Coaches and Directors
Steve Morsilli founded the Seahawks in December 1982, and serves as Head Coach/CEO and Senior-Elite Group Coach. Steve swam competitively and played water polo in the Hayward area for eight years at the High School, Collegiate and AAU (now USA Swimming) levels. He graduated from Golden Gate University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in 1975. After working with the Federal Government as a Financial Manager for 11 years, he now owns a construction/property management business in the Hayward/Castro Valley area. He and his wife Julie also owned and operated the very successful Tri Valley Swim America lesson program at Foothill High during the summers. Steve has coached actively since 1969/(Flying Fins 1969-74, Piedmont 1974-75) and has coached in the Pleasanton area since 1975 (Pleasanton Thunderbirds 1975-78, Golden State Aquatics 1978-82, Pleasanton Seahawks 1982-Present). He also served as the Amador High Girls Varsity Coach from 1986 through 1996, winning League Championships in 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995 and 1996. The Amador Boys Team, which trained with Steve, won League Championships in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Steve is certified by the American Swim Coaches as a Level 5 coach (the highest possible), which ranks him in the top 1% in the nation. He is one of the few coaches in the nation to have achieved a Level 5 certification in three different classes; Senior Swimming, Age Group and High School. As of 2019, only 14 coaches in the nation have earned a Level 5 ranking in three different certification levels. Steve is also a charter member of the World Swimming Coaches Association and is a Certified Masters Coach. He has developed swimmers at all levels, from novice to world ranked, including American Record Holders, FINA World Junior Record Holders, National Age Group Record Holders, Pacific Swimming Record Holders, nationally ranked age group swimmers (including Age Group National Champions), Junior National, Senior National and Olympic Trials finalists (including individual and relay National Champions). His teams have won the Team Championship at the CA/NV Spring Sectional Championship in 2008 and the Winter Championship in 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. As of August 2019, Steve has placed three swimmers on the USA Swimming National Team and eight swimmers on the National Junior Team. His swimmers have gone on to Collegiate success at the Conference and NCAA levels, including American Records by Hailey DeGolia (University of Arizona) in 2007 and 2008 and two American Records for Erika Brown representing Team USA in 2019.//. He has placed swimmers on National Championship Teams at the Division I, II and III NCAA meets. Masters swimmer Bonnie Bilich swam to a World Record in the 200 meter backstroke in June 2009, and followed that with a National Record in the 200 yard back in April 2010. He has coached swimmers to Pacific Swimming Records and National Rankings in all age groups (10-U, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 & 17-18). After finishing every year in the history of the National Club Excellence Program as a Silver Medal Club, Steve led the Seahawks to Gold Medal rankings in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In the 2020 qualifying year, Steve led the team to its fourth consecutive Gold Medal performance, which earned the prestigious Podium Award from USA Swimming. Only five teams in the nation earned Podium status in 2020.
Steve has served as an All-Star coach for Pacific Swimming, has produced many swimmers honored as "Outstanding Pacific Swimming Athletes",/and was named to the 1991 and 1994 Olympic Festival Staff by United States Swimming and the 1995 World University Games Staff (Fukuoka, Japan) by the US Olympic Committee. He was once again named to the 2001 World University Games Staff for the meet in Beijing, China in August 2001 and the 2003 World University Games in Daegu, South Korea. He was named to the staff of the very successful 2007 World Championship Team in Melbourne in March 2007, and the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Steve has been selected to run three Elite level camps for USA Swimming at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. In April 2015, Steve was tasked with coaching the National Junior Team Camp at the OTC. He was nominated for the George Haines Pacific Swimming Senior Coach of the Year Award in 1992, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014; he received the North Coast Section Honor Coach award in 1995 and has earned the ASCA Award of Excellence 17 times since 1994. He was voted the George Haines Pacific Swimming Senior Coach of the Year in 1996, 1999, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. He was also voted Pacific Swimming ’Volunteer of the Year’ in 2002, an honor only once previously granted to a Coach.
