With over 30 years of coaching experience, Ken has opportunity to coach at all levels on both coasts at teams both large and small.  In the last 9 Seattle Metropolitan Aquatics has grown from a small team based in the Central Area of Seattle to Nationally recognized, premier swim club in the Pacific Northwest.  Ken is committed to making SMAC a model club in the country by making swimming accessible to all in our local communities, while at the same time providing our athletes a coaching staff and operational structure that encourages athletes to take their swimming career as far as they are willing to go.   

His swimmers that have gone on to compete at all levels of national competition, collegiate swimming and Olympic Trials.  Ken’s previous coaching experience includes extended periods with Columbia Aquatics Association and King Aquatics. 

Ken, and his wife Melissa, have lived in the Seattle Area since 2004 and have 3 children who all swim with the team.

• 50+  Junior/National Qualifiers
• 3x PNS AG coach of the year
• 4 National AG record holders
• 20+ Athletes selected to USA swimming select Camps (Zone, Diversity, etc.)
• 100+ top 16/100 time on USA swimming all-time list

Ken also serves at the Senior Vice Chair on the PNS board and the president of the Greater Seattle Swim Association.

Josh has been involved in competitive swimming for more than fifteen years. He started when he was 6 years old with the Twin Lakes Swim Team. He went on to swim with King Aquatic Club for 7 years, and at Stadium High School for 2 years. During his swimming career, Josh was able to win 2 High School State Championships and break 2 National Age Group Records. After high school, he went on to swim and serve as club president with Central Washington University’s Swim Club. Josh started coaching in 2017 at Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club, where he coached all ages for 3 seasons.

Outside of swimming, Josh enjoys hiking and running, though he still tries to swim as much as he can. He is currently working on his degree in engineering at the University of Washington.

Laura has been actively involved in swimming most of her life. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and swam competitively for the JCC Sailfish through high school. She also swam as an undergrad for Penn State. Laura has a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. Ever since she was old enough to join, Laura has been active in masters swimming and she frequently can be found swimming in the pool at Mercerwood Shore Club, in Lake Washington, or in the Puget Sound at Alki beach. She is the mom of 3, all of whom swam collegiality. Laura lives in Bellevue with her husband Andy, 2 dogs, a cat and whichever of her kids who happens to be home.

Since moving to the Northwest, Laura has participated in swimming as a lifeguard, swim instructor and coach. She has taught lessons for King Aquatic Club, coached at OCA for 10 years and spent the past 2 years coaching with Columbia Athletic Club at Pine Lake. Her focus has been with novice and developmental swimmers. Laura’s philosophy is steady improvements are made through improving technical skills, correct body positioning and developing confidence all while having fun in the process!

Brenna has been poolside since the age of five. She was trained in the pools and schools of sunny Arizona.  She was a part of several club teams, finishing her club career at the nationally renowned Scottsdale Aquatic Club. Brenna had the opportunity to compete as a scholarship athlete at Brigham Young University's women's team in her specialty--200 butterfly. She graduated in 2020 with a bachelor of fine arts with a minor in business and psychology. Currently, she is obtaining her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art therapy. Along the way, Brenna served in a variety of capacities within the swimming world. Her swim experience has ranged from swim lessons, summer league coaching, BYU summer camps, and club coaching over the last 10 years.  She is excited to be a part of the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club swim team again this year and looks forward to a bigger role in helping your young swimmer achieve their life and swim goals.

Derek’s involvement with swimming started in the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL), one of the oldest and largest summer swim leagues in the country, where he was carried to early success on relays. In spite of a year of pitching machine baseball where he hit dingers like it was a job it turns out he was incapable of hitting live pitching, so Derek turned to year-round swimming to chase sports glory. After 10 years of club swimming and 4 years on the varsity swim team at the University of Maryland, Derek officially became a swammer and entered the shark infested waters of Capitol Hill.

Following two years in the high paced, higher stakes world of agricultural lobbying Derek returned to swimming; this time as a coach. After initially coaching in the high school and summer league ranks, he began full time coaching the same place he started year-round swimming, the Arlington Aquatic Club. At AAC he coached a wetsuit wearing Torri Huske (who he has never mentioned since). After three years with AAC, Derek made coaching stops with NCAP and the Sandhills Sandsharks before relocating to the Pacific Northwest and starting with SMAC.

Since arriving in Seattle, Derek has worked with swimmers of all ages and ability levels, served as the head coach of the PNS Zone team, been an assistant coach for USA Swimming’s National Select Camp, lived in four different neighborhoods, and never finished last in the coaches’ fantasy football league.

Truly it has been a career.

Derek currently resides in West Seattle with his wife, Jessie, daughter, Fred, dog, Kiya, and his sauna.

Tommy Cunningham has been involved in Pacific Northwest Swimming since he was 10 years old. As an athlete he was a National level qualifier that went on to swim for the University of Washington. 

