Coach Scott Johannsen comes to the Orcas with over 40 years of swimming knowledge and coaching success. He was the head swim coach for Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, from 2008-2014, where he successfully built a nationally ranked swim team. During his tenure at Augustana, the swim team rewrote numerous school records (23 combined in 2013-2014 season, 14 in the 2012-13 season, 10 in the 2011-12 season, 5 in the 2010-11 season, 3 in the 2009-10 season, and 3 in the 2008-2009 season). In the 2012-13 season, the Augustana Vikings Men’s Team achieved the first Top-25 national ranking in the school’s history. In the 2013-14 season, the men’s team was nationally ranked at 18th by Collegeswimming.com/EndlessPool. He coached numerous student-athletes into achieving National B cut qualifying times. He coached 13 CCIW (College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) conference event champions and one CCIW Swimmer of the Year. Coach Johannsen was selected twice for CCIW Men’s Coach of the Year: 2011-12 & 2012-13 seasons. Prior to coaching at Augustana, he coached the Pleasant Valley Stingray Swim Club from 2005-2010, where he developed numerous sectional, zone, Grand Prix, state championship qualifiers, state champions, Junior National, and National qualifiers.
Coach Johannsen began his swimming career at Davenport Westside Swim Club. He is a 12-time National Finalist in Short & Long Course AAU (USA) Swimming and a 10-time National YMCA Short & Long Course finalist. He is a 4-time State of Iowa finalist (100 butterfly and 200 IM). Coach Johannsen is also a founding member of the Rock Island YMCA Quad City National Team, which is currently the Rock Island County Orca Swim Club.
Scott Johannsen’s Coaching Philosophy
My coaching philosophy can be described in two words: Efficiency and Speed. I put a very high emphasis of technique. I believe you learn to swim in the most efficient way possible first, then you learn how to swim fast without the technique breaking down. My swimmers train how they race or compete. They learn how to swim fast in practice. Conditioning and endurance come by gradually increasing the distance of the practice sets without decreasing the efficiency of the stroke.
Tyler Palmer has been swimming under ORCA for 7 years and coaching for the better part of 4 years, both in club and at the community fitness center. He currently attends Blackhawk Community College and plans to transfer to an undergraduate university to finish his degree in Transportation Design in 2018. Coach Palmer excelled in Breastroke and Freestyle as a professional swimmer but understands the core concepts of all 4 strokes fundamentally and competitively. He looks to this season to excel further in his ability to coach swimmers at a championship level and make fast, established swimmers, beat their previous times and employ strategy in their races.
Coach Roberts is a freshman at Augustana College, with an interest in studying Pre-Medicine. She has been swimming competitively since she was six years old for PAWW, OCS, and on her high school swim team where she was a co-captain her senior year. In her free time, Coach Roberts plays the Tuba and enjoys baking. Her favorite strokes are freestyle and butterfly. Coach Roberts swam the 500 freestyle at almost every meet in high school, but the 100 fly is her favorite event. In her senior year of high school, she received the "Most Improved" Award due to dropping almost 2 minutes in her 500 free over the course of the season.
Coach Roberts loves the technique of strokes and is passionate about teaching others and she is very excited to join the Orca Team as an assistant coach and pass on her own swimming knowledge!
