Head Coach
513-521-7112

Mike Leonard began his tenure as head coach of the Powel Crosley Jr. YMCA Tigersharks in 1986. As a coach he has grown the PCY program from a small branch team of 38 swimmers to a nationally recognized program of nearly 300 from beginners to Masters. He has led the Tigersharks to a YMCA Men’s Team National Championship and numerous top ten finishes. He was chosen by his peers as the 2001 Long Course YMCA National Coach of the Meet. Mike’s teams have likewise excelled in the Southwest Ohio YMCA League and the Great Lakes Zone where he has been named Coach of the Year. He is a member of the Southwest Cluster YMCA Swimming Hall of Fame and has coached national champions, national record holders and Olympic Trials Qualifiers. Mike was most recently the recipient of the 2015 Joseph G. Rogers Award, the highest honor bestowed on an individual in YMCA Swimming at the National level.

Mike maintains a strong emphasis on character and personal development. While almost 100 of his swimmers have continued their careers in the NCAA, many others have won academic and civic scholarships to attend college. One former team member explained that, “Mike has a gift for encouraging people to extend themselves to do more. Swimming at PCY is an experience that is much more than just swimming.”

Mike has served as the chair of the Southwest Ohio YMCA Swim League since 2003 and was president of the National YMCA Coaches Association from 1994 to 2001. He has twice been a member of the YMCA National Advisory Committee, from 1995 to 2002 and 2012 to present, and is the assistant meet director for the YMCA National Masters Meet.

In 1995, Mike was part of a small group chosen to create a national training series for all YMCA swim coaches. He helped write the curriculum and manuals for the Principles of YMCA Competitive Swimming and Diving Course, the YMCA Swim Coaches Course and the YMCA Advanced Swim Coaches Course. He then helped update the Principles course in 2004 and 2012. Mike has taught hundreds of YMCA coaches across the country, sharing the fundamentals of leadership and youth development through YMCA Swimming.

Cindy has had a long association with the Tigersharks. She began coaching the Red and Black practice groups in 2009. In addition to coaching for the Tigersharks, Cindy has been coaching the GH Gators swim team for 11 years.  She grew up summer swimming for Normandy Swim Club and swam year round for Cincinnati Coca Cola and then finished with the Mariemont Tritans. 

Cindy is a retired Art Teacher at North Elementary in Mt. Healthy. She graduated from Mt. Notre Dame High School and Miami University in Oxford where she swam for the Miami University Marlins Syncronized Team. 

Cindy and her husband, Bob have 3 children, all of whom swam for Mike at PCY.