In 2010, he began coaching for King Aquatic Club as an assistant coach. Since then he’s been able to coach every group on the club leading him to being the National/Senior coach at the North site. The athletes have quickly excelled under his tutelage as evidenced by his swimmers having broken more than 150 team records, over 75 PNS records, and have set 11 National Age Group records. His athletes have set over 100 national top-ten rankings and have posted more than 60 national all-time top 100 times. In the 2017-2018 short course season all 50 of the athletes in his group qualified for either Senior Sectionals or Age Group Regionals.

Tommy’s coaching style puts a large emphasis on teaching elite technique in addition to providing every athlete with the opportunity to be great.

• 2017 & 2018 American Swim Coaches Association National Age Group Coach of the Year Finalist
• 2017 Pacific Northwest Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year
• 2014 & 2016 PNS Zones Team Head Coach
• 2016 PNS All Star Team Head Coach

Adam Martinez comes from Tacoma Washington and has over 35 years of swimming and coaching experience.  The past 3 years and was the head coach for North Tampa Aquatics, as well as the Director of Aquatics for the Club at Cheval. Before coming to Tampa, he was the Senior Coach with Rochester Swim Club for 4 years. Prior to that Adam was the Head Coach for Albany Starfish, as well as the Head Coach of Tacoma
Swim Club for 2 years, and an assistant coach with Tacoma Swim Club the previous 5 years. Before coming to Tacoma, Adam was the Head Coach for the Washington Aquatic Killer Orcas. Adam has helped develop swimmers at all levels, ranging from Sectionals up to National
qualifiers, and Olympic Trial Qualifiers, and US National Team members along with several top 16 age group rankings. Adam has also had several high school champions and state record holders.
 
Adam swam for Tacoma Swim Club, the Napa Valley Swim Team, and attended the University of Washington on a full ride athletic scholarship, he was a Five-Time All-American, and qualified for Nationals and Olympic Trials in the Individual Medley and the Butterfly.

When Adam is not on deck he spends as much time with his wife Ashley and three kids Lorelai, Jackson, and Kieren and cheering for all Seattle and Washington Husky sport teams.

Kieran came to SMAC after a 4 year career as a varsity swimmer at Seattle U. He runs our Senior group at the Central/MIBC site as well as the SMAC Masters program. Kieran was a competitive swimmer for 13 years, which includes his time swimming for Seattle University. He grew up club swimming in Oregon, and was a 50, 100, 200, and 500 yard freestyler.

Keith Ure has over 30 years of coaching experience beginning in 1987 with the Kent Area Dolphins. Keith was heavily involved with the formation of King Aquatic Club, bringing the Kent Area Dolphins and Highline Swim Club together in 1996. In addition to over 30 years of club coaching experience, Keith also has 6 years Head Coach/Assistant Coach experience with Summer League Clubs (KSTC/Arbor Heights), and 9 Years as a Head High School Coach (Evergreen/Hazen).

Keith has been involved at the Pacific Northwest Swimming level serving as Head Coach of All-Star Teams and Assistant Coach of All-Star Teams on a number of occasions. Keith has also been apart of several Zone Team staffs as well.  

Keith has been recognized with a number of honors including:

• American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year (PNS) – 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012 & 2015
• American Swimming Coaches Association National Age Group Coach of the Year Top Ten Finalist – 2015

Keith has a track record of producing results with athletes credited for:

• 14 National Age Group Records
• Multiple Swimmers on the USA Swimming All-Time Top 100 List
• Over 200 National Top 16/National Top 10 Rankings

Keith currently works at Boeing as an Engineering Manager on a Defense Program. 

Coach Marissa Olsen is a USA Swimming Certified ASCA Level 1 Coach that has roots in the competitive swimming realm and teaching. Swimming for Corvallis Aquatic Team (CAT) and Crescent Valley High School for a number of years. She found herself back at CV, taking over as the Head Swimming Coach in 2021, had great success while assisting her team to district & state championship titles respectively. She has additional coaching experience under Aulea Swim Team (2019-2020) a club team based in Hawaii as an Assistant Coach right before the Covid-19 Pandemic. She most recently was the Head Coach of a small team, The Blue Dolphin Swim Team, located in Dallas, Oregon, where she has led athletes up to the Sectional level and expanded and developed her ability to work with all skill levels. 

She not only carries a "passion for the water", but also takes pride in being a mother to her daughter Alice. She is excited to take on this position with SMAC and become the best she can be as a part of an ever-evolving specialty: coaching. 

