Head Coach

New Head Coach coming soon!!

Interim Head Coach Lindsay Ludlow

Lindsay started with DCAC in January of 2024. She has taught swim lessons in the past, and has 10 years of experience as a running and triathlon coach. Lindsay has always been interested in the limits of human performance, which led her to pursue a graduate degree in Exercise Physiology, receiving her Ph.D. in 2012.  

As a swimmer, Lindsay swam with The Sharks swim team out of Syracuse, New York, specializing in breaststroke. During college, she discovered triathlon and competed in long distance/Ironman triathlons at an elite level for 10 years. 

Lindsay enjoys being a part of each swimmer's journey to improve and develop, both as an athlete and a person.   

Assistant Coach Betty Heerema

Betty Heerema is a local resident, having graduated high school from Jackson Baptist in 1990 and EMU in 1997 with a Bachelors in Special Education (EI) and Education. She has spent her life teaching kids many skills such as horseback riding, ice hockey, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and swimming as well as various church programs.

In 2016, Betty became an Assistant Coach at DCAC, and she coached the Bronze level swimmers primarily and it was the highlight of her career. She has now returned to DCAC and is so happy and excited to be back!
Her approach to coaching is to gain the trust of the child, build their confidence and self-esteem thereby helping them see their strengths, value and potential as a person and a swimmer.

As a Special Education teacher, Betty strives to coach to each child’s learning style making technique easier to understand and mastery of the four strokes a greater possibility. Her goal is to help each child be successful so the team can be a greater success.

“Children are not things to be molded, but people to be unfolded.” Jess Lair

Assistant Coach Kara Wolter

Kara Wolter graduated from Dexter High School and swam with DCAC in the early 2000's. After graduating, she became a lifeguard and swim instructor for young children. Kara worked at many of the pools in the area over a course of 10 years.

Kara still swims consistently and loves coaching swim. "I am so excited to see kids enjoy swimming with DCAC and see how it enriches their lives going forward!"

Assistant Coach Melissa Karjala

Melissa started swimming later than most, just before entering high school, with the Ypsilanti Otters. As soon as she started, she loved it and was all in! Due to her late start, she has a passion for helping swimmers discover their love for the sport at any age; it's never too late! In high school, she swam for the Huron River Rats as a sprint freestyler, but was probably secretly a distance swimmer. In college, she pursued her love for water polo -- she played for the University of Michigan for 4 years where she was co-captain of the first ever varsity team. 

After college, she returned to swimming, incorporating open water swimming. Her open water experience culminated in a world record breaking swim as part of a 6 women relay that swam from England to France, and back. 

Melissa has coached many levels of swimming and water polo throughout her career, and loves sharing the joy of the water with kids of all ages. Swimming is truly a lifelong sport!