PROSPER AQUATIC CLUB

Coach Denise, a Level 4 certified Coach with American Swim Coaches Association and is Prosper Aquatic Club's Head Aquatic Coach.  She oversees all Aquatic teams from Senior to Age Group and the PAC Water Polo team.  Coach Denise has helped group PAC from 150 athletes to over 272 athletes in the Masters, Club Swim and Water Polo.  Each year more and more PAC swimmers are reaching BB and A cuts which is aiding PAC in attending larger championship meets.

Coach Denise is orginally from Arizona where she was the Head Age Group Coach with the YMCA Westside Silver Fins.  Over her 10 years with YWSF, she coached a variety of different groups specializing in technique work and rehabbing injured athletes.  Denise has coached swimmers to various levels which include Regionals, State, Far Western cuts, and SWAGRs for her Age Group swimmers but she also coached the  Senior swimmers to Regionals, State, Zones, and Sectionals.  Some of her former swimmers have gone off to college for DI, DII, and DIII schools and the Olympic Trials.  Denise served on the Arizona Swimming Review Board and has been highly involved in Arizona Interscholastic Association for Swim and Dive.  Coach Denise has experience running high-level meets for high schools such as the West Valley Invite, Green and Gold, and AIA Division I State.  She created the West Valley Invite 10 years ago and it is now one of the most successful high school invitationals in the state and has a waitlist each year for teams to enter.  Coach Denise is also a seasoned high school coach with 12 years experience with Verrado and Canyon View.  While at Verrado she helped grow the team to be one of the most competitive teams in AIA Division II.  Denise won the AIA Girls Swim and Dive Coach of the year in 2013 and Verrado Boys Sports Coach of the Year in 2014 (the first year they gave the award). 

Coach Denise has over 26 years of experience in the Aquatics field which includes but is not limited to coaching, pool management, lifeguarding, and teaching lessons.  Coach Denise has experience coaching and training athletes from novice to Olympic time trial qualifiers. Coach Denise established and ran the Vitras swim club (now Arizona Dolphins) in Verrado for several years before moving over to YWSF. 

Coach Denise loves spending time and attending the sporting events of her 3 children with her husband (Derreck). She has twin sons who received scholarships to swim in college.  She has one son still in Arizona.  Her other son joined the Air National Guard as a Fire Fighter and is attending University of North Texas for his engineering degree while playing Lacrosse.   Her daughter is a Freshman at Texas A&M in the Corps of Cadets and will be joining their club team in the Spring.

Fun fact: Coach Denise is also a Certified Surgical Technologist.  In her free time she picks up shifts at the local hospitals and surgery centers for rotations in the Operating Room.  Her specialty is pain, oral maxillofacial and orthopedics.  Coach Denise is also a Certified Admin Official for USA Swimming.

A native of South Pasadena CA, Sean has had an exciting journey through water polo, excelling

as both a player and a coach. At South Pasadena High School, Sean shone as a 4 year varsity

athlete, earning All-American honors. He then took his talents to Hungary, competing in both the

19u and Mens divisions. After his trip overseas, he returned to compete at Golden West junior

college for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He helped lead his team to two state championship

appearances, winning one, and along the way he collected a first team All State selection, and

OEC Player of the Year.

After GWC, Sean racked up achievements at UC Davis. As an Aggie, Sean earned two All

WWPA Team selections, WWPA player of the year (2015), All American honors, and the UC

Davis Athlete of the Year award. This afforded him the opportunity to extend his playing career

to the professional level, where he competed for CN Rubi in Spain’s top Division.

As a coach Sean has been everywhere. During his college years he coached at Huntington

Beach WPC, and Davis WPC, as well as leading the UC Davis women's collegiate club team. In

2017 he returned to his roots as an assistant coach at South Pasadena HS, and Occidental

College (Los Angeles). He also took on various roles at Rosebowl Water Polo Club, including

Age Group Director, and Associate Head Coach. Most recently, Sean served as the Program

Head of Aquatics, at Polytechnic School in Pasadena. In 6 years he helped both the boys and

girls water polo programs reach new competitive heights. Both programs climbed 3 divisions in

his time as program head, and in 2023 he led the girls water polo team to a CIF-SS Div.5

Championship. In 2024 Sean became the founder and director of the Pasadena Aquatics Club.

In a year and a half the club grew to 90 plus athletes and fielded 5 competitive teams.

