Alan C Lerner
Head Coach
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Experience &
Philosophy
Coach AJ has over 25 years of
swimming experience spanning across multiple associations,
including: Madison’s All-City League, USA Swimming, WIAA high
school swimming, and NCAA Division I collegiate swimming as a
member of the UW Badgers. He has won multiple state titles and is a
three-time All-American swimmer, with some of his records still
standing decades later.
In his time as a coach in the
Madison area, he has helped develop multiple swimmers ranked top 10
in the nation, Wisconsin state champions, Zone qualifiers, and NCAA
Division I athletes. Coach AJ is eager to bring his experience to
the Stoughton community and build on it with the Stoughton Aqua
Racers.
He believes that swimming is about
the 3 F’s: Fun, Fitness, and Family. The fun from learning
success through hard work, the fitness and health gained by
consistently training, and the lifelong friends that are built
through a close-knit swimming family.
Personal
Life
When not at the pool, AJ enjoys
working on his own personal fitness, he continues to try to get
into the pool to this day. He also loves to spend time playing
games with his son and daughter.
Jeffrey C Bridwell
Head Age Group Coach
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Experience &
Philosophy
Coach Jeff has been swimming for over 20 years, with experience
ranging from Madison's All-City League, to NCAA Division III
collegiate swimming, to competitive triathlon swimming. He has been
a State Qualifier, Zone Qualifier, and has more recently placed
towards the top end of his age group in the Wisconsin Iron-Man.
Coach Jeff comes to Stoughton from Waterloo, where he spent the
last two years developing multiple State Champions and Central Zone
Qualifiers despite the small size of the team. He is excited to
work with the larger Stoughton population and help build a strong
swim culture.
Personal
Life
Jeff enjoys spending time with his dog Luna, and frequently
bikes and swims in his spare time.
Catherine Talmadge
Assistant Coach
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Experience &
Philosophy
Coach Katie, a homegrown Stoughton standout, has been a
member of the Stoughton Swimming community for over 25 years. A
StAR alumni, she began swimming for this club at the age of 10, and
achieved her first state cut a year later. She represented
Stoughton high school at the WIAA state level for four years and
has held up to 9 SHS school records at one time. She is the most
decorated female swimmer in Stoughton’s history. Katie
competed for the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 2001-2005 and is
a four time NCAA Div 2 All American Student-Athlete. Her coaching
experiences come from All-City, USA, WIAA, USA Masters and NCAA
posts. Most recently, she held the SHS men’s and
women’s head coach posts where she helped to double the
number of SHS state qualifiers, broke multiple school records
(including 5 of her own 17 yr old records), produced the largest
Stoughton State teams in school history, crowned the first WIAA
State Champion in school history and celebrated with 1000’s
of personal records broken.
Her motivation for coaching comes from a desire to help grow the
Stoughton Swimming community into a place that can support a
spectrum of swimmers. “There’s a place for everyone
here; from the novice swimmer to the ultra competitive. The focus
is on fun and personal growth.”
Personal
Life
C
oach Katie is a double board certified pediatric nurse at the AFCH
in Madison. She resides in Stoughton with her husband and two young
boys.