Steve has served as a member of the Pacific Swimming Board of Directors, having established the Coaches' Education Committee in the 1980's and also served on the North Coast (High School) Swim Management Committee for over 20 years. He served as the Senior Swimming Chairman for Pacific Swimming and has served on the USA Swimming Senior Committee as well. In 2020, Steve was once again asked to serve on the USA Swimming Senior Committee plus the ASCA committee to review and revamp the ASCA Certification program. Steve was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) in September 2009 and was appointed to the ASCA Executive Committee in 2011. He was elected Vice President of ASCA in 2012. He is a member of the USA Swimming National Team Coaches Pool and National Team Managers Pool. He addressed high school and USA coaches from all over California at the Pacific Swim Coaches Association Clinic, in 1981 on Workout Organization, in 1987 on Club Budgeting and Cash Flow, and he instructed the ASCA Level I Foundations of Coaching course at the 1988 PSCA Clinic and at the North Texas Swimposium in 2001 for USA Swimming. He addressed Coaches from all over the world at the 2000 American Swim Coaches Association Clinic in Cincinnati on 'Coaching as a Second Profession' and 'Getting Club Swimmers to Nationals'. Steve was asked by USA Swimming and ASCA to conduct an Online Clinic in April 2011 on Coaching a Large Group with Diverse Abilities. He also made a presentation to the National Select Camp Coaches in October 2013 in Colorado Springs and delivered the opening address to the Swim America Conference at the 2014 ASCA Clinic. He taught the ASCA Level 3 Physiology course at the ASCA Clinic in 2018./Steve is married and lives with his wife in San Ramon, and is the proud father of four adult children and twelve grandchildren.
Joe Loftus is currently working with the Junior Group. Joe is a former Seahawk who made numerous Nationals in distance freestyle, plus had qualifying times for the Olympic Trials in 1996 and 2000. Joe earned his Bachelors Degree and teaching credential from Cal State University, Bakersfield, where he was also a member of their NCAA (2) Championship team. Bringing a wealth of experience as an athlete and coach, he is currently ASCA Level 3 certified.
Joe previously coached in Bakersfield for the Bakersfield Swim Club for two years in 1999-2001.
He assisted with the Livermore High School swim team in 2003.
Joe is currently an elementary school teacher in Livermore, where he was nominated for teacher of the year for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.
Since joining the Seahawks staff in 2001, Joe has produced swimmers who have been finalists at the Far Western and Western Zone All-Star meets, respectively. He has also produced numerous athletes ranked Top 10 in Pacific Swimming and Top 10 in the Nation.
In 2003, he had a swimmer who broke a Pacific Swimming record and who was also honored as one of Pacific Swimming’s swimmers of the year.
In 2006, he produced two of the four 10 & under boy swimmers who broke a national all-star relay record. He has produced several Pacific Swimming record holders and in 2006 was nominated for Pacific swimming assistant coach of the year. During the same year Joe coached the fastest 10&under boy in the 200 yard freestyle in the nation.
During the 2006/2007 swim season, Joe had two swimmers recognized in Pacific Swimming as swimmers of the year.
In 2008, three of his swimmers were selected to the Pacific Swimming Zone All-Star team where one swimmer broke a Pacific Swimming All-Star 200 freestyle relay record.
In 2011, he had a swimmer selected for the Western Zone all-star team.
In 2012, one of his swimmers broke a Pacific swimming record and another one was selected for the Western Zone all-star team.
Coach David Tambuwun started coaching in 1994 at the Redlands YMCA, where he managed to produce top Masters Swimming champions in California and a National Top-10 Masters Swimming swimmer.
In 1996, coach David worked as a Water Safety Instructor Supervisor for City of Rialto where he trained Water Safety Instructors, and helped develop the structure of their Learn-to-Swim program. During that time he also coached part-time at Streamline Aquatics of Rialto (STAR) as one of their age group coaches. This position eventually led to a Head Age Group Coaching position in 1998 where he produced Southern California top-16 age group athletes and a national record holder for swimmers with disability who went on to attain multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals at the 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio, and 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games collectively.
