
opportunity to go back to school and pursue her Master of
Education, concentrating in Athletics Administration, which she
successfully completed at Endicott College in 2019. After
leaving the college coaching world, she ended up in Ridgefield,
Connecticut where she worked for a USA silver medal club and
top 100 USA Swimming team in the country, Ridgefield Aquatic Club.
While at RAC, she was the Head Age Group Coach and
the Assistant Senior/National Coach. She helped athletes
reach the goal of achieving Olympic Trial cuts for the upcoming
Olympics in Tokyo. Over the past year, Emily has broadened her
coaching horizon and worked for Argo Swim Video as an
underwater video analyst, where she provided technique
feedback to thousands of athletes all over the
country. Coach Emily moved to Denver at the end of
January and started right away as the Head Swimming Coach and
Aquatics Manager at Colorado Athletic Club-Inverness. She has been
beyond thankful for her new coaching opportunity with the Colorado
Athletic Club Stingrays. Coach Emily is beyond excited
for this new coaching adventure with the Castle Crocs
and promises to bring loads of enthusiasm to the
pool deck every day.
Jason Brainard
Head Coach 2020
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I have a strange and
exciting aquatic journey. I didn’t grow up swimming the way
these kids are; I grew up playing football. I worked for a
recreation district and coached football and sports camps. One day
a swim instructor didn’t show up. The GM said,
“Brainard, you work with kids. Here’s a suit. Fake
it until you make it!” I put a positive football mentality
into the water, and the parents and kids loved it. I knew nothing
about swimming at the time, so the district sent me to get my WSI
to perfect my strokes and learn to teach. The rest is
history! I bring “FOOTBALL” and my knowledge of sports
training to swimming. I know how hard you must work to get
better. I became a coach and eventually the Head Coach for
the Franklin Fish. This experience landed me here with the
Crocs. I love coaching and developing bonds with all the athletes.
Their success is my success. When they laugh, I
laugh. When they fall, I fall! And when they get back
up, they need only to extend their hand as I will pick them
up. I LOVE this team and this industry; otherwise I
wouldn’t have been in it for the last 15 years. I’m so
stoked to back and to see everyone!
Brian Baker
Assistant Coach - HOA2 (13+)
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Brian has been working for
DPS for the past five years and for Safe Splash swim school for
over eight years. He has been swimming since he was four years old
and this is his first year coaching with the Crocs. "I was born and
raised in Indiana and I also love working out and hanging out with
friends and family."
Hunter Sullivan
Assistant Coach - HOA2 (8 and Under)
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This is
Hunter's first year on the Crocs and he is looking forward to
a great season. Hunter will be a senior this fall at Regis
Jesuit High School and swims on the team there. Prior to this
summer, he swam and coached for the Castle Pines Storm. Along with
swimming, Hunter loves hiking, watching movies, and watching
football with his family. "In my first season with the Crocs,
I hope to give every swimmer a great experience where they
grow in their technique and love for swimming. I look forward to
meeting everyone and to helping all the swimmers achieve their
goals!"
Sydney Sullivan
Assistant Coach - CPNII (8 and Under)
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Sydney will be
a junior at Colorado State University in the fall. "Swimming
with the Crocs really sparked my passion for the sport. I swam all
four years at Rock Canyon and couldn’t be more excited to
come back and coach another year with the team!"
Ryan Tierney
Assistant Coach - HOA2 (9-12)
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Ryan has been swimming
with the Crocs for nine years, and he's so happy to be coaching
again this year! Ryan is a senior at Regis Jesuit High School,
where he's co-captain of the swim and dive team. Outside of
swimming, he loves building things, being outdoors, and playing
XBox with his brother.
Elise Barton
Junior Coach - HOA2 (8 and Under)
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Elise has been swimming
for pretty much her whole life, and on the Castle Crocs team for
many years. "This year, I will be a junior coach for the team, and
I am ecstatic! In the fall, I will be a sophomore at Rock Canyon
High School and join the Girls' Swim and Dive Team. I have always
loved swimming, but I also tried diving in my freshman year and
loved it! I’m super excited for the upcoming Castle Crocs
season, and can’t wait to work with everyone on the
team!"
Jack Barton
Junior Coach - CPNII (13+)
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Jack will be a
senior at Rock Canyon in the fall. He currently swims for the
combined high school boys' swim team.
Dylan Brand
Junior Coach - HOA2 (13+)
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Dylan has grown up
swimming for the Crocs and is looking forward to spending another
season as a junior coach. He is currently a student at
Rock Canyon High School where he loves to both swim and play
football.
Braden Hunt
Junior Coach - CPNII (9-12)
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His name is Braden,
but you can call him by his nickname, Barrett the Ferret.
Braden's favorite pasttime is watching Bob Ross paint; there
are no mistakes only happy accidents. After swimming,
his favorite sport is croquet. It has always been his dream to
own a pair of pet corgis. "I am looking forward to another great
season with the Crocs!"
Amanda Palyo
Junior Coach - CPNII (8 and Under)
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Amanda, a recent graduate
of Rock Canyon High School, is a Paralympian and swims
competitively on the national and international level. "I am really
excited to coach another year with the Crocs and help all the
little ones improve."
Katelyn Pocock
Junior Coach - HOA2 (9-12)
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Katelyn is 14 years old
and will be attending Rock Canyon High School as a freshman next
year. She has been swimming with the Castle Crocs for about 5
years and is so excited for this upcoming season. Go
Crocs!
Matthew Tierney
Junior Coach - HOA2 (8 and Under)
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Matthew is
a sophomore at Regis Jesuit and this is his second year as
a junior coach. He's been on the Crocs for 8 years, and
looks forward to working with the kids for more years to come. "I
love to be able to help kids through the same great experience that
I had when I was just starting out as a Croc."
Dalton Walker
Junior Coach - CPNII (9-12)
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Dalton is a junior at
Arapahoe High School. "I have been swimming my whole life! My
passions include watching Denver sports teams and collecting coins.
My favorite color is orange."
Lenja Osborne
Mini Crocs Coach - CPNII
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Lenja has been on
summer swim teams since she was 5 years old, joined the Crocs in
2014, and started swimming year-round in 2017. She loves
playing a part in the growth of young kids as she volunteers as a
leader for several youth programs at her church and babysits.
She has also helped several little Crocs over the past few years
and is excited to watch them progress. When not swimming, she
is hanging out with friends, playing piano, violin, volleyball, or
rock climbing.
Ava Stotler
Mini Crocs Coach - CPNII
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This is Ava's 8th season
with the Crocs and her first season as a Mini Crocs Coach.
Ava is going into 8th grade at American Academy. When
she's not swimming, Ava enjoys watching movies, reading books, and
going to baseball games. "The Crocs value having fun, teaching good
sportsmanship, and improving swimming strokes. I hope to help
our youngest swimmers grow in all of these areas. See you in
the water!"
Avery Tomlinson
Mini Crocs Coach - CPNII
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Avery is starting her
eighth season on the Crocs and her favorite strokes are
breastroke, butterfly, and freestyle. "This season I really
want to focus on helping the 6 & Unders with their strokes.
I'm also trying to break some of the 13-14 Crocs
Records!"
Maya Vora
Mini Crocs Coach - CPNII
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Maya is going into the 8th
grade at Rocky Heights Middle School. She's been on the
Castle Crocs for eight years and is very excited to be a Mini Coach
this summer. In her free time she enjoys exercising, running,
bicycling, and painting. "I am looking forward to coaching
and to a great summer on the team!"
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