Coach Dave has been training, competing, coaching and surrounded by swimming for over 50 years.  Dave is a former All-American Swimmer from Eastern Illinois University where he swam butterfly and freestyle.  For the past 25+ years Dave has accumulated over 100 top 10 Masters swimming times in butterfly, backstroke, freestyle and IM events.  

Dave has coached at the age group, high school and college level.  Dave also assisted with running and officiating club swim meets over multiple summers when his kids competed in age group swimming.  Dave has been involved with Masters swimming by serving in leadership and coaching positions for his local Central Illinois club, the State of Illinois Masters Swimming organization, and he ran events at the USMS national level.

Dave arrived on the beautiful Big Island after living in Illinois his entire life.  Dave completed a 35+ year career at State Farm Insurance and moved to his Big Island home in September 2018.  Dave and his wife Loretta have 4 children: Scott a Software Architect in Indianapolis, Mike a Pain Management doctor practicing in Madison Wisconsin, Laura a Family Nurse Practitioner practicing in the Chicagoland area, and Kaitlin a Radiology Resident at University of Chicago Medical.  Dave and Loretta are also proud grandparents of Cody (18), Caley (16), Bo (4) and Everett (2) and Giavana (1). 

Dave is excited about coaching the Kona Aquatics Club.  Dave’s overall approach to everything in life is: live life, play hard and swim fast! 

Coach Brenda was born and raised in Alaska. She's a retired middle school counselor.  She had been visiting Kona for over 50 years and now lives here full time. She has three children, a son 27 in California and twin daughters that just graduated from college: Notre Dame and Gonzaga.

She has been swimming competitively since age 5. Coached masters swimmers in Alaska. Attended masters nationals last year, has competed in many ocean races in Kona including two solo Ali`i challenges. Most recently Brenda competed in the Busselton Jetty swim in Busselton Australia (2.3).

Coach Denise is a retired Hawai’i Department of Education teacher who has been doing ocean races for over a decade. Now in her 60’s, She claims to have gone off the deep end and started to do triathlons.

She like the other coaches swam competitively as a kid and now enjoys passing on her pool and ocean experience with the new generation.

Karen grew up in Ohio, swimming on age group and high school teams.  After graduating from Ohio State University with a BS in Education, she began teaching in elementary and middle schools.  Karen also taught swimming to children and adults and coached age group swim teams in Ohio, Memphis, and Tampa.  She has also coached Special Olympics swim teams for 30 years, and was the Aquatics Director for Special Olympics in the Memphis area.  Karen moved to Kona in July 2021, and teaches at Kahakai Elementary School.

Coach Chuck has been competing in swimming since he was 9 years old in Houston, Texas. Chuck is a former All-American Swimmer at Southern Methodist University where he was a sprint butterfly and freestyler. He also participated in the 1984 Olympic Trials in the 100M butterfly. Over the past 30 years, Chuck has accumulated over 60 Top 10 USMS swims, including 18 1st place relay and individual finishes. Chuck is also a former FINA Masters World champion in the 50M free.

Over the years, Chuck has coached at the high school and masters level, and has also taught swimming privately. He has been looking for an opportunity to coach more consistently and now that his 35 year career in executive sales leadership has ended, Kona Aquatics was the perfect match.

Chuck’s journey to the Big Island started 7 years ago when he and his wife Nancy bought a coffee farm in Holualoa. They have 2 children, Matthew, a biochemist cancer researcher in Boston and Sierra, an aspiring future chef, baker and restauranteur here on The Big Island. It’s been a winding path, but they are finally here and ready to pour themselves into the community. Chuck’s love for coaching goes beyond the pool deck. He is becoming a certified professional life coach where he hopes to guide adults through career and general life challenges and decisions that make a life well lived. One of his favorite quotes is “Although the brave may not live forever, the cautious don’t live at all.” Sir Richard Branson. Chuck is excited to be part of the brave Kona Aquatics Club.

Hi everyone, my name is Shae'Lynn, I was born and raised on the Big Island. I have competed with Kona Aquatics since I was 10 years old, I was able to travel for championships meets with the club and loved every second. I love working with our younger kids and watching them grow as individuals, as well as in the sport.