Our Professional Coaching Staff has the experience and training
to help you achieve whatever your goals may be. Every coach
has completed the USA Swimming Coaches Certificaiton process
which includes safety training, foundations of coaching classes,
athlete protection classes, and background screening procedures.
We pride ourselves on having a knowledgeble and well educated
coaching staff that is confident in what we know while always
wanting to improve and learn more. Our coaching and teaching
abilities will continue to rise with our team.
B.S. Kinesiology/Exercise
Science Cal State Northridge
In October of 2012 the
Piranha Swim Team hired CEO and Head Coach Jeff Conwell. Jeff comes
to the Piranhas after a successful 14 years of coaching the Canyons
Aquatic Club in Santa Clarita, California, six and a half years as
their Head Age Group Coach and just over seven as the teams Head
Coach. During that time Canyons grew from 250 swimmers to 600. He
also served as the Head Coach of the College of the Canyons
Swimming and Diving team and was an Adjunct Professor at the
College from 2006 to 2012.
During the seven years
Jeff served as Canyons Head Coach eight swimmers qualified for the
USA Swimming Olympic Trials, 14 qualified for USA Swimming
Nationals, 5 qualified for USA Swimming Open Water Nationals, 26
qualified for USA Swimming Junior Nationals, 100% of his group
qualified for CIF (swimmers trained by Jeff won 17 CIF individual
Championships including two Div 1 titles in 2012), and 94% of his
groups graduates went on to swim in College. Over his entire
Canyons carrer he personally coached more than 300 National Age
Group ranking swims, 32 of those being ranked number 1 in the
United States, 16 Southern California Swimming Age Group records,
and one National Age Group record.
Prior to joining Canyons
Jeff spent two years as an Assistant Coach at Cal State Northridge,
an NCAA Division 1 program, was the Head Age Group Coach at
CLASS/CCAT Aquatics in Calabasis, and was the Head Coach of Crespi,
Louisville, and Granada Hills High Schools. At Granada Hills
his Girls won a CIF Team Championship and set five CIF
records.
Currently a member of the
Southern California Swimming Board of Review and the Chairman of
the Eastern Committee, Conwell has been an active player in
Southern California swimming politics since 2001. He has been
recognized by USA Swimming as a member of the 2009 National Select
Camp Staff and selected to attend the 2011 Open Water Select Camp.
Raised in Sacramento, Conwell competed for California Capitol
Aquatics, home team of Olympian Summer Sanders, and coached by 1992
Olympic staff member and American Swim Coaches Association Hall of
Fame member Mike Hastings. He also swam and played water polo at
Jesuit High School in Carmichael where his 1993 Marauder swim team
was named the Prep School National Champions. Conwell later
attended Cal State Northridge as a scholarship athlete where he
earned his bachelors degree in Kinesiology and served as team
captain of their swim team.
Jeff lives in Palm
Springs with his wife Alicia, a former Piranha and Palm Springs
High School alumni, and step daughter and Piranha swimmer
A.J.
Alicia joined the Piranha
Staff in October 2012 and is a proud alumni of the club, a former
Piranha Coach, and a graduate of Palm Springs High School.
Prior to moving back to the Piranhas Alicia served as an Age
Group and Senior Assistant with the Canyons Aquatic Club for 2
years where she worked with swimmers of all ages and abilities.
Alicia was as an age group assistant to the 2011 and 2012 Summer
Junior Olympic Championship team and also assisted with the
Nationally recognized Senior Elite Group.
Before Canyons Alicia was
the Head Coach and CEO of Palm Springs Aquatics and produced
several J.O. Medalists, Sectional qualifiers, and a USA Swimming
Junior National qualifier. She was was also the owner and
operator of Desert Valley Swim School during that same
time.
Her athletic experience
includes 14 years of competitive swimming at the USA Swimming club
level as a Piranha and also played both High School and Collegiate
Water Polo. While a member of the University of Redlands
Water Polo team Alicia earned her Bachelor of Arts in
2003.
