2025 Coach of the Year (AG and SR)--- accomplishments:

For Senior Coach of the Year:

Rey Aguilar (DADS):

Competitive Success:
Silver Medal in the USA Swimming Club Excellence Program
2 athletes selected to National Select Camp
1st place combined team finish at Gulf Southern Senior Champs
4th place combined team finish at LC NCSA’s (Voted NCSA LC Coach of the Meet)
6th place combined team finish at LC Sectionals
1st place combined team finish at LC Southern Zone Senior Champs
10 Winter Jr. National Qualifiers
6 Summer Jr. National Qualifiers
13 2024 Scholastic All Americans
Coach Rey achieved a milestone this year by sending his 100th swimmer to compete at the collegiate level
 

Swim Community Service:
Texas Sr. Circuit board member
The Lorenze Project - Dad’s Club swimmers volunteer to teach young children swim skills and introduce them to the sport of swimming
Project Swim for Life - Dad’s Club’s community outreach program which partners with local school districts which provides free swim lessons to hundreds of underprivileged elementary school children during school hours each spring and fall

Bill Bailey (KATY):

Coach Bill Bailey – Katy Aquatics
Nomination for Gulf Swimming Senior Coach of the Year
Coach Bill Bailey continued to elevate Katy Aquatics’ senior program in 2024–2025, producing outstanding national-level results while fostering a positive and service-minded team culture. His athletes achieved exceptional competitive success, contributing directly to the club earning 2026 Bronze Medal status in USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Program—the program’s third consecutive year at the Bronze level.

Competitive Excellence
Under Coach Bailey’s leadership, Katy Aquatics’ senior athletes excelled on both the short course and long course stages:
• Achieved Top-8 finalist performances at the 2024 Speedo Winter Junior Nationals, contributing to the team’s 26th-place combined finish.
• Earned additional Top-8 finishes at the 2025 Long Course Summer Junior Nationals.
• Coached four 17–18 athletes who ranked in the Top 100 nationally in SCY, combining for 10 ranked swims, including five Top-50 performances.
• During the LCM season, again guided four 17–18 athletes into the Top 100, earning eight ranked swims, four of which ranked in the Top 50.
• Coached two 15–16 athletes who achieved Top-100 national LCM rankings.
These accomplishments reflect Coach Bailey’s strong technical expertise, athlete development skills, and commitment to preparing swimmers for success on the national stage.

Community Service & Program Impact

Beyond competitive results, Coach Bailey strengthened the character and community presence of the Katy Aquatics senior program:
• Served on the 2025 Gulf Swimming Open Water Staff, contributing to the development and support of Gulf athletes at the LSC level.
• Led Katy Aquatics’ senior group and staff in partnering with Katy Christian Ministries, sponsoring 10 children and providing Christmas gifts for families in need.
• Organized a team community day at the Houston Food Bank, where swimmers and parents packaged nearly four tons of food to support local families.

Coach Bailey’s leadership extends far beyond the pool. His commitment to competitive excellence, athlete mentorship, and meaningful community engagement makes him a standout example of what a senior coach should represent.
 

Rick Boucher (CFSC):

Jarrod Murphy (TWST):

Ben Pulskamp (FCST):

MEET PERFORMANCE:
Winter Juniors – largest winter Jrs. Team in program history (11 athletes)
SC Sectionals – 6th place finish for the team, 2 individual 1st place finishes, largest sectionals team in recent history
Summer Juniors – tied for the second largest summer Jrs. Team in program history (8 athletes)
·        2 Zone Select Camp Qualifiers
·        6 2024 Scholastic All-Americans
·        8 athletes attending the Gulf Spring Select Camp
·        1 National Select Camp Qualifier
Achieved USA Swimming Silver Medal Club
32nd in the USA Swimming VCC standings

