This is Scott Erdman's second year as Head Coach of Hinsdale Swim Club.  Coach Scott has spent the last 15 years coaching, 8 of these as a full time coach. Prior to choosing to coach full time, Scott worked as a Forensic Engineer.   He coaches with a progressive/energetic philosophy he has derived from combining the styles of all the coaches for which he swam.  Scott has the goal of bringing swimmers to the national level of competition. 

 Some of his individual swimmer coaching accomplishments include:

• coaching 2 swimmers at 2012 Olympic Trials and 3 swimmers at 2016 Olympic Trials, including a Finalist
• coaching a swimmer to 2015 World Championships (top 40 finish)
• coaching over 35 Illinois State Champions (both individuals and relays)
• coaching State Record setting individuals and relays

Some of his overall coaching accomplishments include:

• coaching at nearly all Pro Series and Senior National Meets for the last 4 years
• coaching at Junior National level meets  for the last 14 years
• being elected by Illinois Swimming to coach Elite Camps in 2015, 2017 and 2018
• receiving American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Certificate of Excellence in 2017 for coaching an A-Finalist at USA Swimming Senior Nationals

Scott’s long association with club swimming began at the age of five when he joined HWSA.  He competed there for six years before joining RAF, where he swam until joining WEST in 1994.  Scott swam with WEST until 2001 on a very talented team full of junior/senior national and Olympic trial qualifiers that was coached by Dave Krotiak.

Scott attended Amos Alonzo Stagg High School where he was a four sport athlete (swimming, cross country, track, water polo).  He was a four year varsity swimmer, serving as the team captain his senior year.  Scott was a three year state qualifier.  Scott was Stagg’s 1997 valedictorian and was named the “most outstanding” male graduate.

Scott went to college at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) on the south side of Chicago on academic/swimming scholarships.  While at IIT, Scott competed all four years under Dennis Matuch.  He was a four year NAIA national qualifier, becoming an All-American his last two years by finishing 3^rd in the 200 backstroke.  Scott was the team captain his senior year.

Before becoming a career swim coach, Scott worked as a forensic engineer, applying the knowledge he attained in receiving his bachelor’s degree in both mechanical engineering and materials science engineering/metallurgy at IIT.

To contact Head Coach Scotty please email him at  [email protected]

Coach Eugene joins HSC as an assistant coach.  His focus is primarily on our middle school and high school swimmers. 

Coach Eugene has over 18 years of previous coaching experience. His former clubs include time spent at WEST Swim Club, Head Senior Coach and Associate Head Coach at Patriot Aquatic Club and Stevenson High School.  His accomplishments include coaching swimmers at USA Swimming Junior Nationals, Illinois Senior State meet (securing both individual and team championships) and US Olympic trial qualifiers. His tenure was highlighted by:

• Coaching the winning Women’s 800 yard free relay at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals in back-to-back years (2013, 2014) with a Junior National Record in 2013 (first Illinois team to win a USA Swimming Junior National Relay Title in nearly two decades).  This marked the first time a team from Illinois won a relay in nearly two decades. 
• Coaching PAC to 5 straight combined Illinois Short Course Senior State championships from 2011-2015. A state record.
• Coaching at least one USA Swimming Summer Junior National Qualifier for the last 15 straight years.
• Coached 2 individuals who qualified for the NCSA All Star travel team that competed at the Irish National Championships.
• Coaching at least 1 top 8 individual finish with 3 different swimmers at the USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals from 2012-2015.
• Coaching Women’s teams that finished top 15 in the final standings at the USA Swimming Winter Junior nationals for 4 straight years from 2012-2015.

Having experienced success at the national and state level, Eugene is super excited to be reunited with coach Scott Erdman. Eugene views Coach Scott as an extremely knowledgeable and skilled coach with a passion for the sport of swimming that will have a positive and lasting impact on the entire staff and swimmers at HSC. 

Eugene was a 4 year letter winner in men's swimming at University of Illinois at Chicago, all Horizon league 1995-1996. He was a member of Elmhurst College tennis and a volunteer assistant tennis coach in 2007.  

Eugene is fluent in Russian. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communications from Columbia College Chicago. He also has an Illinois Teaching License, certified in English and Physical Education.

Coach Char’s entire swimming career took place in California. She began swimming on a club team at nine years of age through her freshman year in college. She had the awesome and formative opportunity to swim on the Mission Viejo Nadadores under Mark Shubert and on the Walnut Creek Aquabears under Mike Hastings. While in college, Char coached a local summer swim team in Walnut Creek for three years. 

After moving to Illinois, she began a Learn-to-Swim Program at Oak Brook Racquet & Fitness Club and worked with area swimmers for 12 years. During that time she become the Aquatics and Fitness Director and grew the program to 300 Group, Private, and Junior and Adult Swim Clinic swimmers weekly. In 2013 Char became the Pool Manager and Coach at Hinsdale Golf Club in addition to her duties at OBRFC. She is a Level 2 ASCA Swim Coach and was head coach for four years at HGC. After OBRFC closed, she moved the entire Aquatics program to Five Seasons and has been instrumental in increasing aquatic participation and revenue for the past several years.

Char enjoys all water sports and having fun with her swimmers, yet she is a stickler for proper form and technique. “Don’t count the laps, make the laps count!”

Coach Brogan returns to HSC an assistant coach and will be one of the lead coaches for our Senior 2 group. 

