Coaches and Board of Directors
Erick Powell is the Head Swim Coach for the Rockford Marlins Swim Club. Coach Erick brings a wealth of experience to his role with the Marlins. I began my swimming career when I was in elementary school and continued through high school. I began teaching swimming when I was 15 here at the Belvidere YMCA and continued teaching swim lessons until I joined the coaching staff of the YMCA Barracudas in 2008. In that time, I Co-coached the winter team and was the head coach of the YMCA summer team. Coaching with the Marlins has allowed me to continually improve myself as a coach as well as the swimmers. I enjoy challenging each and every swimmer, regardless of swim group or skill level, to reach their goals through strong workouts, goal setting and creative motivations. The swimmers also challenge me to always be at my best and to make sure I am constantly learning and growing by improving my coaching skills and background through classes, courses, videos and more.
Swimming has been a passion and lifestyle for me since I started at 11 years old. I swam for the Belvidere Barracudas YMCA Swim Team for 8 years before going onto a collegiate level with Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, IA for 2 years. In between all of those years of being a competitive swimmer, I’ve had the opportunity to build on my swim career as a Swim Instructor (for all abilities and ages) and as an Assistant Swim Coach for the Marengo Park District and Belvidere Barracudas. I’m still swimming as part of my daily exercise routine while trying new swim techniques when I’m in the pool. The best part of being a swim coach is to see a swimmers’ excitement of goals being met from mastering swim techniques, qualifying for regionals/state, and everything in between. I’m looking forward to continuing to build my coaching skills and seeing our swimmers succeed in and out of the pool!