SENIOR Program TEAM RECORDS:
2024-2025 Short Course:
8 Senior Individual Records Broken
4 Senior Relay Records Broken
2025 Long Course:
16 Senior Individual Records Broken
19 Senior Relay Records Broken (Some relays broken by 2 or more relay teams on the same weekend; i.e., 8-12 individuals breaking the same relay record)

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
·        Senior groups holiday gift donation to foster kids
·        Donation to the Richmond State Supported Living Center Aquatics Program
·        Supported two of the senior swimmers with their food drive (hosted the week leading up to summer splash)
·        Volunteered at the Enhanced skills for life clinic to team water safety skills to multi-plegic individuals
·        Newly elected Gulf LSC Board Member

Paige Sikkema (NOCH):

NOCH sent William Martinez to Winter Juniors for the first times, after coming off Futures, in 2024, where he had some great results.  William also won high point at the ISCA meet in Florida summer 2025. 

Paige serves as the General Chair for Gulf Swimming.  She also served as the manager for Duel in the Pool and both Select Camps.

NOCH organized an annual food drive in November.  Additionally- NOCH provides free swim lessons in the district.

For Age Group Coach of the Year:

Tanja Avant/Christian Schurr (KATY):

Katy Aquatics proudly nominates Coach Christian Schurr and Coach Tanja Avant for the Gulf Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year Award. Together, they have elevated our 14-and-Under program to one of the strongest in the region and among the most competitive in the country. Their shared leadership, dedication, and technical expertise have built a program defined by athlete development, team culture, and consistent excellence.
 

Competitive Excellence:
Over the past year, Coaches Christian and Tanja guided the Katy Aquatics age group program to national-level recognition:
• Ranked by ASCA as one of the Top 50 Age Group Programs in the United States, reflecting their consistent developmental success.
• Led the team to outstanding results at the Texas Age Group Championships, finishing 6th in Short Course and 5th in Long Course.
• Coached five swimmers who collectively achieved eight nationally ranked Top-50 Long Course performances during the 2025 season.
These results demonstrate their ability to develop young swimmers technically, mentally, and competitively while preparing them for higher levels of the sport.

Community Service & Program Impact
Coaches Christian and Tanja have also been instrumental in building a culture of service and community engagement within the Katy Aquatics age group program:
• Played key roles in the club’s annual Katy Gives Back projects, including the Caps for a Cure initiative in November, raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research.
• Encouraged broad age group family participation in the club-wide Houston Food Bank service event in December 2025, helping instill values of volunteerism and compassion in young athletes.
Their efforts extend beyond technical coaching—they help shape athletes who positively impact their communities.
Service to the Gulf LSC & Broader Swimming Community
Both coaches contributed significantly to Gulf Swimming and the Southern Zone this year:
• Coach Christian served as a coach at the Gulf Duel in the Pool, supporting our athletes from across the LSC.
• Coach Tanja served as an age group coach for the Gulf Southern Zone Open Water Select Team, providing leadership and development at one of the LSC’s travel opportunities for young swimmers.
• Additionally, Coach Tanja serves the sport through governance, holding positions on both the Gulf Swimming Board of Directors and the USA Swimming Southern Zone Committee as a Safe Sport Representative, helping ensure athlete welfare and program integrity across the region.
Summary
Coaches Christian Schurr and Tanja Avant embody the standards of excellence Gulf Swimming seeks to recognize. Their shared commitment to competitive achievement, athlete development, community service, and service to the LSC make them exceptional candidates for the Gulf Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year Award.
 

Jeff Carder (HYDRA):

Since taking over Age Group programming at Hydra he has consistently up the bar each year. His swimmers improve month over month/ year over year and as a group has finished higher each year at both Gulf Champs and TAGS. He inspires his swimmers to give their all and to truly trust the process while loving the sport of swimming. He has inspired our younger coaches to be better and to buy into our Teams philosophy also teaching their swimmers to live the sport while becoming better swimmers and human beings.