After leaving the City of Rialto Parks and Recreation in 1999, and while still the Head Age Group Coach for STAR, coach David took over a Head Coaching position for Inland Masters Swimming Club (Rialto Branch), where he had the privilege to train several national and world ranked Masters Swimming swimmers.
Hillside Aquatic Team became his new swim family in January 2000 where he became their Satellite Facility Head Coach and had the opportunity to train world-ranked international swimmers, and personally developed numerous Southern California Top-16 athletes, Junior Olympic champions, California Interscholastic Federation (Southern Section) individual finalists and gold medalists, Q-meet finalists, U.S. Open/Junior National qualifiers, and National Top-16 Age Group swimmers.
In 2004, coach David moved to BREA Aquatics and was their Select Group / Head Age Group Coach, where he personally developed numerous National Top-16 Age Group qualifiers and finalists, and one swimmer was nationally ranked 1st in the 200 Meters Individual Medley during the 2006 – 2007 LCM Top-16 Rankings as well as 1st in the IMX rankings for his age.
While coaching for BREA, he was also the Head Coach for the TROY High School Swimming Team from 2005 through 2007 where he led the TROY Warriors Varsity Boys and Girls teams to win—a school record—2005, 2006, and 2007 Freeway League Championship.
In January 2008, coach David moved to the Bay Area, became the Head Coach for LifeStyleRx Tiger Sharks, where he systematically grew the program from a small recreational / seasonal club to a team of over 80 athletes in a little more than one year. Within the second year running the Tiger Sharks, coach David managed to produce league record holders and transitioned about 20 athletes to year-round competitive swimming with a few of these swimmers having Pacific Swimming’s Junior Olympics and Far Westerns qualifying times.
Beginning in 2011, coach David started to sub-coach for the Pleasanton Seahawks that eventually led to a full-time coach-member of the team since January 2013. Since he started coaching with the Seahawks, coach David has consistently produced top Junior Olympic, Far Western, Western Zone, and Sectional swimmers with quite a few of them breaking Pacific Swimming and National Age Group records. Up to date, coach David's swimmers have broken 23 Pacific Swimming and 1 National Age Group records.
Coach David was honored with Top-10 Age Group Coach Award in the United States in 2022 by the American Swimming Coaches Association, and he was also awarded Top-50 Age Group Coach Award in the United States in 2016, 2017, and 2019 for consistently producing nationally ranked age group swimmers throughout the years.
Other than coaching and swimming, coach David loves to play the piano, guitar, and an occasional round of golf when he's got time. Coach David is married with two children and has a BSBA in Accounting and Finance with a career in Tax Compliance and Audit.
In a nutshell, coach David believes top performance in swimming can only be accomplished when four important areas are addressed successively and systematically; these are: mechanics (understanding “impulse,” but racing more in “space”), physiology (training athletes based on their anthropometric development and proper application of energy systems percentage in swimming workouts and dry-land strength training periodization), sports psychology (controlling the controllables), and nutrition.
Leslie Dabney is currently the Swim prep coach for beginning swimmers. Leslie has been coaching for 7 years at the club level. She started her coaching career with the Livermore AquaCowboys where she coached the junior and varsity levels. Leslie has also coached the Fireballs summer league team when they won 2 league championships. She is currently the head JV swim coach at Foothill High School.
Leslie’s love for swimming started when she became a club
swimmer at 8 years while living on the east coast. Leslie
swam for the Westport YMCA under Coach Bill Krumm when the team won
The New England Championships 3 years consecutively. In high
School, she swam for the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins under Coach Chuck
Warner when they won a Junior National championship and several
state titles. She swam as part of the Pan American team and
competed in several international meets. She continues to
swim with the Livermore Valley Tennis Club’s master’s
program. Leslie currently works as a Teacher’s
Assistant in Kindergarten at St. Michael’s School in
Livermore.
