Email: dica0401@stcloudstate.edu

Beans Beans, as we all know her, will be a second-year coach for our team this summer. She has been a member of the Monona Swim and Dive Club, MEYO, and the LaFollette HS swim team. She is currently a freshman at the UW Eau Claire – next year she is planning to serve as an RA in her college dorm. Beans is looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces bright and early in the mornings and getting to spend time with the great friends she has made throughout the years.

Emily grew up swimming for the McFarland Spartan Sharks, the Monona Swim and Dive team and the McFarland HS team. She has been coaching for MO as a junior coach for two years and as an age group coach for two years. As a McFarland HS swimmer she was Honorable mention All-State her junior year and competed in the Division 2 state meet all four years. She was a part of the All-City age group championship team as a 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14 as well as a member of the 13-14 Medley Relay team that still holds an All-City record. Emily attends UW Eau Claire where she is majoring in kinesiology. In her spare time Emily loves to play soccer, work with little kids and drink Caribou coffee.

Greta is a second-year swim coach with MO. She started swimming with our club when she was 7 and was also a member of MEYO, M*G*M Aquatics and the MG HS team. She was captain of the high school team and received the “MO the Magician” award two years in a row. Great remembers that her swimming career began when she quit ballet and joined swim team after she swam across the lake at Girl Scout camp at age 6. Greta is currently a freshman at UW LaCrosse. We are all looking forward to having Greta back with our team this summer.

Colin Schmidt is coaching for MO for the first time this summer, but he is no stranger to our team. In 2007 Colin was the recipient of the Jenny McGlaughlin award – given to one swimmer each year that demonstrates all of the qualities that make the perfect team member – hard work, great attitude, superior teammate. Colin swam for MO for six years (15-18 100 Freestyle record holder), for the LaFollette HS team (2 time WIAA state qualifier) and most recently for the UW LaCrosse (WIAC Conference Meet Finalist and WIAC Swimmer of the Week). We are thrilled to have Colin working with our youngest swimmers this summer – especially since he tells us that he enjoys playing Super Nintendo AND he can wiggle his ears. Thanks for coming back Colin!

Matt is a first year coach with our team, but he’s been a true MO swimmer for 13 years! Matt also was a member of MEYO and the LaFollette HS swim team. He was a four year HS letter winner – his senior year he was named team captain, received the coach’s choice award, scholar athlete and Academic All-American honors. Currently Matt is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and also serves as a lifeguard at the Madison East YMCA. Matt likes to travel and has been to Canada, Mexico, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Morocco. Matt says that he is really looking forward to helping kids swim, and hopefully to help them have the same positive experience that I have had during my swimming career. We all know that Matt was always the very best swim-buddy – now we are looking forward to him being an awesome swim coach. Welcome aboard Matt!

Katie will be returning for her third season as a junior coach for the 8 & Under age group. She has had a wonderful swimming career at Monona Grove HS, Monona Swim and Dive Club, MGM Aquatics and the McFarland Sharks. She medaled at the WIAA Division 2 state meet in the past three seasons and was a member of the first place finishing 400 free-style relay for MG this season! Katie also is a lifeguard and swim instructor at the high school pool. Katie is planning on attending UW Madison this fall. She is dearly loved by all of her swimmers and tells us that she is looking forward to a big win at all-City this year!

Kirsten is a third-year junior coach and an award-winning swimmer. She is completing her senior year at East High where she was the captain of the Madison East HS Division I state champion swim team. She is an 11-time All City Champion, a member of the All-City record holding 200 Medley Relay team (13-14 girls) and a Division 1 state swim meet qualifier for four years. In 2007 she swam on the 1st place 200 yard free relay team in Division 1. In addition to MO and East, she has been a member of M*G*M Aquatics and Badger Aquatics Club. Kirsten’s favorite food is ice cream and she loves the color pink. She says that she is looking forward to coaching the awesome 9-10s and having fun in the sun this summer!

James is a third-year junior coach as well as a lifeguard at the Monona Grove HS pool. He has also coached a swim clinic for WRAT in Waunakee. James is a senior at East High School and qualified for the Division I State Championships two years in a row. He also placed 2nd in the breaststroke at All-City when he was 12 and 14. James has been a member of the East HS swim team, M*G*M Aquatics, Badger Aquatics Club and Monona Swim and Dive. Along with swimming he competes on the East High School’s football and golf teams. Next year he is off to college at the University of Minnesota – go Gophers! In the mean time he is looking forward to being a junior coach, having a good swimming season and most of all just having fun!

Lizzy is a second year junior coach with Monona Swim and Dive this year. She is currently a swim instructor and lifeguard at the East YMCA. As a competitive swimmer she has been a member of Monona Swim and Dive, MEYO and the LaFollette HS team where she lettered all four years and was the captain of her team in 2007. Lizzy has not yet picked a college for next year, but she is hoping to study physical therapy. She is looking forward to helping the kids grow with improvement throughout the season. Look for her smiling face on deck!

Kyle is a second year junior coach with MO. He has been a member of the East High swim team, Badger Aquatics Club, WRAT, Cherokee and the Monona Swim and Dive Club. He was the Most Valuable Swimmer for the East High team in 2005-2006 and a state meet qualifier in 2007 and 2008. Kyle has just finished his senior year at East and when asked if there was something fun we might want to know about him he replied “I managed to hit two teachers’ cars in the parking lot at school on the same day.” He is looking forward to having fun with his fellow swimmers and hopes to break some score board records this year.

Hayley Martin

Hayley Martin joined the Monona Swim & Dive Club when she was five years old, which makes 2008 her 13th season with the club. “I just can’t imagine what summer would be like without swim team. I’m really looking forward to seeing it from ‘the other side’ as a coach,” says Hayley, who is a first-year junior coach with the club. She is also a lifeguard and swimming instructor at the Monona Pool.

Hayley will be a senior at MGHS. As a member of the MG women’s swim team, she has qualified for the state swim meet qualifier in a total of 12 events over the past three years, winning a gold medal last fall as the anchor on the 400-free relay team. She holds 4 MG team records, as well as a pool record in the 100 free. She was one of three nominees for high school state “Swimmer of the Year.” She also swims for the MEYO where she holds seven team records, and has qualified for the YMCA Nationals three years in a row.

Three times Hayley as received the "Mo the Magician" award for embodying the concepts of team spirit, hard work and achievement through effort.  She hopes to pass on those skills to the kids she coaches this summer.

Fran tells us: "I started diving when I was eight for Monona.  The next year I began swimming and have not stopped either since.  I swam, dove, and ran track for Denison University where I was a physics major.  My collegiate career was highlighted by All Conference performances in diving freshmen and sophomore year and in track senior year. This will be my fifth year coaching for Monona and my third as a head coach.  I took last summer off to complete physics research on springboard diving.  My future plans include attending Marquette University's Teacher Certification Program.  I hope to one day teach middle school science."