2025 HOX SWIM TEAM
Coaching Staff
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Head Coach - Sean Quackenbush
Sean is an accomplished and experienced athlete and coach. During his swimming career he was the Minnesota High School State Champion in the 100-yard butterfly, a three-time Big Ten Champion and record holder at the University of Minnesota. Sean is a 12-time All-American and a Hall of Fame inductee in both the University of Minnesota and Rochester Minnesota. He was named to the USA National Swim Team and swam in the US Olympic Trials, World Cup Games, and the US Open, where he was a Gold and Silver medalist. In addition to being a highly decorated swimmer, Sean is also an accomplished coach and leader. Following his competitive career, he was an Assistant Coach for the Division 1 swim program at Michigan State University. He holds a MS in Sport Psychology from MSU and has hosted dozens of swim clinics and taught private lessons to swimmers of all ages.
2025 will be Sean's 10th season with the HOX. Coach Sean is proud to coach alongside this amazing group of coaches, who have led the HOX swim team to consecutive VSA Championships and undefeated dual meet seasons. Sean is passionate about transforming good swimmers to become great swimmers. Sean also believes that swimming teaches important life lessons like working hard, setting and striving for goals, competing and forming friendships that last a lifetime. Sean lives in Concord with his wife Natasha and his two sons.
Coach Sean's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Head Coach - Georgi Caliando
Georgi Cappelletti Caliando has been with the HOX for 30 years; 14 as a swimmer and this will be her 16th year as a coach. Her accomplishments in the water include breaking multiple records: the HOX 13-14 50 breast team record, in addition to the 15-18 100 Free record at County, Woodlands and VSA League Championships, which held for several years. She is still the current HOX team record holder in the 100 free. Coach Georgi attended Monte Vista High School in Alamo and was a member of both the Varsity Swim Team and the Varsity Water Polo Team. During her senior year of high school, Georgi’s 200 free relay broke the meet record at NCS. She went on to play Division 1 Water Polo for two years at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 2011.
She loved growing up on the Blackhawk pool deck because of the fond memories created, life-long friendships formed, and personal goals achieved. It is her desire to create that same experience for every HOX swimmer she coaches. Georgi brings a tremendous level of dedication and spirit to the team and leads the Hike to Hawk during Spirit Week each summer. She loves coaching kids of all ages, but her specialty is leading the 10 and Unders and instilling a foundation for a long-term commitment to swim and love for the team. She completed her teaching credential in December 2013 and has worked at Tassajara Hills Elementary School since 2014. In 2022, Georgi earned the title “San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s Elementary Teacher of the Year”.
Coach Georgi is excited for a summer filled with pop times and lots of team spirit!
Coach Georgi's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Coach - Melissa Garchar
Hello HOX Families! I'm Melissa Garchar, originally from Kaneohe, Hawaii. I started on my competitive swimming journey at the young age of 6 and continued throughout my college years. At 17, started swimming and playing water polo at Whittier College in Southern California. My specialties in swimming include the 100/200 Breaststroke and the 200 IM.
During my time at Whittier, I earned a BS in Kinesiology with a focus on Physical Education. Following graduation, I pursued further education at California State University, Long Beach, where I obtained my Single Subject Credential for Physical Education. Since the age of 18, I've held various roles in the Aquatics field, ranging from teaching swim lessons to overseeing swim school facilities.
Currently, I am in my 8th year as a High School Physical Education teacher and my second year serving as the Assistant Athletic Director at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont. This will be my 7th summer on deck. I am excited to see what this season will bring. GO HOX!
