Derek has had a long history of swimming in Peoria area dating back to 1979 when he began his swimming career with the Wedgewood Swim and Tennis Club.  His swimming career continued through the 1990's where he was a swimmer for PAWW, Peoria High School and the University of Illinois.

Derek began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant for PAWW.  His coaching career has taken him numerous places including Peoria, Metamora, Washington, Dunlap, Pekin, Quincy, and Keokuk, Iowa.

Derek has always had a love for PAWW as this was his home club throughout most of his life.  He is looking forward to taking on the challenges of being the head coach and hopes that not only does he aid in producing fast swimmers, but also athletes of good character.

In addition to coaching PAWW, he works at Caterpillar and in his spare time, he enjoys watching the Bears, Illini, and movies.  He is married to Julee and they have 3 great children, Ashton and Bailey who swim on the PAWW swim team, and Jager, their dog.

Coleton Schrock is from Peoria, Illinois and has been coaching for over 2 years. Coleton Schrock Joined the Peoria Area Water Wizards in 2013 as a swimmer, and started coaching and helping out with the younger groups in 2014. Coleton is currently a silver coach. Coleton Schrock was a member of the PAWW SCY championship team from 2014-2016, and was a member of the PAWW LCM championship team in 2015. Coleton is a huge sports fan. In his free time, he enjoys watching basketball and football. He primarily enjoys watching and cheering on the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Bears.

I'm a Maryland transplant and I've been with PAWW Swim Team for almost 5 years, primarily focusing on the Bronze group. The three pillars of my coaching philosophy are: (1) safety, (2) fostering a positive, inclusive learning environment, & (3) teaching swimming foundational skills.

Ryan was born and raised with his older brother in Pekin. He graduated from Pekin Community High School in 2005. While at Pekin High School, Ryan earned All-Conference Honors in the 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay, and twice in the 100 backstroke; winning both the 400 free relay and 100 backstroke his senior year. Following high school, Ryan went on to earn a B.S. in History along with a Secondary Education certification from Western Illinois University. In May of 2016, Ryan and his wife Danielle welcomed their first child, Krue, into the world. When Ryan is not spending time at the pool or with his family, he enjoys running, rock climbing, and cycling.

Heather was born and raised in Pekin.  She graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1999.  Heather received a B.S. in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville in 2003.  She then received her Masters of Business Administration at Webster University in 2006.  She is level 2 certified with the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA).  She is currently swimming for the Peoria Area U.S. Masters Swimming program.  Heather and her family enjoy boating, fishing, hiking, swimming, water and snow skiing.

Amanda is from Pekin, she started her swimming career when she was six years old on the Pekin YWCA swim team. She then swam with PAWW through college. While a student at PCHS, Amanda was a conference champ in the 100 fly and relays. Amanda received a swimming scholarship from Missouri State University, graduating in 2003 with a bachelors in accounting. She then received her masters in accounting from U of I in 2005. Amanda and her husband own Pekin Paintball Park and have two beautiful daughters, Aaliyah and Makayla. Amanda loves to swim and has been coaching since 1999. When not at the paintball park, they love to go boating.

Amber was born and raised in Anderson, Indiana. She started her competitive swimming career
at the age of 5, for Anderson Community Aquatics Club (ACAC) and Anderson High School. She
graduated from AHS in 1997. After high school, she went on to swim for Western Illinois
University. While there, she specialized primarily in the distance freestyle events. She was
conference champion in the 200, 500, and 1650 freestyle events, and multiple relays. After
graduating from WIU in 2001, with a degree in Medical Technology, she moved to Peoria where
she met her husband Seth. They currently live in Metamora, with their two children Gavin and
Elyse.

Since moving to the Peoria area, Amber has coached for multiple teams, such as Richwoods
H.S., Central Illinois Aquatics, and Metamora Area Swim Team. Recently, she joined the
coaching staff of Peoria Notre Dame girls swim team and PAWW. When she is not at the pool
coaching or running kiddos from place to place, you can find her at the pool early in the
morning swimming with our PAWW Masters team. Amber and her family enjoy traveling,
reading, cheering on all things Iowa State (her husband’s alma mater), and just spending down
time together.

Danel is originally from Dunlap, she started her swim career at the age of 7 with the Dunlap Dolphins and transferred to PAWW in 2007 competing with them throughout college. During her senior year of high school she broke the school, pool, and sectional records in the 100 fly at the 2011 sectional meet in the 100 fly earning her the honor of Journal Star Swimmer of the Year. After graduating from Dunlap High in 2012, she continued her swim career at UIC as a scholarship athlete as a part of their NCAA Division I swim program. Danel competed as a part of their sprint squad in the 50 free, 100 fly, 200 fly, 100 back, 100/200 IM, and several relays. While at UIC she placed 2nd in the 100 Butterfly at the Horizon League Championships for 2 consecutive years, and still maintains the program record. She graduate from UIC in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Movement Science.

Since moving back to the Peoria area after school she uses her EMT-B license to work in the Emergency Department at OSF St. Francis. Danel began coaching at PAWW in 2016, bringing 5 years of swim instructor experience, to help other young athletes develop and enjoy the sport of swimming. Primarily working the bronze group she focuses on technique, maintaining a positive attitude, and good sportsmanship. In her spare time she swims with the PAWW Master’s group, takes classes at Illinois State, and is currently applying for Medical School.

Curt is from Tremont, IL and has been a swim coach for over 27 years. Curt joined the PAWW staff in 2018 and is also the Head Coach of the Tremont Torpedos summer team. Curt has also coached several high school teams, including Olympia, Normal West, and West Chicago. He was also a previous coach for the Olympia Country Swimmers.

Curt has an extensive background as a swimmer, where he joined PAWW at the age of 10. During his time at PAWW, Curt's father Mike was a coach at PAWW. Curt swam along side Coach Derek Amerman at PAWW, where they both teamed up to set the 13-14 200 Freestyle Relay record. Curt is also still the PAWW record holder in the 9-10 50 Freestyle. Curt aslo swam at Tremont High School and Eastern Illinois University.

Curt and his wife have two children, who both will swim at PAWW this season.  Outside of swimming, Curt enjoys golfing and watching college basketball.