Coach Alex is originally from Summit, NJ where she swam for Morris County Swim Club and at the Pennington School. During her high school swim career she became the first female All-American for Pennington, was named NJ Swimmer of the Year by the Trenton Times and also held 8 out of the 12 records for the school. She went on to swim at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.  She was a part of the 400 Free relay that broke the pool record for the program, was a conference champion as a part of the 200 free relay and has all conference honors in the 50 freestyle.

Her senior year she had an unfortunate injury that took her out of competing for the Mustangs but she still was an active member of the team. While completing her dual bachelors and being an active member of the Mustangs team she took on the task of being the Head Coach for the North Dallas YMCA Breakers team. After graduation, Coach Alex stayed with the Breakers through the summer where she then went on to be the Assistant Women's Swim and Diving Coach in the Fall for Princeton University. She now resides back in Dallas, TX to be the new Head Coach for PAC. Outside of the swimming world Coach Alex also actively competes in the sport of "Strongman". Strongman is a strength sport where competitors lift, carry, and move massive, unconventional objects, like heavy stones, logs, and vehicles, to test their power, endurance, and grip strength. She also loves spending time with her English Bulldog (Baldur), going on long hikes and attending sporting events.

Fun Fact: Coach Alex is a HUGE Philadelphia Eagles fan. Her typical Sunday is sitting in front of a TV and cheering on the Birds!!!

Coach Jack started swimming club at the age of 10 and competed at the TAGS level from ages 13 to 14 and Sectional level ages 15 to 17. He also swam for Rockwall High School as a member of the Varsity Team for all four years. After High School he continued his career at Ouachita Baptist University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a Minor in History. During his last semester he had the privilege of assisting the OBU Swimming Team and helped coach and write practices as well as travel and coach at swim meets. Along with collegiate experience Coach Jack also has experience coaching PAM (Prosper Aquatics Masters) and PAC (Prosper Aquatic Club) under Director Tommy Sacco. 

Coach Adelianys Aviles, Coach Adele, is a recent graduate of Prosper High School (Class of 2023) where she was a member of both the swim team and varsity water polo team. Her passion for swimming began at a young age, and she has now been actively involved in the sport for over 12 years. Adelianys is currently attending the University of North Texas and brings a wealth of knowledge from the various coaches she has trained under throughout her swimming career. Her experience as a swimmer and a lifeguard at the Prosper Natatorium has instilled in her a deep understanding of water safety and a commitment to fostering a positive and motivating environment for young athletes.

Coach Coleman recently graduated from Prosper High School (Class of 2024) and has been involved in competitive swimming since he was 11 years old. He joined PAC as a young athlete when it was founded in 2020 where he developed his skills under various coaches during his swimming career.

Before stepping into coaching, Coleman worked as a lifeguard at the PISD Natatorium, gaining valuable experience in aquatic safety and the dynamics of a busy swim facility. His love for the sport led him to transition into coaching, where he draws on his experiences with multiple coaches to create a supportive and effective training environment for the athletes he works with. Coach Coleman is passionate about combining the techniques, strategies, and leadership skills he's learned throughout his athletic career to help the next generation of swimmers succeed.

Coach Leago has been swimming since he was 8 years old and started playing water polo when he got into high school. He played water polo for four years at Rock Hill high school and practiced in Pac water polo for two years. He knows that with this prior knowledge of the sport, he can help and refine all of his athlete's abilities to play water polo.

Coach Ezra is originally from West Jordan, Utah, where he grew up swimming and playing water polo with the Kearns Youth Aquatic Team and Kearns Water Polo Club. He began coaching at just 16 years old, working with Pre-Comp swim for KYAT. His 17 year coaching journey later expanded to include Lead Assistant of Kearns Youth Aquatic Team, Assistant Coach for the 18U Men's, 18U Women's, and 14U Coed teams, as well as Head Coach for the 12U Kearns Water Polo Team, Assistant Coach for Kearns High Swimming, Head Coach of Mountain View High School Swim, and Head Coach for Greater Ogden Water Polo.

During his time with Kearns Water Polo, Coach Ezra was one of the first in the country to develop, write a manual and implement the newly created Splashball Program. The program went on to win an award and contributed to the Mountain Zone being recognized as the fastest growing zone in 2010.

He attended Brigham Young University, where he played club water polo and studied Neuroscience. After his time solely focused on coaching, Coach Ezra transitioned into Aquatics Recreation Management.

Before coming to Prosper ISD and joining PAC, he was Aquatics Manager for Ogden School District, where he founded the Greater Ogden Aquatic Team (GOAT): He served as the head coach for the water polo team and Administrator for  the Swimming, Kayaking, and Triathlon teams from 2019-2023. The program grew from a 12U Coed and 18U Men’s team (with the 7th man being just 12 yrs old) to include:  18U Boys & Girls,16U Boys & Girls, 14U Boys, 12U Coed and 10U Coed.

