Alessio has been professionally coaching for almost 30 years; previously he was a competitive swimmer ranked 4th in Italy in the 200 IM and 100-200 Breaststroke. In the past 11 years as the NASA Head Coach, the team has broken 60+ State records, 2 National records and 1 World Junior Record. Under Alessio's tenure, NASA achieved Bronze Level in 2011, 2012 and 2021, Silver level in 2013 2014, 2015, 2016 , 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, finished in the top 5  at  Age Group Champs multiple times and won USA Futures Champ in 2022. Previously, as head coach of his former team (Aurelia Nuoto) in Italy, his swimmers achieved medals at regional, national and international level competitions.  Along with a frequent interaction with other head coaches, Alessio had the opportunity to work with, and learn from, Cesare Butini, his former coach, head coach of the Italian National Swim Team.  With a focus on technique, Alessio can quickly assess a swimmer’s level (beginner to professional athlete) and develop drills sequences to help them advance in any of the competitive strokes.  As a certified Physical Ed. teacher in Illinois & Italy, Alessio integrates the fundamental principles of learning through fun and positive attitude in his teaching philosophy.  Alessio is looking forward to using his knowledge and passion to help swimmers achieve their full potential.

Kate has been with NASA Wildcats since 2014. With NASA she has produced numerous State and Regional champions, State Record holders and U.S. ranked Top 20 swimmers. She was ranked by American Swim Coaches Association as a Top 50 Age Group Coach for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Kate began her coaching career while still in high school as an assistant coach for Duneland Swim Club. While working on her degree at the University of Texas, she became Head Age Group Coach of the Irving Swimmers. After graduation she returned to Chesterton as an Assistant Swim Coach for both Duneland and Chesterton High School. Later she coached for the Chicago Park District and Portage Porpoises in Indiana before joining NASA.

Kate grew up in Chesterton and swam for Duneland Swim Club and Chesterton High School, where she held many school and pool records and specialized in sprint freestyle.  She was conference, sectional champion, and All-State in many events each year, helping her team remain undefeated.  She was awarded Conference MVP, Team MVP, and Senior Athlete of the Year as a senior. As a club swimmer, she finaled in age group state as an 11-12 year old, in Senior State from 13 and qualified for Senior Nationals at 15.

Kate attended the University of South Florida and then Eastern Michigan University on swimming scholarships. Unfortunately, illness forced her to stop swimming for several years.  Eventually she returned to swimming as a Master’s swimmer, where she was ranked nationally in the Top 10 in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle. She earned her B.S. degree from the University of Texas, Arlington, in biology and geology and her M.S. in Sport Management from Indiana State University.

Kate has a son, Calvin, who works as a bike mechanic.

Giacomo studied and swam at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where he broke and still holds the 200-400IM and 800 free relay school records. He was able to qualify to the fastest SCY meet ever (NCAA Championships) twice (2013 & 2014). He still owns the Mountain West Conference and Mountain Pacific Conference records in the 400IM.

He won multiple junior national titles in Italy in the 200-400IM and he earned a spot in the Italian Junior National team for the 2008 European Junior Championships and for the Latin Cup in Argentina where he placed second in the 200IM.

Giacomo was also the Student Assistant Coach for the University of Nevada in the summer of 2014 where he oversaw mid-sprint, distance and IM training group facilitating technique and specific skills training regularly. Giacomo also coached in Italy (Como) where he designated and implemented specific training programs for a group of seniors and master swimmers.

He graduated with a degree in Multidisciplinary studies in Business Management & Hospitality.

Megan started swimming in the lake leagues of northern New Jersey and eventually made her way into the pool for age group swimming.  She went on to swim for Amherst College, where she was a NCAA Division III qualifier.  After a fifteen year break and three kids, Megan returned to the pool as a masters swimmer, where she has achieved several masters top ten rankings in the backstroke events. 

After spending years of her youth teaching swim lessons, Megan was inspired to return to the pool deck when her own kids started swimming.  She has stepped away from her career as a lawyer and has been volunteering for the team as a coach and a USA swimming official.  One of her favorite places to be is on deck during an age group swim meet.  Megan’s kids swim for NASA. 

My name is Josh Pool, and I am very excited to be joining the NASA Wildcats team. My relationship with swimming began at the age of four, when I joined my county’s summer league team: The Preble County Stingrays. This family-oriented team is what sparked my love for the sport. The supportive team atmosphere that swimming attracts, along with the competitive drive I found in swimming, led me to join the Miami University Makos club team, the Eaton High School Swim Team, and most recently to swim at DePauw University. While at DePauw, I developed a passion for athletics and graduated with a degree in Kinesiology. Throughout my studies, I gained a much deeper understanding of proper training techniques, nutrition, injury prevention/rehab, as well as motivational coaching. Additionally, throughout the last three summers I have had the privilege of rejoining the Preble County Stingrays as the Head Coach. During this past summer alone, the team improved to an all-time high for seasonal wins, and won the women’s section of our championship meet for the first time in history. I am thrilled to bring my skills to the NASA Wildcats, where I hope to assist in the growth of your swimmers both in and outside of the pool. 

Olivia is a former swimmer of NASA where she swam throughout her time in high school. During this time she specialized in both Breaststroke and IM, attending state and national competitions.

Throughout the last couple of years, she has coached at Lincolnwood Lighting Swim Club as the Senior Coach while also working with all levels of swimmers, from novice to state qualifiers. There, she found a way to continue her passion through the sport by uplifting rising athletes. In her coaching, she advocates for technical training while fostering healthy relationships between swimmers and the sport.

She is currently finishing her B.A. at the University of Illinois in History and Secondary Education. Olivia is a History major dedicated to understanding the role of history within the classroom. As a future educator, Liv remains passionate about understanding educational policy and its role within American society. Previously, she participated as a Diversity and Inclusion Facilitator and History Harvest Intern for the University of Illinois. Currently, she works for the Office of Undergraduate Research, maintaining the office's social media presence by creating content showcasing student research on campus. 

Ella started swimming at age 7 in Metro Detroit on the YMCA Novice Team. A year later, she began competing  and since then has loved the sport. She went on to compete for both club and high school teams, where she was a MHSAA Division 3 state qualifier three years in a row in both the 200 and the 500 freestyle. She qualified for several club meets across the state in her 11 years of competition. She currently studies Computer Science at Loyola University Chicago, where she is a member of the swim club. 

Ella spent three summers working as a lifeguard and two years teaching swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School, where she fell in love with coaching. She is very excited to work with the wonderful swimmers at NASA!

Jade has spent her life swimming as she began swimming in her hometown, Lincolnwood. She continued to her swim journey by swimming competitively in Evanston and while attending Nile’s West High School, she swam & played water polo. She stayed in the water through college by joining the Illini Women’s Water Polo Club Team.

Jade recently graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with her Bachelors in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a con in SLP. She’ll be pursuing her Masters in SLP this fall at Northwestern University.

She has also been coaching at Lincolnwood Lightning and Iguanas Swim Team for over 4 years. Jade is looking forward to challenging her swimmers through hard work and fun!