Brian Clark is returning for his Tenth season coaching the Durham Dolphins. Brian is married to Haley Clark, and they have four children, 2 who have graduated and 2 who swim for the Dolphins. Brian started in the swimming world competing for the Corning Swim Team. He then coached Corning for four years and continued on coaching the Chico Aquajets at various levels for approx. 25 years before taking a hiatus after the birth of his first child. He was twice voted Senior Coach of the Year for Sierra Nevada Swimming and has spoken at several coaches' clinics and served on the board of directors for both Sierra Nevada Swimming and the North Valley Aquatic League. In his spare time, Brian likes to hurl verbal broadsides at children and pets.
I started swimming with the Durham Dolphins at age 8 and haven’t left a pool for long since. Before having my kids, I coached the Men’s & Women’s Durham High School Varsity Swim Team for 6 years earning NSCIF Coach of the Year Award as well as head coached our amazing Dolphins team for 4 years. This was after finishing a 4 year collegiate swim/water polo chapter earning 4 All American titles in the NAIA and Lindenwood University’s Aquatic Athlete of the Year for 2 years in a row.
Once we started having kiddos, my husband, Jonathan, who coaches Durham Wrestling, and I pulled back from coaching to get our lives together as well as develop more strength and conditioning programs at our gym here in Durham called Animal House Fitness. During this time I also got to focus more on swim lessons and learn to swim with littles. Now that my youngest is able to be on the team, I am thrilled and honored to be coaching on the pool deck again with such a wonderful group of coaches and board. You may see me helping coach all the different groups, our summer learn to swim Mini Dolphins, or even just positively heckling parents to join us in our Masters swim group (for adults but NOT needing to be masterful). I so love that we really do have a spot here for everyone who loves the water!
Hello swimmers and families, I’m coach Jazz and this is my 6th season with the dolphins as well as 14 years of my own swimming experience. Along with swimming I am also very big on traveling, acting, and photography. I have always loved the water and I love being able to coach the kiddos. I’m excited for this season!!!
I've swam competitively for the Durham Dolphins for 14 years. I now compete for Whitworth University in Spokane Washington. Specializing in sprint Freestyle and Butterfly.
This will be my second season as a swim coach. Prior experience include being a swim instructor and certified lifeguard.
I'm very excited to use my experience to give back to the Durham Dolphins youth. Wise words: "Big arms, fast kickies!"
I started swimming competitively in Chico at age 5, when the Aqua Jets had a tight link to the outstanding Chico State swim team. I was unknowingly very lucky to be instructed by legendary coaches and athletes including Art Hickey, (Chico State Hall of Fame), Clark Yeager (13 Division Championships) and Ernie Maglischo (13 NCAA National Championships).
As a friend of the family, I'm told that Ernie presented my parents with a racing swimsuit when I was born. In his final summer coaching the Aqua Jets alongside his tenure as a professor and coach at Chico State, Ernie gave me some extra attention at age 12 to help me qualify for the Far Western Championships in the 100 Breaststroke. We trained like college kids, with double workouts, access to the university weight room, and classrooms with the ability to analyze film of the best swimmers. I didn't understand the extent of my privilege.
Brian Clark and I share a respect for Ernie. I think we both learned a lot from him. I met Brian when he was an assistant coach roughly around 1981 when I was 11, and he has been present in some way ever since. I personally enjoy his acerbic (if not curmudgeonly) wit and scholarly approach to swimming faster, underneath which resides his warm personality.
I'm a believer in people being able to demonstrate talent at different times in their development, so I like to cast a wide net when encouraging people to swim. As one who reached my highest rank at age 12, I swam with peers who were much slower then but went on to become a Navy SEAL and an Airborne Ranger later. The athletic base they received as "average" swimmers helped them achieve extraordinary results in later life. I tell my two sons on the Dolphins team, "Swimming is a gift you give to your future self!"
