Tiger Shark Coaching Staff

 Meet our new Head Coach, Suz Tennyson! 

Coach Suz has a lifelong passion for working with children, teaching, swimming, and coaching. She spent her summers at the pool from sunrise to sunset, where she began her career as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and swim and dive coach.

Her coaching journey started in high school with an internship at the YOSI Seals (Y of Southern Illinois). She went on to serve as head coach of the Sparta Stingrays summer swim team for four summers while in college. Coach Suz studied Sports Psychology at the University of Illinois and later earned her elementary teaching degree from Illinois State University.

Throughout her career, she has coached at the high school and club levels, taught swim lessons, and worked in early childhood education, including serving as a Director for KinderCare and operating an in-home daycare and preschool for nine years. After moving to Colorado in 2012, she taught more than 20 group and private lessons per week at Life Time Fitness.

Coach Suz joined the ACES Swim Club in 2017, coaching the 8-and-under group for five years, and currently coaches the 11–14 age group. She has been on the USA Swimming Safe Sport committee since 2020 and the head of Colorado Swimming Safe Sport since October 2025. Her background in mental performance helps swimmers overcome challenges, build confidence, and grow both in and out of the pool. She believes in coaching the whole child to support success in athletics, academics, and the community.

Coach Suz lives with her husband, Paul, and their four dogs, and has two adult children, Elizabeth and Abigail. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, traveling, singing, and camping.