Janusz Kaczmarek has been the Head Coach of the West Vancouver Otters Swim Club since 2001. He brings to the Otters a wealth of coaching experience from National and International levels with teams in Poland, Switzerland and Canada. His Canadian experience is extensive as he has been Head Coach for three major swim clubs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In his day, Janusz was a fierce competitor in the pool, setting a number of national records and winning titles for the Polish National Team. As a coach, his accomplishments include:

• 2013 Canadian Youth Coach of the Year
• 2013 BC Youth Coach of the Year
• 2014 BC Junior Coach of the Year

Janusz’s swimmers have won gold medals in the European Championships, placed in finals in the Olympics and captured gold medals and established a world record time in the Para-Olympics. Notable swimmers and their accomplishments include:

Relay – Ben Christie, James McQuade, Daniel Russell and Craig Brazier

• 4 x 100 Free LC – Canadian Age Group National Record
• 4 x 100 Medley SC – Canadian Age Group National Record
• 4 x 50 Free SC – Canadian Age Group National Record

Brenna McLean

• 2008 Victor Davis Memorial Award recipient
• 2009 – Age Group National Record in 200 Fly SC
• 2011 Canadian Summer Nationals – Gold in 200 Fly
• 2013 Canadian World Championship Trials – Bronze in 200 Fly
• 2013 US Open – Bronze in 200 Fly
• Captain of the 2013 Indiana University Hoosiers Women’s Team

Emily Overholt

• 2012 – 13-14 Age Group Record in 400 IM LC
• 2013 Canadian Summer Nationals – Gold in 200 Fly
• 2013 World Junior Championships – Bronze in 400 IM (Junior World Record)
• 2014 Commonwealth Games – Silver in 4x200m Free Relay
• 2014 Pan Pacific Championships – Bronze in 4x200m Free Relay

Michelle Zeng

• 2022-2023 Swim BC Female Provincial Swimmer of the Year
• 2023 BC Record in 400 IM short course
• 2023 BC Record in 400 IM long course
• Ranked first for 12 year old females in Canada for the 2022-2023 season in 21 events (11 long course and 10 short course)

Head Coach Janusz coaches the Youth and Senior National swim groups.

Norman Ng is the Assistant Head Coach of the West Vancouver Otters Swim Club and has coached professionally since 2005.

Before joining the Otters, Norman was Senior Assistant Coach at the Hyack Swim Club and was part of the coaching staff that helped the team earn the 2012 Long Course Provincial AAA Championship title. With the Otters, Coach Norman and his swimmers earned the 2014 Swim BC Development Club of the Year.

Norman swam competitively for 11 years. As a swimmer, his accomplishments included achieving his Age Group Nationals and SNC Western times in multiple freestyle events.

“Working as an Assistant Head Coach has been a goal of mine for a long time. I’m hoping that my experience and passion for the sport of swimming will help improve the performances and successes of all Otter swimmers."

His notable swimmers and their accomplishments include:

Nathan Clement

2015 Speedo Can Am Para-swimming Championships – Silver in S7 50 Fly, Bronze in S7 50 Free

2015 Parapan Am Games – Bronze in S7 50 Fly

2016 Canadian Olympic & Para-swimming Trials – Canadian Record S6 50 Free

2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro) - 7^th in S6 50 Fly (S6 Canadian National Record)

Coach Norman is extremely excited to be part of the Otters coaching staff. He believes he can help swimmers reach their maximum potential and make all the sweat and tears worth it in the end.

Haley has learnt the fundamental skills of swimming in the Otters OSA group in her early years and developed those skills training through to the AA group. Through the years with the club Haley has learnt a wealth of knowledge and lifelong skills. Recently, Haley graduated from Capilano University with a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology Honours degree.

Haley is excited to be coaching the OSA groups again this year. She aims to create a positive environment to promote an interest in learning, enjoyment of the sport, and confidence amongst our youngest groups. Haley hopes that all our swimmers will gain new skills, watch themselves improve, and create long-lasting friendships.

I hope that through lots of positive technical feedback, our swimmers can feel themselves improve in the water and have fun doing so!

During his early years, Franek learned the fundamental swimming skills at Victoria Jozefów Swimming Club in Poland. Though it’s his first year with the Otters Franek already has experience coaching other sports such as basketball at Loughborough University. There Franek is also finishing his Sport psychology undergraduate degree.

Franek is excited to help coach the OSA, and the LMR groups starting this year. He aims to help the swimmers grow and become the best versions of themselves in and outside the pool by creating a positive environment through team building and positive technical feedback. 

I hope that we can help our swimmers achieve the goals they set for themselves and that they can have fun doing so.