Before moving to San Diego in 2012, Paul grew up in Champaign, Illinois, where he was lucky enough to be exposed to a strong swimming culture at a young age. Being a town that developed multiple Olympic swimmers, Paul began swimming at an early age, first in a competitive summer league and on to year round swimming by the age of 10. From there he became a school record holder, 4-year Illinois high school state finalist, and an All-American. After spending some time away from the pool, Paul returned to competition at San Diego Mesa College for one year as he started his life in California, and became a Junior College All-American along the way.

Coach Paul truly valued the roles his coaches played for him and what the sport of swimming added to his life, which is why he decided to take the step from being an athlete to becoming a coach. He has gained a multitude of experience ranging from his beginnings as a swim lessons instructor throughout high school, to his time both training alongside and coaching National level swimmers as an assistant coach for the Champaign County Country Club and Champaign County YMCA HEAT. After coming to San Diego, Paul was offered the position of Head Coach for the Peninsula Family YMCA in 2014, where he eventually met Coach Tyler and fellow coach Vincente Andrade, who started SDSA together.

Paul is currently also the Head Coach for Coronado High School as well as an athlete retention tech and Assistant Swim Coach for San Diego Mesa College. He is excited to share his experiences and knowledge of swimming with developing athetes in order to help them use it as a way to reach their highest potential - both in and out of the water.

PHILOSOPHY

-Swim the right way...to

-Swim faster...to

-Swim for life

Coach Tyler emphasizes technique in his coaching and programming. Having qualified for ASCA Level 4 coaching as a direct coach of an Olympic Trials qualifer in 2016, he believes that swimming benefits overall development, both in the pool, and out of the water. Coach Tyler grew up swimming in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he swam for the Flagstaff Stingrays and Snowsharks club swim teams, winning multiple Age Group State Championships as an individual swimmer before moving onto three other varsity sports in high school since his high school had no swim team. 

HISTORY

Before forming SDSA, Coach Tyler coached at the Mission Valley YMCA in San Diego for about 8 years, including a stint at Toby Wells. He served as the Head Coach for the San Diego YMCA club swim team in 2016, leading the team to a record 5th place performance in 2017 and served as the Head Coach for Boys/Girls at Serra High School from 2017-19 before serving as Head Coach for San Diego High in 2021. 

ACCOLADES

Coach Tyler coached at Olympic Trials in 2016 and has coached swimmers with International, National and Junior National qualifications. Swimmers have gone on to NCAA Division 1 schools, as well as other international post-high school competition. Still, Coach Tyler loves a first B time and JO time as much as the high level training. 

LIFE

Coach Tyler is also a full-time a lecturer at San Diego State University in Rhetoric and Writing Studies.

PHILOSOPHY

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HISTORY

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ACCOLADES

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LIFE

#LLM

Neil was born and raised in San Diego. He began swimming at the Clairemont Parks & Recs team at 9 before moving to North Coast Aquatics by age 11. Neil swam on the NCA until he graduated High School in 2013. Neil went on to swim at Mesa Community College for 2 years and redeveloped his passion for swimming. Neil received a scholarship to University of the Pacific where he swam 2 more collegiate years. He graduated with a B.S. in Mathematical Economics in 2018.

Neil holds records for Mesa Community College, University of the Pacific, and for the County of San Diego. He specialized in the 100 Fly, 100 Free, 200 Free, and 200 I.M. He has also had the opportunity to swim with several Olympic swimmers (including Kathleen Baker, Marius Kusch, Michael Andrew, Jacob Heidtmann, and Kristian Gkolomev) and gain coaching insight from Olympic Coach David Marsh.

Since college, Neil has coached Mission Valley YMCA Masters, Plunge Masters, UCSD College Club Team, and Swim San Diego (SSD). He currently runs his own novice swim team that bridges the gap between swim lessons and SDSA. He also provides private swim coaching to triathletes and competitive swimmers.

Neil enjoys swimming, rowing, and weight training to stay active. Neil still occasionally participates in swimming competitions. As a result of his business, Neil believes that swimming provides people with a discipline that can be taken far outside the pool.

PHILOSOPHY

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HISTORY

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ACCOLADES

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LIFE

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Emily has been an active swimmer since she was five. She never had formal lessons, she just dived in and joined swim team with her older sister. They were both competitive year-round swimmers, and there were days when she was in the water three times a day. Emily was convinced she was going to transform into Kim Possible’s swamp monster (if you know, you know). She was the top breaststroke swimmer on her high school team and competed in regionals twice. Although she did take time off in college, she continued to coach and found her niche helping novice swimmers perfect technical skills early on.

When she isn't in the water, Emily is working her desk job as a corporate designer. New to San Diego, she wasted no time diving back in the water and forming a community around sports pride.