Our Coaches
Mark Anderson - Head Coach
Mark swam for the Sleepy Hollow Swim Team for 10 seasons and was an All American Junior College water polo player at College of Marin. He was hired to coach SHST in his senior year of high school, 1990. After coaching from 1990 to 1996, Mark spent 4 years getting his summer camp and swim lesson program going. He came back to the SHST in 2001 to coach and has been coaching the team ever since.
Mark instills good technique starting with the youngest swimmers and strives to keep the drills simple and fun so kids don’t have to over-think. He wants them to become consistent and confident swimmers without doing excessive yardage. They can expect practices to be challenging, but fun too! The coaches set goals for each swimmer so he or she knows how to improve. As Head Coach, Mark is known for connecting with each and every swimmer on a personal level every day. He teaches them to look each other in the eyes, to shake hands, and to care for each other, which is what makes this team special. Mark takes tremendous pride in developing the characters of his swimmers, helping families raise their kids, and building a supportive community.
In addition to coaching the Sea Lions, Mark coached the Boys Varsity Water Polo team at Drake High School for over 20 years. In 2014, Mark was inducted into the Marin County Athletic League Hall of Fame for coaching. Mark is the head coach of the Sleepy Hollow Aquatics (SHAQ) water polo club. Mark is currently director of Aquatics for San Domenico School and teaches PE there. Mark, his wife Julie (who also swam for SHST and coached from ’93 – ‘97) and their four boys, Marcus, Keenan, Logan, and Nolan, live in San Anselmo.
Paul Birich - Assistant Coach
Paul Birich has been coaching and teaching swimming for over 13 years. He was an All - American swimmer in high school for the Sir Francis Drake Pirates, and a Senior National qualifier in backstroke and butterfly. He then went onto swim Division 1 at the University of Hawaii.
He is a USA-certified coach, and has led multiple swimmers to Junior Olympic and Far Western qualifying standards. He was an assistant coach for the Sleepy Hollow Swim Team from 2012-2019 and again starting in 2023. Paul is thrilled to be back to share his passion and experience with our sea lions once again!