Kelly Collier (NEHA):

Once a rare sight, NEHA has now become a regular at USA Swim meets under Kelly’s tenure. She has also led her team to lean into the Block Party meet format. Her team has been profiled as a team to emulate on USA Swimmings web page.

Kelly has also served the Gulf as an Open Water coach and manager and a Duel in the Pool coach,. Kelly has produced 5 TAGS swimmers in her short time at NEHA, their first in many years (ever?).

Kelly has also served her community by, most recently, packing 100+ bags of Thanksgiving food to be donated to the local Meals on Wheels food bank.

Jorge Huerta (ESA): 

Currently, Jorge is organizing ESA's float in the City of Humble Christmas parade. If our athletes are doing anything in the community, he is always there to help them. 

Heather Jorris (TWST):

Mark Martinez/Kelli Northern (NOCH):

4 Age Group Champs qualifiers.

Mark serves as the DEI Chair of Gulf Swimming and was on the Open Water Select Team staff last year.  Kelli served on the Duel in the Pool coaching staff.

Mark is a huge researcher of new things.  He is the creative coach of the team and is always coming up with interesting things to do with the swimmers. 

Dustin Myers (DADS):

COMPETITIVE SUCCESS
8th place team finish at LC TAGS
21 relays placed in the top 8 at SC & LC TAGS - 9 of those finished in the top 3
13-14 Boys won all 5 relays at LC TAGS - those 5 relays placed 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd and 1st in the country for the 13-14 age group
13-14 Boy High Point Winner at LC TAGS
24 Sectional cuts from 14&U swimmers

COMMUNITY / SERVICE TO SWIMMING
Dustin's swimmers participate in a community service project once a season to give back to those in need
Member of Gulf Swimming TPC

Mike Nordmann (HTX):

Over the past season, Coach Mike Nordmann has guided HTX Swims  age-group program into multiple level of championship meets. The team’s results across TAGS, Gulf Age Group Championships, and 12 & Under Champs show consistent improvement, deeper scoring, and steadily increasing representation across championship meets.

Mike currently serves as the USA Swimming Southern Zone Coaches Rep.

MaryAnne Svoboda (CFSC):

•  Gulf Board of Directors
• Presenting at Gulf Swimming Clinic
• Volunteering at Parson's House - Bingo with the residents
• Animal Shelter volunteering
• Food Pantry volunteering
• Art Museum volunteering

•  Gulf Age Group Champs - SCY - Team Champion
• Gulf Age Group Champs - LCM - Team Champion
•  7 ^th TAGS - SCY
• 10 ^th TAGS - LCM
• ASCA Top 50 - 9 ^th as a team for large teams
• Top 10 Results - Multiple individual and relay swims ranking Top 10 in USA Swimming.

Trenton Thome (FCST):

First season as FCST's Head Age Group Coach

MEET PERFORMANCE:
SC TAGS – 3rd place finish, largest team since 2015, second 3rd place finish in program history (behind two 2nd place finishes), 6 individual 1st place finishes, 4 relay 1st place finishes
LC TAGS – 4th place finish for the team – with only 12&U swimmers – 4 individual 1st place finishes, 1 relay 1st place finish
SC Gulf AG Champs – best Gulf AG Champs finish in recent years, only 46 points out from 1st place
At this meet, FCST swimmers raced 10+ nationally ranked top-ten times in individual events. 2 relays were nationally ranked #1 in the country. FCST also had the most # of high-point winners.
LC Gulf AG Champs – 2nd Place Finish with the largest number of AG Champs athlete for the team in over a decade
• 1 Diversity Select Camp Qualifier
AGE GROUP Program TEAM RECORDS:
2024-2025 Short Course:
24 AG Individual Records Broken
5 AG Relay Records Broken
2025 Long Course:
8 AG Individual Records Broken
4 AG Relay Records Broken
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
• Volunteered at the Enhanced skills for life clinic to team water safety skills to multi-plegic individuals