Coaching Staff: Qualifications And Training

The Evolution Racing Club coaching staff consists of a Team Director, Site Director and coaches.

All our coaches are USA swimming accredited and have passed the following United States Swimming requirements for coaching credentials:

• Background check
• CPR/First Aid
• Athlete Protection Training
• Safety Training for Coaches

In addition, we believe in continuing education for our coaches and take every opportunity, such as the United States Regional Coaches Clinic, to learn from and be trained by some of the best and most experienced coaches in the country. We hire coaches with a passion for the sport, matched by an enthusiasm for teaching age-group swimmers. 

Evolution Racing Club Coaching Staff

Felipe Delgado is a two-time Olympian (1996 & 2000). Felipe started his career by swimming for the South Gate Gators before moving to Orange County and swimming for the Mission Viejo Nadadores.  Felipe competed at Mission Viejo High School where he set numerous high school records.  He went on to compete at Arizona State University where he graduated with a Marketing Degree.  Felipe graduated as a member of the dean's list and was recognized as a scholar-athlete. While at Arizona State, he was a fifteen time All-American, and qualified for finals multiple times at the NCAA Divison I Championships.  He was the bronze medalist at the 1996 NCAA Championships (50-yard freestyle) and went on to help set multiple team records in the relay events, while posting Top 10 all-time swims in individual events. Felipe was a Pac-10 Champion and US Open bronze medalist (50-meter freestyle). Post graduation, Felipe swam with Dave Salo and the Irvine Novaquatics, and finished his career swimming for Mike Bottom and The World Sprint Team.

Felipe is married to Megan Delgado, and has three daughters and one son—Anicka, who is currently a scholarship athlete and swims for the University of Southern California, Valentina and Francesca, both swim for Evolution Racing Club and Luca swims seasonally for Evolution Racing Club.

Evan Forbes has 15 years of experience as a classroom teacher, working with grades K through 6 and spent 10 years as an age-group swimmer, and finally coach. Evan began his swimming career late in life at the older age-group level, he swam for his high school team in Ohio and then went on to The Ohio State University where he walked on as a sophomore and earning varsity status by his senior year. In that same year, Evan represented the United States in international competition as a member of the U.S. Maccabi Team competing in Sydney, Australia where he won 3 gold medals (one individual and 2 relay). Evan has been coaching for over 20 years at the age-group level and one year at the collegiate level. He holds a Bachelors of Science from The Ohio State University and a Masters of Science Education from Northern Illinois University.

Evan is has been married to his wife Tracey for 25 years and they have two boys Eric and Ryan. Eric represented the Gators Swim Club (now Evolution Racing Club) through his high school swimming career and was a 4-Year Varsity Letterman at the University of Redlands.

Jeff Natalizio did his college swimming at UC Berkeley, and credits much of his coaching style to having trained with some of the sport’s greatest coaches- Nort Thornton, Mike Bottom, Dave Salo, and Dave Durden. Jeff is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and, as a strength coach, was instrumental in Anthony Ervin’s achieving a record-setting gold medal in the 50 freestyle at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Before joining Gators, Jeff spent a year coaching in Serbia, working with some of that country’s top swimmers. Jeff has been coaching with Gators since April, 2015, and many of his swimmers have gone on to swim in college at various levels. Jeff brings a level of technical and physiological understanding to his workouts, and his passion for the sport of swimming is palpable and infectious. In his own swimming, Jeff is a multiple US Masters national record holder. You can learn a little more about Coach Jeff at www.ziofitelite.com

Sungmo Cho

Alex Fuentes is the Navy 2 coach at Ladera Ranch. He grew up in Southern California, from Long Beach to Ladera Ranch. He began club swimming at the age of 8 for Novaquatics, and swam for Capistrano Valley High School, competing in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle. Alex began working for Evolution Swim Academy in 2017, teaching swim lessons and coaching Intro to EVO. In 2020, Alex began coaching Navy 2 in Ladera Ranch, as well as assisting Coach Evan for Navy 1 and Navy 3. Currently, Alex attends the University of California Irvine, and studies Earth System Sciences, specializing in atmospheric sciences. He is currently planning on graduating with a Bachelors in Science by 2023.

Leanna Cockerham

AJ Littiken-Cooper

Wendy Theders  is the Site Director at Ladera Ranch.  She has coached age group swimming for over 25 years and has competed in swimming for over 40. She has a teaching credential in elementary education and a B.A. in Kinesiology from Long Beach State University. Wendy has two adult kids that have competed in swimming since they were age groupers, so she understands a parent's view of athletics as well as a coaches. 

She has been a competitive masters swimmer and open water swimmer for the last 25 years. She completed the Catalina Channel Solo swim and she currently enjoys her daily ocean swims while capturing the beaty of ocean life on film.  

Shane Calder is the assistant coach at the Ladera Ranch pool and a senior at Tesoro High School. Shane began his career by swimming for the Mission Viejo Nadadores before switching to EVO in 2016. During his high school swim career, Shane obtained a Varsity letter his freshman year. He then went on to compete for Tesoro's Varsity team during CIF championships, racing the 200-yard freestyle and relay events. With nearly a decade of competitive swimming experience, Shane is ready to share his knowledge with others and assist in their growth.

Coach's Contact Info
NAME                                 EMAIL CELL                                                PHONE 

A.J Littiken                        [email protected]                     (714) 642-9949