Coach Melissa's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Coach - Michelle McConnell
I am very excited to be returning as part of the HOX Coaching Staff for a sixth season! I grew up in Concord, and graduated from Ygnacio Valley High School. In high school I played water polo, basketball, and was a member of the swim team. I was the first athlete in the history of my high school to receive 12 varsity letters for the sports in which I played, and in 2015 was inducted into the Ygnacio Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Upon graduating high school, I attended Brigham Young University where I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education Teaching, Kindergarten through 12th grade and a minor in Spanish. I returned to Ygnacio Valley High School to teach Physical Education for two years before returning to school to receive my Master of Arts Degree in Education, with an emphasis in Athletes and Academic Achievement from the University of California, Berkeley. This is my 17th year teaching in the San Ramon Valley School District. I taught Physical Education and was the Assistant Athletic Director at Monte Vista High School two years before coming to teach Elementary PE at Creekside. I have over twenty years of swim coaching experience coaching at Ygnacio Wood Swim Team, Valley Vista Swim Team, Roundhill Swim Team, and at the HOX the last 5 years. I love the sport and hope to help my swimmers have the same passion for it that I do.
I am married to Jason McConnell, and we have a 15-year-old daughter named Mia, and 9-year-old son William who are proud members of the HOX as well. I am looking forward to a great summer at Blackhawk. Go HOX!
Coach Michelle's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Private Swim Lessons: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0E4BAEA9283-50019542-hoxsummer#/
Assistant Coach - Jessica Cloke
Jessica is very excited to be joining the HOX this year. She is originally from Spokane Washington. She joined a local swim team at the age of 10. She fell in love with the sport and focused on the 100 Back and 100 Free competing competitively until 2016 when she began to compete in triathlons. She continues to train and compete with the goal to participate in the Ironman series soon.
In 2005, she started her aquatics career as a swim coach for a team in the British Columbia Summer Swim Association. During that time, she worked hard to create fun and inspiring space for athletes of all ages to grow into strong technical swimmers. In 2016, she relocated the bay area and decided to focus on building her skills at teaching on an individual level. She has worked at several of the top swim schools around the bay. Many of the students she has taught over the years have progressed to county level swimmers that participate on teams throughout the area. She has a strong passion for building lifelong swimmers focusing on technique to create a stronger team. She is ready to take all the knowledge and experience she has gained over the 20 years of her aquatic career in combination with her passion for the sport to the HOX community to help create a fun and successful season.
Coach Jessica's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Coach - Lilyana Webb
Lilyana Webb has been swimming with the Hox since she was five years old. She graduated from Monte Vista High School in 2022 with two years of Varsity swim and four years of Varsity soccer. She is currently studying political science and environmental studies at the University of Colorado- Boulder. She has been a lifeguard, a mini hox coach, a soccer coach for Mustang Soccer Club, and is now very excited to be an assistant coach for the 2024 season. She is looking forward to being able to help a new generation of HOX swimmers love the club and swimming as much as she did.
Coach Lilyana's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Coach - Siena Oh
Siena Oh began swimming with the HOX at the age of nine and spent ten summers developing into an accomplished member of the team. A recent graduate of Monte Vista High School in 2024, Siena swam at the Varsity level and represented her school at the NCS Championships during her senior year. Now attending the University of Southern California, Siena is pursuing a degree in Public Relations and Advertising, with intended double minors in Disruptive Innovation and Customer Analytics. Her diverse experience with the club includes working as a junior coach, lifeguard, and private lesson instructor during her summer seasons. Passionate about fostering a fun and positive environment, Siena is eager to help new HOX swimmers build confidence, refine their skills, and cultivate a lasting love for the sport, just as the team did for her.
Coach Siena's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
Assistant Coach - Chase Tsubota
Chase Tsubota has been swimming with HOX for 12 years and graduated Monte Vista High School in 2024 after swimming three years of varsity swim. He is currently studying multidisciplinary sciences and is a pre-med student at the University of Oregon, continuing his swimming career with their club team and competing at both regionals and nationals for breaststroke and multiple relays, placing in the top 100 club swimmers in the nation. He is enthusiastic to rejoin HOX this summer not only as a swimmer and lifeguard, but coach and cheerleader.
Coach Chase's contact: [email protected]
Favorite Things: HERE
