Coach Ryan began swimming competitively at the age of 5. He swam for the Taylorville IL Park District and also traveled to Decatur IL to swim with the Decatur Swim Club, and the YWCA Decatur Gators. He was a YMCA state swimmer for the Gators as well as a national swimmer for the Decatur Swim Club. Ryan grew up with a family full of competitive swimmers as well as a mother who has been a swim coach and swim instructor for over 50 years. He now has 3 athletes of his own on the team and loves to coach.  Having coached basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and swimming, he has a lot to offer when it comes to leadership.  His mission is to keep kids active in swimming as top level competitors if that's their goal, or to simply stay in shape for other sports.  Ryan is proud to be a part of the CAAP. 

Ashwin started swimming at age 4 to improve his asthma and soon developed a passion for his new sport. At age 5, he joined competitive swimming with SDAT Sakthi Swim Club in his hometown of Chennai, India. He excelled in the 50 and 100 meters freestyle, backstroke, and the butterfly, leading him to a college scholarship at Anna University in Chennai. After college, he moved to the U.S. to pursue a Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity. Since earning his Master’s, he relocated to Springfield to be near family and continues to enjoy swimming. He is excited to be apart of teaching the next generation.

Vishnu started swimming year-round with the Saluki Swim Club at the age of 10 and swam through high school. His competitive events included mid-distance freestyle, breaststroke, and the individual medley. During high school and college, he taught swim lessons to a wide range of clientele, ranging from infants to adults. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Vishnu coached the Saluki Swim Club and Herrin Tigersharks for three years while enrolled in graduate school. Vishnu currently works as a geologist and obtained his Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University and his Master's Degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. 

Natalie began swimming for a summer league swim team at the age of 12. Soon after she fell in love with the sport and began swimming for Bearsharktopus Aquatics where she swam competitively from ages 13-18. She now swims collegiately for Loyola University New Orleans, where she is studying criminology and psychology. Natalie has been youth coaching since the age of 13 and coaching age group swimmers since the age of 16. She also has over four years of experience in teaching swim lessons to all ages. Natalie is excited to continue coaching with CAAP and is excited to see what the team and its swimmers can do. 

Janet is an active swimmer for 50+ years. Along the way she was a lifeguard for 4 years and has taught swimming lessons for 40+ years. She was a TST swim coach for 11 years raising 3 competative swimmers of her own. Janet also has coached the Tidal Waves Along side here son Ryan since 2016.  Some call her the swimming whisperer and is absolutly incredible in teaching all ages.  If you need it fixed she is the one to see.  Now Janet is on the CAAP coaching staff and we are honored to have her abord. 

Seth has been an active swimmer for the last 40+ years. He began swimming competitively during high school for the Taylorville park district with a focus on freestyle and fly. He is an active recreational athlete, which includes both long and short distance swimming and running. He currently has 2 athletes of his own competing on CAAP.  Seth Brings a lot of added value to the team and is happy to be a part of the CAAP coaching staff. 

Cassie comes to CAAP with over 17 years of experience in the aquatic industry. Prior to moving to Illinois for her day job, Cassie was an age group assistant coach for the Jenks Trojan Swim Club. As a native Floridian, she loves all things water- swimming, surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, if water is involved she has probably at least tried it if not fallen in love with it. Cassie and her husband, Michael, and their two cats, Dewey and Domino, live in Litchfield. In the summer, Cassie is the head coach for the Montgomery County Sharks. 

Ben is excited to join the coaching staff of the Capital Area Aqua Phoenix. He grew up swimming on the Taylorville Swim Team for 11 years, as well as lifeguarding for the Taylorville Park District. Ben also competed in IHSA swimming during high school. Now Ben has an athlete of his own on CAAP and hopes to share his passion and enthusiasm for swimming competition with the team. 

Brett has been swimming competitively since he was 8 years old. He began swimming on a local summer league team and then went on to swim for multiple club teams across Illinois. He brings experience from the local all the way up to the national level. Currently, Brett swims collegiately at Carthage College where he is studying allied health science with the goal of working in emergency medicine. He has been coaching summer league and club swimmers for 2 years and teaching private swim lessons to all ages for 1 year. His primary events are the 100 and 200 backstroke along with distance freestyle. Brett is very excited to join the CAAP coaching staff and see what the team will accomplish with everyone's hard work!