I have been coaching for more than 30 years, 25 years of them have been in Canada. I coached in many cities in Canada from the East to the West. I have experience coaching swimmers at all levels from beginners to swimmers qualifying to be part of Team Canada.

I am excited to coach and lead the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts Swim Club. The team has a great history of creating exceptional swimmers. My goal is to continue to add to this legacy and help swimmers reach their full potential. I have always believed that anyone can be a successful swimmer, no matter their talent - what matters is the swimmer’s, optimism, discipline, and perseverance.

Swimming is more than just a sport. It teaches many valuable lessons that will apply later in life. That is why it’s important to me that swimmers have good habits not just in the pool but also out of the pool.

I cannot express how happy I am to be back at one of the best regions in Canada and help the team excel in the pool.

Let’s go Bolts!

Ara is a hard-working, experienced coach who has participated in Swimming Canada National Camps; she has been invited and participated in many Ontario Swimming camps and developed the number one ten and under girls relay team in Canada while coaching in B.C. When she coached in Manitoba, Ara was selected for their Summer Games team. Ara brought professional consistent, and experienced coaching to the blue B squad at the Mississauga swim team, preparing many swimmers for Ontario Festivals. She had the top swimmers 12 and under and broke provincial records in this category in the Newfoundland province. Also, she has been coaching young swimmers and has specialized in the age group throughout her coaching career. Working as a 12-under age group, she has helped develop swimmers to be at the Eastern and National Championships throughout the years she coached .

Hello,

My Name is Benny Galati and I am one of the pre-competitive coaches for the Thunderbolts. 

I was born with Cerebral Palsy and started swimming at age 11 as a form of physiotherapy after surgery on my legs.  I first swam for the Superior Athletics, my head coach at the time was James Hood.  James was also a coach for the Thunderbolts and must have seen potential as he encouraged me to join.

I was then coached by Janet Hyslop at which time I swam in the 1994 Worlds and the 1996 Paralympics.

I truly believe if it wasn’t for the encouragement and positivity and the wonderful coaching staff, I would have never achieved and experienced what I did in my swimming career. I hope I can encourage my swimmers to reach their full potential and have fun doing it. I can’t wait to see what the season brings.

I am honored and excited to be coaching for the Thunderbolts.

GO BOLTS!!