Brian Pajer founded the Aquazot Swim Club in 1999.  In the first year, Brian’s leadership and coaching led the Aquazot team to win the SCS Junior Olympic Championships and placed among the elite teams at the US Nationals. Over the past 19 years, Brian has coached Aquazot swimmers who have represented the USA at the Olympic Games, World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, & Pan American Games.  Aquazot has been named a USA Swimming 'Gold Medal Club' 5 times in the past 10 years.

Coaching Accomplishments:

·    2x U.S. Open Women’s Club Champions 

·    2x USA Swimming State Club Champions

·    5x USA Swimming Gold Medal Team Recognition

·    6x USA Swimming Sectional State Club Champions 

·    Three USA National Championship Individual Event Champions

·    2009 World University Games – One athlete

·    2009 USA World Championship Team – One athlete

·    2007 Pan American Games – Two athletes

·    2004 Olympic Games – Two athletes

·    2003-2009 Head Coach of the UC Irvine Men and Women’s Swim Team

·    2005 & 2007 Big West Conference- Coach of the Year

·    2007 Big West Conference - Men’s Champions

·    2005 Big West Conference - Women’s Champions

·    2022 Asca National Top-10 Age Group Coach Award

Coach Michael began his swimming career at Irvine Swim League when he was 5. He continued to swim all the way through senior year of high school. Michael graduated high school from Irvine High in 2020 and now is in his final year of college at Cal State Fullerton where he studies journalism. 

Coach Michael has been coaching for 8 years now and joined the Aquazot coaching staff in the summer of 2023. In his free time, he enjoys watching sports, golfing, and spending time with family and loved ones. 

Coach Melanie has had a long history in coaching and teaching swimming. She began teaching individual swim lessons when she was very young in her backyard pool and from there, her love of teaching the sport to others grew into coaching both summer league and club teams every summer through high school and college in Central California and in Maryland. She then went on to coach junior high school swimming and water polo after graduating from college. After that, she moved to Karachi, Pakistan where she started the first co-ed swim club (Sindh Sharks) and helped some of her swimmers qualify for the Pakistan national team. She most recently coached for Westpark Marlins in Irvine and is really excited to coach with Aquazot Swim Club. Melanie was recruited to swim for UC Davis out of high school and then transferred to Johns Hopkins University where she finished her swimming career.

An Aquazot Alumna, Coach Vanessa has been active in the sport of swimming since she was a child starting out as an age group swimmer for Head Coach Brian Pajer.  After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she returned to the pool and earned an Infant Toddler Instructor Education Program certificate from the United States Swim School Association.  She transitioned back into age group swimming and was recruited to join the Aquazot Coaching staff in 2013.  In 2017 Vanessa joined the JSerra High School coaching staff where she currently leads the freshman/sophomore swim program. 

Combining the knowledge she obtained through the certification program, her years as an age group swimmer and high school coach, Vanessa delivers effective instruction and training to children with a wide range of personalities and learning styles.  This is reflected in her ability to help most of her AZOT 2 swimmers achieve Blue, WAG, JAG and JO times. 

In her free time Vanessa enjoys swimming, surfing, and spending time with her husband and friends.

Tanner swam club with Streamline Aquatics, Riverside Aquatics and Redlands Swim Team. He was a Junior National finalist and a CIF finalist. Coach Tanner swam for UCSB and Concordia University. He was an All-American in the 400 IM and member of the #8 ranked water polo team.

Tanner started coaching in 2002 at Chaminade High School. He has coached at Concordia University and the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Coach Tanner is the Head Coach of the Irvine Swim League's Westpark Marlins team, where he has coached for 14 years (2015 Coach of the Year). Coach Tanner started CTI Aquatics in 2011.

Matt Smith’s passion for swimming began at a young age and continues to play an influential role throughout his life. As a swimmer for local age group teams, high school, college, and Masters, and as an accomplished three-time Ironman finisher, Matt’s enthusiasm, and dedication for the sport of swimming have prevails. Motivated to inspire young athletes and create new programs, Matt coached high school swimming for nine years and then five years at the Masters level.

Currently Matt is the Associate Head Coach for the Boys and Girls swim team at Orange Lutheran High School.   He brings his passion for swimming and creative entrepreneur skills to our Aquazot program encouraging growth and new opportunities for our swimming community. 

Kaye grew up swimming and competing on her local Swim Team in Nebraska at the age of five. She enjoyed making her strokes as beautiful as possible! Perhaps, this is why she is a strong advocate for solid technical swimming when it comes to coaching. She competed with her age group team through high school attending many state wide championship meets primarily in the 100/200 Backstroke, 100/200 Breaststroke and the 200 IM.

Her coaching career began in San Diego, CA in the late 90’s developing twelve and under age group swimmers, then grew into coaching thirteen and older athletes training to become the best version of themselves in and out of the water and taking their competitive edge to the National level. Continuing to grow the sport, she led the Carlsbad Masters program coaching professional triathletes from all over the world and master swimmers competing at the national level. Most recently, her experiences brought her to training NCAA division III collegiate student athletes. Assisting in coaching CMS student athletes to four conference championships as well three NCAA individual champions and more than a dozen All Americans.

She has enjoyed working with these different ages at all levels. From the Novice, to the Junior Olympian. And the Junior National qualifier to the NCAA Champion.

She is truly passionate about swimming and believes in educating respect and enjoyment of our great sport, while taking competition to the highest level imaginable.