In
March 2012 Alicia married our Head Coach Jeff and they live in Palm
Springs along with Alicia's daughter and Piranha swimmer A.J.
Besides coaching, Alicia runs AJ Enterprises http://ajenterprises.co, a
silk-screen and printing business that is an official sponsor of
the Piranha Swim Team.
DDS National University of
Singapore, MS Loma Linda University
Dr. Gerald Lim is the
Piranha's longest tenured coach having began working with the team
in 2004. Over his years as an Age Group coach his swimmers
have achieved top 20 National rankings and 37 Junior Olympic top 16
placings, two of those being individual Gold medal winners.
His success in getting swimmers from the beginning level to the
championship age group ranks is second to none in the Coachella
Valley. His belief that excellent technique is the foundation
of long term excellence has helped many swimmers progress from
beginner to the Senior level and on to great collegiate swimming
careers.
Dr. Lim has been an
accomplished athlete in both aquatics and non aquatic sports.
Growing up in Singapore he was one of the countries best 200
freestylers and ranked 4th in the nation. The desire to
participate and succeed in sports carried on into adulthood as he
was a world ranked professional Squash player at one time and
currently Dr. Lim competes internationally in free-dive
spearfishing. Dr. Lim has twice been named the USA National
Spearfishing champioin and in 1998 he ranked 6th in the
World. He is the father of two daughters, Elaine and
Lynette. Both grew up Piranha swimmers and have moved
on to swim for the USC Trojans and Coach Dave Salo. Lynette
is a two time Olympian having represented Singapore at the 2008
Beijing Games and the 2012 London Games.
Dr. Lim earned his DDS
from National University of Singapore and earned and an M.S. in
Endodontics from Loma Linda University. He resides in Rancho
Mirage with his wife and is a practicing Endodontist in Palm
Desert.
B.S. Cum
Laude History and Journalism Rutgers
University
Ashley began coaching with the Piranhas in the
Summer of 2012 but her history with the team goes back many years.
She began swimming for the Piranhas when she was 9 years old and
had much success as an Age Group, High School, and Senior Swimmer.
Ashley was a Junior National finalist as well as a Senior National
qualifier and a High School All American. While representing Palm
Springs High School and leading the team to a league championship
her senior year she set several PSHS school records, won DVL
individual championships, set DVL records in the 200 and 500 free,
and was a CIF Champion her Senior year in the 200
free.
Ashley then moved on to become a scholarship
athlete at NCAA Division I Rutgers University. During her four
years at Rutgers Ashley set several Big East Conference records,
was an NCAA qualifier, and earned NCAA All American Honorable
Mention honors while one of the Scarlet Knights leading female
swimmers. Ashley graduated from Rutgers cum laude in 2009 with two
Bachelors in History and Journalism. Dunphy's coaching career began
as an assistant coach in Princeton, New Jersey for the Princeton
Piranhas in 2008 soon after she retired from competitive
swimming.
Currently Ashley lives in Palm Springs and also
works at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum.
Lauren has been a long
time Piranha as a swimmer and now as a coach with our Bronze group
in Palm Springs. She continues to train with our Senior group
and uses this knowledge from her own swimming and practices to give
back to her young swimmers.
Melody is our Minnows Instructor for the
Palm Springs location. She comes to the Piranhas from Las
Vegas, NV where she was associated with a highly successful
learn-to-swim program called Bubble Swim School. She is
excited to be a part of the Piranha family and help young swimmers
develop. She says, "I absolutely love teaching. The most
exciting part of my job is working with children of all ages and
nourishing their growth in the program, to me this is the biggest
reward!"
Would you like to be a member of the Booster Club? The
Booster Club is always looking for members, volunteers,
and new ideas to improve the Piranha Swim Team. If you have a
fundraising idea, want be more active in the club, intersted in
volunteering your services, or know of someone that could be of use
please contact us.
