Jennifer Schmitz - Head Coach
Jennifer Schmitz has been the head coach for the USA swim team at O’Neal for 5 seasons. Before the Pelagics, she coached in Minnesota and Washington States and has over 25 years of coaching experience. Jen helped develop the program from it first year and has since coached multiple Senior Champs, Sectional and Futures qualifiers.
Jen is also the Head High School coach at The O’Neal School. She was voted Tri-Tac conference coach of the year for the 2020 and 2021 seasons and NCISAA division 3 coach of the year in 2019. She has coached multiple individual and relay State Champions while at O’Neal, along with two team titles in 2014 and 2019. Both teams were Tri-Tac Conference Champions for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Jen grew up in Minnesota where she began swimming at age 9. After graduating from Saint Louis Park High School, she swam for Saint Cloud State University for four years. After college, she began coaching in Minnesota and then moved to Washington State where she continued her passion. Along with her husband Mark and four children Madison, Molly, Maryn and Samuel they landed in Whispering Pines where they have lived for almost 18 years.
Daniel Hubbard - Coach
Hi! I am Coach Daniel. I am the resident “old guy” of the O’Neal Pelagics coaching crew and LOVING it!!!!
Being in and around the water has been a huge part of my Life. I swam and played water polo; age group, High School (State Champion, and High School All American) and in College (conference champion). I traveled south to live on a sailboat and surfed until I found a way to keep traveling while making money as a deepsea diver in the offshore oilfields.
These days I’m coaching the evolution of training techniques, advancements in the understanding of swimming dynamics, and even adjustments in the rules governing the technical aspects of the strokes to keep driving times faster and faster. It is so exciting to see our club swimmers crushing it!
You will probably not meet anyone who is more committed to the belief in the power of sport. It is an invaluable life experience and teaches us so many life skills. It builds strong social connections; I am still connected with people I swam with as 8 & unders over sixty years ago.
I was blessed to have met my coach/mentor at seven years old (he was my coach through high school). He was a wonderful man who was probably the most influential person in my life outside my family. He coached age group, high school, Div. I NCAA, and Olympians in a coaching career spanning 68 consecutive years. To be a part of something that allows me to pay back a tiny portion of what I received is a pure pleasure!
Tracie Marino - Coach
Hiya, swim fans! I am Coach Tracie. I started swimming competitively at the age of 9 on an undefeated summer league. The team was dedicated with an amazing coach who created a true team sport environment. The memories I have from that league are the ones I hope to generate for the swimmers I coach-a fun, competitive, team spirit!
I continued to swim in high school but ended there to pursue my love of science. I have a background in molecular genetics, and it is with my scientific mind that I enjoy breaking down the techniques of swim strokes and teaching to the littles. Coming up with a methodology that works, is adaptable, and proven is just one aspect of coaching that I am passionate about.
My coaching experience started in 2018 as a volunteer coach for Union Pines High School. I oversaw practices and teaching swim strokes and coached these swimmers to back-to-back conference championships in 2019 and 2020. During those years and through 2022, I also coached The Elks Club Summer Swim team (ages 6-18). I started coaching the Mako group at O’Neal in 2020 and enjoy working with the younger swimmers and teaching the basics of competitive swim strokes.
What I enjoy most about coaching is watching swimmers gain confidence, master new skills and learn that through dedication and hard work great things are possible.
Lee Hicks - Coach
