Coach Joe is entering his 22^nd Season with the Geneva River Rats. Prior to Coach Chris taking the helm, Joe was the Head Coach of the River Rats for 11 Seasons. Over his 22 seasons, he has coached the 11-12, 13-18, and now the 8&under age groups.

Coach Joe swam for the Aurora YMCA Sharks from the age of 5 to 22 and coached the age group/national team for four years as well. He competed at YMCA Nationals for five straight years and qualified for the IHSA High School State meet for three straight years in the 200 and 500 Freestyles. After competing for the YMCA and West Aurora High School, Joe joined the Southern Illinois University Salukis in Carbondale and competed for four years, ending his swimming career.

Coach Joe just finished his 20^th year as an educator having taught Social Studies (7 years) and coached high school swimming (8 years). at West Auora High School. Joe has spent the past 13 years as a school administrator.

Coach Joe and his wife Dee have three children who all started their swimming careers with the River Rats. Jaxson (13), Jameson (12), and Layla (9). His family enjoys swimming, triathlons, and camping in their RV all over the U.S.

Coach Joe is looking forward to another season of River Rat Swimming and supporting the foundational piece of our program, the mighty 8&unders.

Coach Kylee will be a junior at Augustana College where she is double majoring in Biology and Kinesiology. At Augie she is part of the women's swim team but has previously swam for the Geneva River Rats, Fox Valley Riptides, West Chicago Sharks and West Aurora High School varsity team. She is extremely excited to be the 9/10 head coach and to see what the season holds! Go Rats!

Coach Brooke began swimming at the age of 10 and swam for a total of ten years. She swam for Aqua Force, Delta Aquatics, and the Yorkville/IMSA co-op high school swim team. After high school, Brooke went on to compete at a collegiate level for Illinois State University specializing in sprint and mid-distance freestyle. Her favorite swimming memory is competing in the IHSA State Championships in her senior year of high school.

Brooke graduated from Illinois State University in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Middle Level Education. She is currently a Learning Support Coach at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, IL. This is Brooke’s seventh summer season with the River Rats, and she is SUPER excited to work with the 11-12 group again this summer!

Coach Ashley will be a senior at Carroll University where she is majoring in exercise science with an emphasis in physical therapy. She has been swimming since the age of 7 and swam for several teams including Geneva River Rats, West Chicago Sharks, Fox Valley Riptides, and West Aurora High School. Ashley currently swims for and is a captain for the Carroll University swim team and is excited to be back coaching again this season! Coach Ashley is the 6 & Under age group head coach and is excited for the season! GO RATS!!

Coach Holly is excited to join the 8&Under age group this season! Hollyn has been with the Geneva River Rats for 10 years and this will be her second season coaching. Holly started swimming at 7 years old with the Tidal Waves, she then moved to the Fox Valley Park District Riptides and the West Chicago Highschool team. She now attends the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and is studying Health Science and Wellness for pre-Physical Therapy while on the swim team. Holly is super excited to have a fantastic season! Go Rats!!

Coach Ivy is excited to start her first coaching season with the 6 & Under group this year! She will be a senior at West Aurora High School this fall. Ivy has been a swimmer under Coach Chris for her first three seasons of high school swim and now three summers with the River Rats. Ivy is looking forward to a fun summer season! Go Rats! 

Coach Dylan has coached the 6 and under swimmers for the last 3 years, and he is excited to be moving up as one of the assistant coaches for the 8 and unders this summer.  Dylan began his swimming career as a River Rat at the young age of 5, and last year he ended 14 years of swimming for the Rats as well as competing on the Fox Valley Park District Riptides and on the Geneva/Batavia/West Chicago High School co-op team where he earned All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors.  When Dylan isn’t coaching, you can find him working the front desk or concessions at Sunset and Mill Creek pools. Dylan is pursuing a degree in Cybersecurity at Waubonsee Community College, and in his spare time, he enjoys gaming, rock climbing, camping, fishing, and listening to classic rock music.  Dylan is looking forward to another great summer with the River Rats!

Coach Kailey will be attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the fall and has been swimming since she was 8 years old. Since then she has swam for the Academy Bullets swim team, the West Aurora Varsity team, and Geneva River Rats swim team. She is excited for this season to be both coaching the 6&unders and swimming! Go Rats!

Mason Smith swam for River Rats for 12 years and is in his 3rd year as a coach.  He attends the University of Missouri- St. Louis studying education and is also a member of the swim team.  He will be coaching 11-12s, 9-10s and 8 and Unders.  He is looking forward to another fun summer and more championships for the River Rats!

Coach Kayleigh will be a senior at Illinois Wesleyan University, majoring in Kinesiology. She has been swimming since she was 8 years old and has swam competitively for multiple teams, including Geneva River Rats, Fox Valley Riptides, West Chicago Sharks, and Batavia High School as part of the Batavia-Geneva-West Chicago Tri-op. Kayleigh swims sprints, IM, and backstroke at IWU, and is extremely excited to start her first year coaching for the River Rats! Kayleigh is looking forward to a super fun summer season! Let’s go Rats!

Dan Ginaitis has been swimming competitively since the age of 9 and has spent 5 years with The River Rats. He currently attends Marmion Academy High School, where he will be a senior this fall. Dan competes for Academy Bullets Swim Club and in the winter season Marmion Academy. He’s looking forward to an exciting and successful season ahead!

Hi my name is Rylee Hayslett and I am a 6 and under coach. I have been swimming with rats for 11 years. I am extremely excited to be working with this group of kids, and I can’t wait to see all there improvements. Go Rats! 

Coach Ryann is excited to start coaching this summer! She has been swimming for the River Rats for 6 years and will be a junior at Geneva High School in the fall. She currently swims for the West Chicago Sharks, as well as participates in the WEGO co-op in the fall. Ryann is looking forward to a great summer season! Go Rats!