Our coaches are professionally trained through USA Swimming & ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association) and work hard to provide the best program for our swimmers. The years of experience amongst our coaching staff allow us to bring a wonderful program for the swimmers to grow up in while also challenging themselves and learning new skills. The efforts to bring the best to the Blue Dolphins have our coaches involved in continuing education and bringing new ideas, visions, cutting-edge technical skills & other lifestyle applications to our student-athletes. In this family-built program, the caring and knowledge go hand-in-hand to develop and help swimmers reach their potential.
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Paul Hegney
Head Coach
Email: [email protected]
As an Athlete, Paul has been able to compete on various teams in Salem from around the age of 8 until about 17. He started on the Salem CYO swim team and then transitioned to the Salem YMCA team in elementary school. In middle school, he transitioned to more competitive clubs, competing for Bearcats and Mid Valley Aquatics. While in High school, he did a little continued swimming for Mid Valley Aquatics, mainly in the summer, but shifted his focus to just high school level at Blanchet Catholic High School Swim team.
While on the Salem CYO swim team, he competed on a non-competitive swim team that was open to all, and you raced by your grade up to 8th grade and only ran for the three winter months of the year. He competed in their All-Stars event and placed in the top 3 in the 100 IM and 50 breast annually. While competing, he joined the Salem YMCA for a year-round experience. He competed with them for about three years, attending their yearly YMCA regional competitions. In 2012, While competing in Boise, he took 1st in the 50 breaststroke & 3rd in the 100 breaststroke.
Shortly after that, he joined Bearcat Swim Club in Salem and competed for them at age group sections in March 2013. That following fall, a team merger in Salem saw both competitive swim clubs merge to Mid-Valley Aquatics. He continued to represent the teams at various state-level meets but never went to any more national competitions.
His last stop as a swimmer was his four years of high school swimming for Blanchet Catholic High School. He was a three-year captain and represented the school at the yearly State competition. Senior year at Districts, he won the 200 IM, qualified in the 100 Breast, and helped get his relays to the state competition. He medaled in two races at the state meet that year in the 200 Medley relay and the 200 IM.
As a Coach, Paul has taught swim lessons for six years at a few different pools and used that knowledge to continue coaching for the last five years. His coachingroles have been the following: Head Coach for Northview Terrace Swim Club for three seasons, Assistant Coach for Lionfish swim team for one year, and Assistant Coach for Blanchet for three years, with this year being Head Coach.
Northview Terrace Swim Club is a neighborhood pool where he has coached for two summers. The team set three different team records and two league records while under his guidance. The biggest accomplishment was growing the team in numbers back to a high of almost five years.
After graduating in 2019, Paul was asked to return to Blanchet as an assistant coach the following season. He has been there since, and was named head coach for the 2023-2024 season. Helping coach three different district champions so far.
His most recent coaching endeavor was with the Lionfish swim team in Salem, now known as the Blue Dragons. He started there in October 2022 and has had the privilege of accompanying swimmers to two zone competitions. His focus is to seek continued growth of the program and re-write the history of Oregon swimming by building a national scale program with a community focused approach.
Raquel Druery
Assistant Coach
As an athlete, Raquel began swimming at the age of 6 years old with McMinnville Swim Club. She swam competitively on various teams until the age of 17. Those teams being Mid Valley Aquatics, Capital Swim Club, Salem Swim Club, Salem Academy Swim Team and Turner Tiger Sharks. While in High School, she continued to swim for Capital Swim Club, but shifted her focus to the high school level while competing with the Salem Academy High School Swim Team.
Raquel competed with the Salem Academy Swim Team for all 4 years of high school while representing her team in the state competitions 3 out of the 4 years. Her junior year, she qualified at state in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly and finished 10th in both events, and also helped her relays get to the state competition. Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, there was no state competition her senior year, but she was district champion in the 100 Fly.
As a coach, Raquel began her coaching experience teaching swim lessons at the Courthouse Club Fitness where she taught ages 1-12 the basics of water safety and ability. She taught there for 3 years. Then she transitioned into assistant coaching for Salem Academy High School Swim Team and Assistant Coach/ Co-Director for Turner Tiger Sharks.
When Raquel graduated High School in 2021, she was asked to return to Salem Academy as a Volunteer Assistant Coach, which led her to the Assistant Coach role the next year. She stayed on the team as Assistant Coach and completed 4 years coaching there. She had opportunities to coach all levels of high school swimmers and sent several swimmers to the state competition each year.
Along with coaching for Salem Academy, Raquel also began coaching for the Turner Tiger Sharks summer league team in 2022. She is the assistant coach and co-director handling registration, payment, meet/ practice scheduling and more.
Swimming has always been one of Raquel’s greatest passions, from being in the pool competing, mentoring her fellow teammates, and now to her current coaching roles. Raquel loves teaching the technique behind the swimming strokes and seeing the swimmers progress. She is passionate about building the program, and she is excited to see what the future holds for the swimming community.
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