Coaches
Coach Silva is originally from Wheaton, Illinois and moved to Southern CA in 2012. She swam club for West Chicago Sharks from age 13-18 and High School at Wheaton North. Coach Silva then swam for her college team, Carthage College, in Kenosha Wisconsin, where she majored in Biology and Chemistry. After college she spent a year teaching English in Madrid, Spain to 3rd grade Spanish students. Upon returning to the US she worked in several labs completing quality control testing. After realizing the lab world wasn’t for her, she completed graduate school at Louis University to get her Master’s in Education. Shortly thereafter she moved to Santa Monica to take a teaching position at University High School Charter in West LA. There she taught Biology, Chemistry and Nanotechnology while coaching swimteam and waterpolo. In 2020 she moved to Manhattan Beach and began her teaching career in 2021 at Mira Costa as a science teacher and swim coach. In her free time Coach Silva loves to scuba dive, bike, hike and travel.
Coach Heidi grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and started swimming competitively at age 4. At 16 she switched clubs and drove 2 hours a day to swim for Seacoast Swim Association in New Hampshire alongside multi-gold medalist Jenny Thompson and coached by Mike Parratto (who also recently coached Olympian & World Record holder Regan Smith). With Seacoast Heidi competed at Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials before committing to Div I Northwestern University. At NU she was part of the All-American 800 Free Relay freshman year. Following a back injury, Heidi transferred out to UCSB and graduated from the Honors Program with a degree in Environmental Science. She became a LA County Ocean Lifeguard in 1994 and is still working today, usually teaching Junior Guards. She competed extensively in Surf Lifesaving around the world, thanks to her swimming background. She spent years coaching and swimming Masters in the South Bay, but now enjoys tennis (NOT pickleball!). On her path to becoming a critical care RN, back in 2002 Coach Heidi attended and swam for El Camino College at age 28, swimming a lifetime best in the 100 fly by “swimming smarter, not harder.” This remains her coaching philosophy today.
Mary started her competitive swimming career in Connecticut with her 4 brothers when she was 8 year old. She moved to CA in 1984 and swam all 4 years of high school as well as college. In her 4 years of Div 1 collegiate swimming at University of San Diego, she was on scholarship, Captain of the team and named Athlete of the Year in her graduating year of 1992. Mary also taught swim lessons for over 10 years. She found ocean swimming in 2000 and has been a very competitive open water swimmer in the 2-mile Dwight Crum Pier 2 Pier Swim ever since. She is thrilled to join the Mira Costa Coaching Staff to support Coach Heidi.
Coach Halushka grew up in Manhattan Beach, where he attended American Martyrs Catholic School, swam for Surfside Swim Team (in the old Costa pool) and was a Junior Lifeguard. While at Mira Costa, he was a 4-year member of the swim team (specializing in fly) and water polo programs. Upon graduation, he earned a BA in Sociology at Cal State University Long Beach. Later, he earned a Special Education Teaching Credential and Master of Arts in Special Education at CSU Dominguez Hills. He is currently a full time Special Education Teacher here at Mira Costa High School, and in 2021-22 became the AP Testing Coordinator as well.
He has been the Mira Costa boys’ and girls’ Varsity Waterpolo Assistant Coach since 2005. In addition to that, he was the Varsity Assistant Swim Coach under Coach Bartlett from 2006- 2009. Starting in 2010 he coached the JV teams, before taking over a Head Coach position in 2019. Most importantly, he is the proud dad to his son Griffin, who was born in the summer of 2021.
Coach Julian Monk is a South Bay native, growing up in Manhattan Beach. He grew up with a great passion for all aquatics sports, including swimming, surfing, playing water polo, and 9 years of junior lifeguards where he excelled in ocean swimming and paddleboarding. Coach Julian swam and played water polo at Mira Costa, earning the Frosh/Soph Water Polo MVP award his freshman year and playing 3 years on Varsity. He was a freestyle sprinter for the Varsity Swim Team and competed in breaststroke as well. Julian played water polo for 2 years at San Diego Mesa College and continued playing club at California State University Northridge while earning his BA degree in Cinema Television Arts. His love for swimming has stayed with him through his young adult life and continues to stay active in the pool. Julian says, “Coaching such a great life skill to the younger generations is very rewarding, which I do not take for granted.” While still working in the television and film industry, he actively coaches the Mira Costa frosh/soph Water Polo team and JV Swim Team.