Coach Mike began coaching swimming on a part time basis while living in Miami Florida in 1977 after completing his primary swimming career with Long Beach Swim Club in summer of 1976. Mike had the good fortune of training as an age group swimmer, College and Club Elite swimmer under Hall of Fame Coaches: Jack Nelson, Wally Spence, Earl Ellis and Dick Jochums, in that order. As an age group swimmer Mike won and/or finaled in numerous Florida JO Championship meets. In High School, Mike finaled at the Florida State Championships all 4 years, (Fr.-Sr.)
Mike went to the University of Washington working towards a double major in Business and Political Science. Shortly after arriving at UW, Mike walked-on to the UW Swim Team for the 1971-72 season. Mike got a full scholarship shortly thereafter. He achieved the following personal swimming successes:
12-Time All American 1971-1975. UW Co-Captain 1975; Olympic Trial Finalist 1972 100M Back (5th Place, 7th Place World Ranking); Olympic Trial qualifier 1976 100/200M Back; National Open Champion 1972 100M Back; National Champion (73-74-75 Relays); World Top 25 Rankings 72-76 100/200M Back; USA National Team Member 74-75-76 to various International Venues; Masters Swimming World Top 10, 1988-2013.
Northwest Hall of Fame Inductee 2012
Mike has also been President and or a Director for a few teams over the years: The Sherwood Sharks (CA), West Vancouver Otters SC, Vernon Kokanee SC (British Colombia); Swim BC Board of Directors (Chair of Technical Advisory Committee).
2014-2017 Bellevue HS Boys (2 State Championships and 2 Runner-ups)
2013-2022 Head Age Group Coach, Chinook Aquatic Club (Bellevue) WA
2013-2022 Head Masters Swim Coach, Bellevue Club
Danielle has always had the love for swimming and all water sports. Growing up in Livermore, she began swimming competitively at the age of six when she joined the Rhonewood Sharks swim team in Livermore. She also swam year around for SRVLA and continued swimming in high school at Livermore High. After High School, Danielle attend the University of Washington where she majored in Biological Sciences and Sports Medicine. She swam for the Huskies for two years and retired due to a shoulder injury. Danielle developed a drive and passion for the sport, so it’s no surprise that she later turned into a swim coach. Danielle has been a swim coach for five years, coaching the Discovery Bay River Otters and became the Head Coach for Rhonewood in 2018. She loves teaching kids to swim. Her first job teaching swim lessons was actually at Rhonewood and continued to teach swim lessons at the Livermore Valley Tennis Club as well as the Curtis Aquatic Center in University Place, Washington. She is no stranger to hard work and dedication when it comes to swimming. She loves sharing her passion for the sport and all the stories from when she first started her journey as a competitive swimmer.
Coach Natalie has been coaching for almost 9 years. She began coaching as a volunteer for her high school alma mater. Coach Natalie has worked with a wide range of abilities from pre-competition swimmers to swimmers that made sectionals.
Since 2012, she has coached Independence High School’s swim team for 6 years and has coached water polo for 1 year. She began coaching club teams in 2012 for Milpitas Tidal Waves. In 2015, she began coaching for Santa Clara Swim Club as their Head Age Group Coach and assisted their Performance Group at the Milpitas site. In 2017, she worked for West Coast Aquatics as Head Age Group Coach to rebuild their program. She looks forward to being part of PLS and will strive to help swimmers achieve their goals in and outside of the pool!
Stephanie Vosicka is currently an assistant coach for the Senior Elite Group. Growing up from Brentwood, she swam competitively for ten and a half years on the Terrapins Swim Team. While on Terrapins, she swam four years on the Heritage High School varsity team and two years on the Colorado State University (CSU) NCAA Division 1 team.
Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology at CSU and Masters in Education from National University. She currently teaches Biology at Foothill High School.
Stephanie was previously an assistant swim coach for Heritage High School for two seasons, a Master’s level swim coach at Delta Valley Health Club’s for two years, and is currently starting her third season as the Head Swim Coach for Foothill High School