Beyond coaching, Coach Ezra has held leadership roles for Utah Water Polo, serving as Age Group Chair, Vice President and President. He was also the Tournament Director for the 2022 and 2023 Utah Water Polo State Championships, overseeing an event spanning three weekends, six venues, and over 85 teams from 20+ clubs.
 

In his final year as Head Coach, Coach Ezra led his 14U and 18U boys' teams to 4th place finishes and the 10U team to a 3rd place finish, despite the players averaging less than 3 years of total water polo played. He considers the Ogden athletes' growth and development to be one of his proudest achievements as a coach.

Collette Hughes joined Prosper Aquatics Club in March of 2025. She has over 25 years of experience coaching and teaching swimming, from infants to adults. Prior to joining PAC, Collette coached swim teams in 6 different states and has coached swimmers to State Championships and Sectionals in Illinois and Arkansas. She has also spent many years coaching Triathletes of all levels, from the novice triathlete to the seasoned athletes training for another Ironman.

Collette was the Head Coach of U.S. Masters and Adult Programs Director at Texas Ford Aquatics from March 2020 to August 2022. As a lifelong swimmer herself, Collette has been swimming since the age of 2 years and has competed in multiple triathlons and open water races as well. Her love of the water, and of the sport itself, is her driving force and passion behind her love of coaching. Collette graduated Cum Laude from the University of West Florida in 2000 with a degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She was commissioned into the United States Air force immediately following graduation, where she served her country as a Security Forces and Anti-terrorism Officer. She has also worked with many Special Operations and Navy SEAL recruits, getting them swim ready for their intense training schools.

Collette has a strong belief in stroke technique before speed and is meticulous aboutteaching correct technique from the very beginning.

For Coach Laura, swimming has always been a part of her life.  She became a lifeguard at 16 and taught swimming lessons all through high school and then again through college.  In college she coached a middle school girls’ team and coached club swim.  Coach Laura is excited to be back at the pool and looks forward to working with your kiddos! She has been a teacher for 21 years teaching grades 1-6 and is also a licensed real estate agent.  

Tommy Sacco is a long-time competitive athlete and coach. Born and raised in Dallas, he is a graduate of Highland Park High School. Following his high school career, Coach Sacco was a 4-year letterman and swimmer for the University of Texas at Austin. Following his collegiate career, Coach Sacco started his coaching career at Rockwall-Heath high school. Coach Sacco is a 3-time Olympic trials qualifier, and 2007 Pan American games athlete. After his competitive career came to an end, Coach Sacco entered into the competitive coaching world, coaching for 14 years as a varsity high school and USA assistant coach.

He has started a new career as a husband and father to his beautiful family, Mindi, his wife, Teklan, his son, and Tesley, his daughter. 

Career and Coaching Highlights

Education

• University of Texas at Austin, Graduated: May 2008 
• College of Education, Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Minor in Business Administration

Coaching Experience

• Prosper ISD Natatorium - Natatorium Director (2019-Present)
• Prosper Aquatic Club - Head Coach (2020-Present)
• Rockwall Aquatic Center of Excellence - Minnow & Red Coach (2009-2014)
• Rockwall-Heath high School - Head Swim Coach (2008-2019)

Highlights and Awards

• University of Texas at Austin – Swimmer/Letterman 2003-2007
• 2007 Pan American Games - 6^th Place 100 Backstroke
• 2007 N.C.A.A. Men’s Swimming - 2^nd Place 400 Medley Relay
• 2007 N.C.A.A. Men’s Swimming - 4^th Place 100 Backstroke
• 2007 Swim Canada Nationals - 3^rd Place 100 Backstroke & 3^rd Place 100 Freestyle
• 2007-2009 Swim Canada – 3^rd Place 100 Backstroke & 3^rd Place 100 Freestyle
• District Coach of the Year – eight (8) times
• District Championships – nine (9) times
• Regional Coach of the Year – two (2) times
• Sport Canada Athlete Development Award
• N.C.A.A. All American - seven (7) times
• Big XII Champion - five (5) times
• N.I.S.C.A. High School All American - eleven (11) times
• USA Swimming Sectional  - Male High Point Award
• U.I.L. Texas High School  - Male Swimmer of the Year
• U.I.L. Texas High School Champion - five (5) times
• Dallas Morning News – Male High School Swimmer of the Year