Michael Kauveh Jafari
Executive Director
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This is Coach Michael's tenth year at MAX Aquatics. Before
joining the MAX Coaching staff in 2009, Coach Michael competed for
UC Berkeley's Men's Swim Team and Team USA’s Olympic
Development Triathlon Team, giving him a wide variety of training
backgrounds.
Coach Michael grew up in Glendora and trained at Industry Hills
Aquatics Club, before being recruited to UC Berkeley’s Swim
Team (#1 NCAA) as the second fastest distance recruit in the
country. (From 2004-2008) At CAL, his senior year he captained the
team that went 11-1 to finish second in the Pac-10 and helped
recruit the team that later became back-to-back National Champions.
His swim experience consists of many USA Swimming Nationals, a
NCAA Championship, and Olympic Trials; Coach Michael brings
knowledge in the sport from the highest level. At the highest level
of his success he was ranked 55th in the world for
his 1500m Free in 2006.
After 2008 Olympic Trials he retired from the sport of swimming
to become a part of Team USA’s Olympic Development team for
triathlon. While training, he coached directly under CAL Head Coach
Dave Durden as the Grad Assistant Coach during the 2008-2009
season. Competing for tri's brought him back down to Southern
California to start coaching with Jan Lopez and MAX.
Metro Committee’s Age Group Coaches Chair 2012 - 2014
Metro Committee's Diversity Chair 2015-2016
Metro Committee's Vice Chair 2015-2016
Southern California Swimming’s Diversity Chair 2014 - 2016
Southern California Swimming's Vice Chair 2015-2017
Southern Caliornia Swimming's Chairman 2017-2020
2014 Assistant Manager for
CA/NV vs. Itoman Japan Team
2014 Southern California Swimming's
METRO committee's Coach of the Year
2015 Southern California Swimming's METRO committee's
Coach of the Year
He is very enthusiastic to bring his knowledge of the sport and
continue to grow the MAX Aquatics family!
Coach Michael can always be found body surfing some waves at the
beach.
Tyrone Brown
Head Age Group Coach and Silver 2 Coach
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Coach Brown brings over 38 years of coaching experience,
coaching College, High School, Club teams, and Masters. As a four
year scholarship Varsity athlete at Cal State Northridge, he
received a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology, and was an
accomplished Swimmer competing in Backstroke and Butterfly for the
Matadors were CSUN won the NCAA Division 2 national title three out
of four years.
Coach Brown enjoys giving back and helping his swimmers reach
their full potential as an athlete and a person. He feels that the
journey is what all swimmers will remember and take with them for a
life time.
John Zoll
Bronze 2 Coach
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After more than 25 years in the
sports of swimming, I know what it takes to swim at the highest
level. I stand by MAX Aquatics because it is committed to
developing the next generation of swimmers.
Under the influence of my father who
was an open water swimmer, I learned swimming at early age and
started swimming competitively at age 5 for Shanghai Sports Club at
YMCA Headquarters. In the 1980s, after capturing titles
at the China Junior National Championships, I was recruited to
the state team and competed professionally at national and
international levels as part of the rising power of Chinese
swimming in 90s. After the 1996 Olympic Trials I retired
from competitive swimming, and moved on to a government
executive role for Shanghai Administration of Sports in
biding the Olympic Game. I was fortunate enough to have
the opportunities be part of various high level sports events
and projects, and started the first swimming team for the City of
Pudong, Shanghai. As the Executive Director and head coach, I
recruited and trained both coaches and swimmers. While pursuing new
career opportunities at investment banks on Wall Street, I taught
swimming at local YMCA helping kids with special needs.
Later, I have been volunteering at Southern California
Swimming as an official, and started training for US Masters
Swimming when my kids followed my steps and became swimmers.
For me, its more about participation
and giving back. Swimming is a mental sport, I aim to develop
strong, disciplined swimmers who have a passion for the sport. As
an educator, I believe in developing creative training methods that
complement each individual swimmer and encourages them to pursue
their personal goals. For all of us who love this sports, it is
important that we develop the next generation. My swim philosophy
is always do your best and have
fun!