Coach Brogan is a former Hinsdale Central High School and HSC swimmer, and has recently graduated from Eastern Illinois University where he was a member (and team captain) of their NCAA D1 men’s swim program.  

Coach Brogan has been a member of the Salt Creek Club coaching staff for 7 years, and a summertime assistant coach with HSC for the past 4 years. 

Mark has been coaching swimming since 1987 when he took a position at the Joliet YMCA Jets as the Age Group coach.  The next year, Mark was promoted to Head Coach and a career was born.  He has had stops in Lafayette, Louisiana, Naperville, Cairo, University of Chicago and London before coming to HSC.

Mark swam with Jets in the 1970’s and 80’s when Distance swimming reigned supreme.  When he coached with the Jets, he continued their distance legacy with many National Finalists in the 1650, 400 IM, 200 Fly and 800 Free Relay plus a Silver Medalist in the 1990 World Aquatics Championships in Open Water (25K).  This put him on the US Swimming National Coaching Team.  He feels that his number one achievement has been having at least one swimmer win a National Championship and be placed on the National Team for Open Water in all three countries he has coached (US, Egypt and the UK).  But his first National Champion and first National Age Group record holder was in the 50 Free (which his teams have never let him forget)!

Mark graduated with a Masters Degree in Psychology of Sport from Arizona State University and was lucky enough to have presented his thesis at the 1988 Olympic Scientific Congress in Seoul, Korea.

Coach Robert “Bob” Valentine began his aquatics career as a swim team manager.   “Uncle Lou” made a deal with Valentine that he would teach him butterfly and he would swim fly for the high school team.  From that point forward, Coach Valentine was hooked!  He began lifeguarding and coaching over the summer in Plainfield, N.J.  While at St. Joseph's College (Indiana) he volunteered as the boys and girls varsity assistant coach at Rensselaer Central HS (with Steve Mullen-Head Coach) and earned his WSI.  This was the beginning of a long part-time career in competitive swimming!
Valentine coached at several YMCAs throughout DuPage/Kane County.  His mentors include Jon Carlson (Naperville Central/NAPY National Coach), Richard Raab (Naperville North/NAPY National Coach), and Terry Heckton (Aurora West/AURY Head Coach).  His high school coaching emerged with Fred Evans, 1st Black American inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame working at several southsir school’sValentine’s student/athletes excelled and thrived based on a simple concept...KISMIF (Keep It Simple, Make It Fun).
Professional Accomplishments/Affiliations
NJCAA “Illinois Swimming Coach of the Year” – 1988
NJCAA Region IV Women’s Swimming Champions – 1988
ASCA Level III – Certified Swim Coach
1 Academic NJCAA All-American           
5 Academic YMCA All-Americans
ARC-Lifeguarding/AED/CPR certified

Brian joined the HSC coaching staff in the Fall of 2019. He primarily coaches the Platinum group and assists with other groups when he can.

Brian began his swimming career at the age of 12 at Westmont Swim Club. He was a 4-year varsity swimmer at Hinsdale Central where he was on a state championship relay, the fastest public high school relay in the nation that year. He also helped lead the Hinsdale Central team to a state title in 2015. 

Brian is the Aquatics Coordinator for the Village of Hinsdale and has been coaching the Hinsdale Town Team Stingrays at the Hinsdale community pool since 2013.

Coach Brian received a Bachelor’s degree in Mortuary Science from Southern Illinois University.  He is also a full-time funeral director alongside his father at Powell Funeral Directors of Hinsdale.

Coach Jeannie initially was put into swimming to overcome a disability which allowed her to develop normally and with fewer complications if she had not taken up the sport.  She started lessons at the age of 8 at the Berwyn Recreation Center and joined the Morton West, Morton East and Riverside Brookfield teams as an age group swimmer.  She swam with Morton West high school on varsity all four years and in college helped the relay team at Triton achieve All-American status.  In addition to coaching at HSC she is a coach at Midtown Athletic Club for a Laps & Drills class that is designed to help improve technique, learn new strokes or just learn to swim in general.  She is also a licensed massage therapist, certified personal trainer and enjoys working with kids. Coach Jeannie loves to see kids and adults achieve things that they didn’t realize they could.

Coach Allison is a new college graduate and we are delighted that she continues to coach for HSC.

Coach Allison joined HSC when she was 7 years old. She continued swimming competitively all the way through high school at Hinsdale Central where she competed on the girls swim team for all 4 years (2 of them on the Varsity level). Her favorite events are the distance freestyle events. She attended the University of Michigan, getting a degree in engineering. While in Ann Arbor she was a member of a club swim team.

Coach Allison has been a member of the Salt Creek Club's coaching staff since 2015. She began coaching with HSC during the fall of 2016. While not on deck or working at her engineering job, she enjoys being outside with her dog Maisy and leading Young Life. She is looking forward to continuing her coaching career with HSC.

Coach Lindsey has been swimming on HSC since she was 5. She is also a member of the Varsity swim team at Hinsdale Central. In addition to coaching at HSC, Lindsey teaches lessons at Five Seasons and works as a lifeguard and swim instructor at Salt Creek Club in the summer. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends or playing with her dog, Maisy. She also is on the track team at Hinsdale Central.

Coach Joanna had been swimming on HSC since she was 7. She is also a member of St. Ignatius’s Varsity swim team. Her favorite events are the 100 and 200 free. When she’s not swimming she enjoys spending time with friends and baking cookies.