Coaching Staff
Joseph Waldorf Head Coach
Julie Jackson Retention & Registration Director

Lead Coach Red & Blue

Coach Julie grew up in Downers Grove, swimming for Judy Busse and Tom Redig at Downers Grove North High School.  She was a lifeguard and swim coach at the Butterfield Country Club during High School and College.  She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Sociology and English. 

Coach Julie came to us from the Parks and Recreation field where she was the Aquatic Director at the Oak Park YMCA and the Clarendon Hills Park District.  When she was the Aquatic Director at the Oak Park YMCA she coached TOPS at the Gold and Silver level and concentrated on building a comprehensive swimming program.  After 5 years at the YMCA she moved to the Clarendon Hills Park District where she was a Recreation Supervisor and spent 6 years managing the Lions Park Pool, Sea Lions Swim Team and various other Aquatics Programs and Recreation Programming. 

Coach Julie believes that all kids should have the opportunity to develop in an encouraging and inspiring environment.  She lives in Downers Grove with her husband and two daughters.

Megan Jensen Personnel Director & Performance Adviser

Lead Coach Gold

Coach Megan started swimming when she was 8 years old for the Elmhurst Park District and swam until she graduated from York High School in 1993.  She went to the University of Iowa where she studied Environmental Studies and graduated in 1997.  She started coaching during college at the Wooddale Park District in the summer and then coached with the Iowa City Swim Club from 1994-1995.  After graduating she began coaching the Elmhurst Masters Swim Team in 1998 and worked at Environmental Monitoring and Technologies (EMT) in Morton Grove where she meet her husband Eric.  Between then and now she has coached at the Villa Park Park District, Bensenville Park District, Elmhurst Masters up until 2009, received her Master's degree in Science Education, and taught 6th grade science for a couple of years in between having 3 children, Jay, Rose, and Tim.  Jay and Rose are both on the team.  Currently she works part time for EMT and enjoys coaching her kid's AYSO soccer teams.  Coach Megan and her family live in Elmhurst. 

Paul Busse Lead Coach: Silver & Master

Lead Coach Silver & Head Masters Coach

Coach Paul Busse started swimming at the age of 5 at WSSC.  Most of his time was spent at Lyons Swim Club. He attended Lyons Township H.S. where he went to state all four years in the 500 Freestyle, ran cross country, and played water polo. He swam distance (500,100,1650) for Carthage College.  He graduated in Business Management.  He is know for his mustache.  Paul began coaching water polo with Lyons Swim Club.  Today, Paul is coaching swimming and water polo for Lyons Swim Club hoping to provide the swimmers with better swimming techniques, sportsmanship, and having fun!

Colleen Nelson Lead Coach: White
Lead Coach: White
 
Colleen Nelson started working for LYONS Aquatics as an Assistant Swim Coach in the Fall of 2017. During her time at LYONS she has worked extensively with all groups. Before coaching at LYONS, she worked as an Assistant Coach at New Trier Aquatics. She worked with similar age groups there. She's enjoying working with all of our LYONS Athletes!
 
When she is not coaching, she is an elementary school Special Education Teacher in Riverside District 96. She loves working with kids and teaching them new things. You will usually not see her during the summer months because she LOVES to travel when she has time off from work! She has traveled all around the world and has traveled to 6 out of 7 continents. 
 
Colleen is very excited to become the lead coach of White Team. She is excited to share her swim coaching experience as a lead coach and teach her swimmers all the basics so they can become great competitive swimmers with LYONS Aquatics!
Kurt Johns LTHS Head Girls Swimming & Diving Coach

Coach Johns began swimming competitively when he was 8 years old for Lyons Swim Club.  He was a team captain and 3 year state qualifier while attending Lyons Township High School.  Coach Johns continued to swim for the next 4 years at Eastern Illinois University where he was a team captain and a school record holder. 

Coach Johns began coaching in the summers as head coach of Village Field Club in LaGrange Park where he spent the four summers during college.  After his college eligibility was up, he was an assistant coach at EIU for 1 year as he finished his student teaching. Upon graduating EIU, he took a job as a full time teacher and coach at Naperville North High School, where he was the head boys water polo coach and (after his first year at NN) took over as the head coach of the boys swimming program as well. He spent 7 years as the head boys swimming coach at Naperville North High School where his teams finished in the top 10 at the IHSA state meet 5 times, and finished 3 rd in 2007. He was named the Illinois Swimming and Diving Association “State Coach of the Year” in 2007 and again in 2010. In 2011, Coach Johns left Naperville North to teach PE and coach the girls swimming and diving at Lyons Township High School.  As head coach of the girls program at LT, Coach Johns has guided the team to 5 top ten finishes at the IHSA state meet since 2011.  He has been named the “ISDA Sectional Coach of the Year” 8 times during his career.  Since becoming a high school head swimming coach, he has coached 49 All-State or All-American swimmers.  Coach Johns also worked with Maverick Swim Club in Naperville for 8 years before joining the Lyons Swim Club staff in 2011. 

Coach Johns has been a full-time physical education teacher since 2003 and is currently the Assistant Division Chair for Physical Welfare at Lyons Township High School.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education in 2003, a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction in 2007, and his Educational Administration (type 75) certification in 2010. 

Coach Johns is excited to continue working with the swimmers, parents, and other coaches of Lyons Aquatics to continue to build a successful swimming program. He lives in the area with his wife, Courtney, and his 4 children – Hayden, Lucas, Connor, and Halle.

Erin Rodriguez LTHS Head Boys Swimming & Diving Coach

Coach Erin started swimming on Woodstock Dolphins when she was 8 and then moved to Arlington Alligators where she swam from age 9 through high school. She swam at Buffalo Grove High School and was a team captain, school record holder, All-State, and All-American swimmer. She then continued to her swimming career at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she was a team captain and school record holder for the Illini. 

 

Coach Erin started teaching swim lessons and coaching at her neighborhood pool during the summers while she was in high school. She began coaching high school in 2013 as an assistant coach for the University Laboratory High School girls team in Urbana while she was finishing her degree. After graduation, she started coaching at Glenbrook Aquatics in 2014. She worked mainly with the developmental groups before working with the senior groups for several seasons. In 2015, Coach Erin started as an assistant coach for the Lyons Township girls and boys swim teams. She has spent the last 4 seasons at LT and is currently an assistant coach for the girls team and the head coach for the boys team. 

 

Coach Erin studied Elementary Education at the University of Illinois and has spent the last 5 years teaching 6th grade. She is currently a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher at Freedom Middle School in Berwyn. 

Doug Eichstaedt Head Coach - Water Polo