Professional Experience,
License, Position Held
Coach
MAX Aquatics,
Southern California Swimming Feb 2019 -
Present
Life Member
Award
USA Swimming 2019
Official
USA Swimming 2018 - Present
President & Head Coach
Shanghai Pudong Swimming School
1997-
Vice Chair
Shanghai Pudong Swimming Association 1996-
Sr. Lifeguard Instructor
Shanghai
Swimming Association
Registered Swimming Coach
CSA
Referee/Official
CSA
Education
Bachelor of Science
Kinesiology,
Summa Cum Laude from Shanghai
University of Sports
Career Highlights:
2019 FINA World Masters Championships
- Gwangju Korea: 50M Fly 11th; 100M Fly 12th
2018 UANA Pan American Masters
Championships - Orlando FL: 100 Fly 13 th ; 200 Fly 11th
2018 Rose Bowl Masters Meet: 200 Fly
1st; 100 Fly 2nd; 50Fly 4th
2017 US
Masters Southwest Zone Championships: 100 Fly 2nd; 50 Br
4th
2001, 2000 FINA World
Cup Official
1990-1996
China National
Championships Top 10
National Southern
Region Top 3
China Workers Games Top 3
National University Games Top 3
1986-1990
Junior National Championships Top Qualifier
China National Age Group Titles
Marco A Flores
Head Coach @ El Monte
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Coach Marco grew up in Arcadia and started competive swimming by
the time he was 4 years old. He swam at nearby Rosebowl Aquatics
before taking his swim career to New York where he swam in college
at NYU.
His primary stroke was butterfly and some of his career highlights
include:
1. Winning CIF-SS Division 3 his senior year
2. Qualifying for Winter Junior Nationals
3. Making NCAA Division 3- B Cut his freshman year
He is also the current Metro Committee Safe Sport Chair and the
Head Site Coach at the El Monte Aquatic Center.
He loves the Lakers, playing ultimate frisbee and watching movies.
Derek Hong
Utility Coach
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My name is Derek Hong and I grew up in Arcadia, California. I
swam from the age of 7 until I was 18 for the club team ARSC, and
Arcadia High School. After swimming I pursued a major in athletic
training and became the assistant athletic trainer for Arcadia High
School. After swimming for so long I thought I would be wasting all
that time I spent swimming, so I pursued coaching for club teams
like ARSC and now MAX. As a coach I aim to make each athlete more
proficient in the water and also help them grow into the person
they aspire to be later on in life. I also aim to help athletes
prevent injuries before they happen to preserve the
longevity of each swimmer through education of their body.
Myo Min Paing
Bronze 1 Coach
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My name is Steven Paing. I live in Arcadia, CA. I’ve been
swimming since I was 3 years old. I’ve only swam in 2
different teams in the US, Arcadia Riptides Swim Club and MAX
aquatics. Now that highschool swimming is done, my desire to
nurture a newer generation of swimmers has led me to search for the
job of a coach. My goal as a coach is to improve an individual
athlete’s technique. Suffering from burnout in the past, I
want to prevent future kids from feeling the same way I did.
I’ve had experience with a variety of coaches that taught me
different values in the sport and I want to pass on my knowledge to
the younger swimmers.
Jocelyn Jo
Gold+ Coach
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Coach Jocelyn grew up in South Pasadena,
California and started swimming competitively with the Monterey
Park Manta Rays Swim Team in 2007. She then swam with South
Pasadena Sea Tigers while attending South Pasadena High School,
graduating in 2016. She than swam competitively for Pasadena City
College from 2016 to 2018, earning her Associates in Arts degree in
Kinesiology. She was then recruited in 2018 by Western Colorado
University to swim NCAA Division II Swimming, earning her Bachelors
of Science in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in Sports
Psychology with Cum Laude Honors in 2020.
Western Colorado University (NCAA DII, 2018 -
2020)
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
Championship
Top 16 Finishes in the 100 Breaststroke (2019, 2020) and the 200
Breaststroke (2019)
Pasadena City College (2016 - 2018)
South Coast Conference “Athlete of the year”
(2017)
South Pasadena High School (2012 - 2016)
CIF- SS Championship Division I Qualifier (2014), Division II
Qualifier (2015, 2016)
2x Rio Hondo League Champion in the 100 breaststroke (2014,
2016)
Coach
Jocelyn's favorite two events are the 100 Breaststroke and the 200
IM. Coach Jocelyn's coaching philosophy is to keep a positive
attitude in practice and to always do your best.
