Coaches & Board of Directors:

 

Head Coach/CEO:

AJ Lerner - e-mail

Coach AJ is entering his second season as OCSC's Head Coach, backed by nearly 15 years of active involvement in the Dane County swimming community. His leadership and experience has fueled the successful growth of several local teams as both Head and Associate Head Coach.

AJ's coaching portfolio spans from state champions and record holders to national standouts. His passion lies in fostering athletes' self-assurance and pursuit of excellence while guiding them through the challenges of high-level swimming.

Away from coaching, AJ finds solace in the water himself. He also relishes family time, joined by his wife, three children, and four pets.

 

Coach Jeff is entering his 4th season with OCSC. He brings a decade of coaching experience in the Dane County Area. Before joining OCSC he was a head coach with Stoughton High School where the program enjoyed its highest team finishes in school history. Jeff has worked with numerous state champions, all americans and nationally ranked swimmers. His coaching philosophy is to make high level swim training as fun as possible. He is excited for the future of OCSC!

 

Additional Coaching Staff:

Matt Grotenhuis
Volunteer Coach

Caroline Rusch
Assistant Coach

This will be my second season coaching with OCSC, however, I swam for about ten years with OCSC and for Stoughton (STAR) for a while with Jeff and AJ as my coaches! I am passionate about swimming and teaching young swimmers the importance of knowing how to properly swim.

As a coach, there are many things that I enjoy, such as getting to know the swimmers and watching them grow and improve their swimming techniques and times. I also enjoy being a part of the OCSC community and having all the great families support the coaches and the swimmers. I have a lot of fun coaching the Hammerheads and Leopards and can't wait to see what this season brings!

Outside of coaching, I enjoy being active and doing things such as working out and going on hikes when the weather permits. I am also currently in school, at Madison College, where I am working to get my degree, so that takes up a majority of my time. In addition to coaching, I am also one of the supervisors at the pool where you might see me around! Please feel free to say hi if you see me around!

Spencer Stluka
Assistant Coach

I have been swimming competitively for 10 years. Some of my achievements in swimming include being a 2 time high school state runner-up, and I have competed at NCSAs, Summer Junior Nationals, and more.

This is my first year coaching, and I have been enjoying it a lot. My favorite thing about coaching is helping kids achieve their goals and make improvements, no matter how big or small they might be.

Outside of swimming and coaching, I enjoy being active, spending time with family and friends, and cooking.

Jen Sargent
Dryland Coach

Jen is a NCCPT Personal Trainer Specialist, Group Fitness Instructor, and Certified Weight Management Specialist.  She also holds a certification in customized nutrition as a Metabolic Typing Advisor to help individuals identify their own unique nutritional needs and provide them with tools to help them achieve optimum health.

She began with the OCSC as the Dry Land Coach in 2018 with the goal of muscle strengthening specific to swimmers, and injury prevention. In addition to the dry land training itself, she strives to bring awareness and lay a foundation to the importance of balance between mindful fitness, nutrition, and stretching.

Jen also teaches and trains at The Farm Gym in Oregon, and works for two other local businesses amidst juggling family responsibilities and extracurricular activities.  The other "loves" that occupy her free time are volleyball, music, food, outdoor adventures, social events with her friends and co-workers, volunteering, traveling, deep thoughts, entertaining as a means of bringing people together, and most of all...spending time with her family!

Jen’s motto: “Live and lead with your heart.”