Armada Coaching Staff

Albany Armada Aquatics

Head Coach & Co-Founder

Helen Salcedo Garcia, [email protected]

Helen is a University of California, Berkeley graduate who competed at the National level as a youth swimmer. She was ranked among the top 100 in the world in the 200 breaststroke and qualified for Olympic Trials. Helen swam for Cal on scholarship from 1994-1997, serving as team captain her senior year. After competing, she coached the Cal Aquatics Masters Team for five years, then moved on to coach youth athletes for the Piedmont Swim Team (PST) and Piedmont High School Team, leading many athletes to swim at the collegiate level. In 2008, Helen earned a Master's Degree in Education from UC Berkeley. From 2011-2016, she operated Helen's Happy Swim School in Oakland. Helen co-founded Albany Armada Aquatics in 2012 and has been leading the team and community in excellence in and out of the pool. Helen currently coaches the Gold Group as well as overseeing each group and team operations.

Head Age Group Coach & Co-Founder

Jesus Salcedo, [email protected]

Jesus is a Cal State East Bay graduate who studied human development, specializing in children ages 9-14. Growing up swimming and playing water polo in Southern California, Jesus has been coaching and training swimmers for over 12 years. As a coach with the Orinda Country Club, Jesus coaches the 10 & under swimmers and has helped lead the team to 12 OMPA championship titles. Jesus joined the coaching staff with his sister, Helen Garcia, at the Piedmont Swim Team and has been instrumental in developing and elevating the competitive nature of the program. He was selected as Head Coach of the developmental All-Star Team and has presented at USA Diversity and American Swim Coach Association Clinics. Coach Jesus currently works with the Mini Blue, Blue Group, and Junior Group.

Assistant Coach

Daniel Choy, [email protected]

Daniel is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He began his competitive swimming career in 2005 with the Oakland Barracudas Swim Team and later swam with the Hills Hurricane Swim Team. In 2015, Daniel joined Albany Armada Aquatics. He also competed at the collegiate level with the UCSC Division III swim team, contributing points toward the Men's Team’s first PCSC Conference Championship in 2020. Daniel is the lead coach of the Blue Group and assists with the Yellow and Navy Groups.

Albany Armada Masters (AAM, Adult Swim Program)

Head Coach

Carol Nip, c[email protected]

Carol Nip works with swimmers of all levels, helping them achieve their fitness and competitive goals through USA Swimming, high school, and US Masters Swimming. As Team Manager and Interim Head Coach of USA-S team BEAR from 2006-2011, Carol gained extensive experience in team management, organizing swim meets, and coaching youth swimmers. From 2008-2017, she served as Head Coach of high school swim teams, developing a passion for coaching teenagers and guiding five of her athletes to swim in college. Since 2012, Carol has been the Head Masters Coach for Albany Armada Aquatic Masters, where she grew the adult swim team from the ground up, leading them to a 4th place finish at the 2018 SCM championships. Carol's work has been recognized with several awards, including the 2017 Pacific Masters Coach of the Year, the 2018 Kerry O'Brien Award, and the 2018 June Krauser Communications Award. Coach Carol currently works with the Armada Masters Group.

Armada Coaching Staff