Coach Marissa's Achievements:

• 1x OSAA 5A Swimming State Championship Title at Crescent Valley High School ( 1x Boys Swimming )- 2022;
• 1x OSAA 5A Swimming State Championship Runner-up (1x Girls Swimming)-2022; 
• 2021-2022 Oregon Athletic Coaches Association (OACA) 5A Boys Swimming Coach of the Year; Representing Crescent Valley High School
• 2023 Oregon’s Women in Governance Nominee

Native to Seattle, Justin Leary-Bignayan grew up in the Central District and attended O’Dea High School. He began swimming with his local summer swim league at Medger Evers Pool before joining Central Area Aquatic Team (CAAT; now known as SMAC) in 2012, with whom he began his competitive career in 2014, swimming under Kenneth Spencer. While swimming for CAAT, he also swam for O’Dea, where he earned 3 Varsity letters, broke a school record, and won 7th at the WIAA Boys 3A Swimming State Championships in 2016. He also earned a Futures cut and was awarded the Valued Person Award for CAAT, which is a person who models what it is to be a teammate, as well as modeling team and group values.

Justin continued his career competing in the NCAC Conference for Allegheny College and recently graduated in 2021, earning his B.A. majoring in Studio Art, specializing in photography, and minoring in Biology and Art, Science and Tech. After graduating, he lived in Southern California for a year, where he volunteered as a general learning specialist at Warm Springs Elementary in San Bernardino, coached for Fontana Aquatic Club (FAC), leading his own group, Sr. Fit.

It wasn’t until moving to California that Justin realized his deep passion for child development and empowerment. He aims to continue making a positive impact on the lives of adolescents through coaching and teaching. In addition, he believes that swimming is a segway into life, teaching self-empowerment and everyday practical life skills. He advocates that commitment, self-discipline, and positive enthusiasm for the sport can translate to success outside of the pool, which is vital for growth.

Adam's love for competitive swimming began in 1995 in Tacoma and that has led him to a wonderful career in teaching that sport. He began teaching swim lessons at the Lakewood YMCA in 2004, then summer league at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in 2005 and Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club in 2015, and finally year-round club swimming with King Aquatic Club in 2012.

He began coaching the beginner 14 & under swimmers, immediately knowing that this was his favorite role because of the great potential for long-term skill development - if we can teach them to love the sport while we’re at it, then their overall potential sky-rockets! In the pool they learn to be a champion every day for their team, and then out of the pool they learn to be a great member of their family and community.

Adam thoroughly enjoys the swim life, and he is grateful to continue growing and improving with the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club community.

Brian started his swimming career on a local summer league team before continuing onto swim at Kentwood High School and for VAST, where he broke a few high school and club records.  He swam collegiately for the University of Redlands where and was a multi-time all-SCIAC honoree. 

On the other side of the pool deck, Brian brings years of experience coaching at the summer league and high school level. Brian works primarily with the Catfish and Stroke Development groups out of Kent.

Daniel grew up swimming in Tennessee when he was 10 years old and since then, he has kept swimming as a core part of his life. He swam at Harvard from 2016-2020, setting a team record in the 200 Medley Relay and being part of a Top 8 NCAA team finish at the 2019 NCAAs. After graduating and moving out to Seattle, he finished his career on a high note with SMAC competing at the 2021 Olympic Trials. After training with such an incredible team of swimmers, he moved into the other side of practices as a coach. 

Kate was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She was introduced to the world of swimming at age 4 when she began swim lessons. Soon after completing swim lessons, she joined SMAC and spent 10 years with the team, about 4 of them she swam under Ken Spencer. She qualified for multiple Sectionals and Futures championships in both individual events and relays. Kate graduated in 2021 from New York University with a B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics. She swam at NYU for one year before ending her swimming career due to injury.  

After watching SMAC grow from afar, she is excited and honored to return to the team as a coach and help swimmers of all ages excel in the sport. In her free time Kate enjoys gaming, catching up on recent nutrition research, cooking, and exploring the greater Seattle area. She also works as a diet technician.

Cole grew up in Seattle and currently is a student at the University of Washington. He started competitively swimming when he was 8 and swam for both Excel swim club and later SMAC. At SMAC he swam under Derek for Senior Performance at View Ridge. Along with club, Cole also participated in the GSSSL and high school aquatics. During his career, he swam at various championship meets including high school state and sectionals.

Cole started teaching swim lessons at the age of 16 at Sand Point Country Club where he currently also coaches at over the summer. He loves seeing kids improve their strokes and reach their goals. Cole has experience coaching all ages and is excited to keep his coaching career going at SMAC.

Laurae got involved with competitive swimming through her three children. Warren, Olivia, and Eleanor started swimming with a summer league team and that quickly grew into club swimming. Two of her children are college athletes - Warren is at Indiana University and Olivia at Whitman College. Her youngest Eleanor also enjoys swimming with SMAC. In her free time Laurae enjoys spending time with her family, camping, hiking, and walking on the beach at the family cabin. Oh and hanging out with her dogs - Winnie and Penny!