Meet the Coaches
Head Coach: Richard Nicholls
Email: [email protected]
2013. After coaching at San Domenico, Coach Richard became head coach at Rolling Hills Club for their successful recreation league team and USA swimming team, Tritons. With Rolling Hills discontinuing competitive swimming in 2020/21, Coach Richard was asked to coach for Thunder Coast Aquatics as a pre-senior and senior coach. Holding coaching qualifications in three countries and having worked with swimmers from many countries and backgrounds, he is dedicated to the engagement, fun, and development of the sport of swimming for young people.
Promoting evidence-based coaching as well as inclusive practices for young people of all backgrounds is his philosophy. When not on deck, Coach Richard can be found looking after baby Lily or on two wheels somewhere in the North Bay. Two little-known facts about Coach. He speaks fluent Swedish and fluent Geordie, his native tongue (A North East English dialect from the Newcastle area.)
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Assistant Coach: Sarah Tassone
Email: [email protected]
Sarah Tassone recently relocated to San Rafael from her hometown of Vacaville, CA. Swimming has always been a huge part of her life starting at the age of 5 until she left the sport at 15. As an adult, she got back into the swimming world when she started coaching for the SASO swim team in 2016. As a coach there, she coached the 12 & under competitive swimmers as well as the 13 & under novice swimmers. Under her coaching,g her swimmers achieved high point winnings at the Championship meets as well as earning National top 10 ranking for the 11-12 age group and 9 & 10 age group.
As well as coaching on SASO she helped with a local swim school teaching kids as young as 6 months all the way to the senior grandparents how to swim. During that time, she was the Head Coach for the local high school swim team that she started herself. She is very excited to be a part of the Scott Valley Swimming and Tennis Club and share her knowledge and passion for the water with this great community!
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Assistant Coach: Sarah Jack
Coach (Sarah) Jack grew up in San Rafael and swam for the Terra Linda Orcas from 1986 to 1996. Coach Jack has been coaching or instructing swimming to all age groups for almost 30 years, 15 of which have been within the Marin Swim League, most recently at Rolling Hills Stingrays. She began her coaching career at 16 with the Orcas.
Coach Jack currently lives in Novato, where she continues to swim with the Marin Aquatics Masters team, runs for fun, plays soccer, hikes as often as possible, and pretends to know how to parent her three boys. She is looking forward to yet another season of coaching and can’t wait to get to know all of the new families and swimmers.
For lesson sign-up and information, please go to https://www.svstc.com/swimming/private-lessons
