Head Coach Brad Kale hails from Nashville, Tennessee, where he had been the Senior Assistant Coach at the Nashville Aquatic Club. Coach Kale brings over thirty years of coaching experience, including senior, age group, and masters coaching experience. Over the past thirty years, he has coached swimmers to Age Group top 16 performances, Southeastern records, YMCA National qualifying times, Junior National qualifying times, National qualifying times, as well as Olympic Team Trials.

Coach Kale has been the Head Coach of the Jefferson City Barracudas in Missouri, Age Group coach at the Pine Crest Camp in Ft. Lauderdale, and Head Age Group Coach of the Williamson County Aquatic Team, and Head Age Group Coach and Senior Assistant at Nashville Aquatic Club before coming to the Emerald Coast in 2010. In 2000, Brad was named Southeastern Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year, and in 2025, Coach Kale was named Southeastern Senior Coach of the Year, making him one of only two coaches to have won both awards.
 
Coach Kale grew up swimming in the Middle Tennessee area with Jack Hazen at the Middle Tennessee Swim Club and John Morse with the Nashville Aquatic Club. Following high school, Coach Kale continued his swimming career at the University of Kentucky. Through his four years of eligibility, he qualified for finals at the Southeastern Conference Championships several times and was a Senior National qualifier in multiple events. 
 
Coach Kale enjoys the outdoors, the beach, the water, and spending time with his family and his dogs.

Coach Will Breehl comes to COAST after four years at Darton State College in Albany Georgia.  During that time both men and women’s teams finished in the top 5 at the NJCAA national meet every year.  In 2014 both men and women won the non-scholarship national championship, while the men also claimed runner up in the overall national championship.  In Breehl’s tenure a total of 21 school records were broken, along with 3 region coach of the year honors, 6 region swimmers of the year honors, 81 All Americans, and 1 NJCAA athlete of the year.

Before Darton, Breehl spent two years coaching at Union College in Barbourville Kentucky, while earning his masters degree.  At the NAIA national championship meet, the Union men and women placed 10^th and 12^th respectively in 2009 and 2010.  Union participated in the Appalachian swimming conference, composed of NCAA division II and III as well as NAIA schools, placing in the top 6 both years.

Coach Breehl was born and raised in Louisville Kentucky, home of the Louisville slugger, Muhammad Ali, and the Kentucky Derby.  He started competitive swimming at age 11 for the Clarksville Seagulls with Vlad Semenov, then with Triton Swimming and Mike Essig, where he also coached during the 2007-08 short course season.  He swam collegiately at the University of Louisville and got his start coaching in summer league at Plainview Swim and Dive team.

Coach Kathy Ritacco brings over 20 years of coaching experience to Coast Aquatics. She joined the Barracudas (now Coast Aquatics) in 2004, bringing with her extensive experience coaching year-round club teams, summer league programs, and high school teams in Florida, Maryland, and Virginia. Earlier in her career, she also coached the SEALS Swim Team in Panama City.

In 2005, Coach Kathy began coaching at Ruckel Middle School, where she helped build one of the area’s largest and most successful middle school swim programs. Two years later, in 2008, she became the Head Coach of the Niceville High School swim team, a role she continues to hold today. Under her leadership, Niceville has developed into a consistent district, county, and state-level contender, producing multiple state champions, relay titles, county records, and All-American performances.

In addition to swimming, Coach Kathy has coached Cross Country and Track & Field, reflecting her strong background in endurance sports. She remains an active athlete herself and continues to enjoy running and racing, bringing that passion for fitness and discipline to her coaching.

Coach Kathy also taught Spanish at Niceville High School and currently serves as a substitute teacher, reinforcing her commitment to student-athletes both in and out of the pool. Known for her balanced coaching approach, she emphasizes strong fundamentals, accountability, teamwork, and athlete development, helping swimmers grow not only as competitors but as individuals.

Maureen grew up swimming and competing in New Mexico, starting at age 7 with her club team, Duke City Aquatics. She went on to swim for the University of New Mexico, where she graduated with a degree in Emergency Medicine.

Maureen began coaching with Duke City Aquatics from 2008–2010, helping age group swimmers develop strong fundamentals. She then served as one of the head coaches for the Highpoint Sharks, a summer swim team in Albuquerque, from 2010–2017. In 2013, she joined Eldorado High School as an assistant coach, becoming head coach in 2017. Under her leadership, the girls’ team finished first at the state championship for three consecutive years, and the boys’ team claimed first place twice. Beginning in 2015, she also coached for Albuquerque Triton Aquatic Club, a program started by a close friend, and served as head coach for a short course season before relocating to Florida.

In addition to her coaching, Maureen serves as a Lieutenant for Destin Beach Safety. Hiring, training, and working with young adults in this role has given her a unique perspective on mental toughness which is the same resilience she now teaches her swimmers. Seeing the development of young lifeguards’ discipline and grit directly informs how she coaches, helping her swimmers build both physical skills and mental strength from a young age.

Maureen is dedicated to ensuring her swimmers have a solid foundation in their strokes and techniques, while keeping swimming fun so kids continue to enjoy and grow in the sport. She currently works with novice and age group swimmers in Destin and Fort Walton.

Coach Jackie White joined the Coast Aquatics Coaching staff in 2020, bringing her almost 20 years of competitive swimming experience with her.

Jackie began swimming at the age of four with the Tanoan Tarpons summer team in Albuquerque, NM. She spent the majority of her competitive career training in Arizona with Scottsdale Aquatic Club, Tempe Rio Salado, and Phoenix Swim Club. During that time, she became a Junior National Champion in the 800 freestyle and earned High School All-American

honors three times.

Jackie went on to swim collegiately for the University of Alabama from 1996–2000, where she scored at the SEC conference championships in multiple distance events all 4 years. After graduating, she moved to Destin in 2001 and quickly embraced the coastal lifestyle.

She has served as the Manager of the Taj Renee Community Aquatic Center since its reopening in 2017 and has been part of the Coast Aquatics Masters Team since 2016. She currently coaches the Novice group in Destin and assists with the Junior and Senior groups as needed. Jackie enjoys helping swimmers of all ages grow in the sport she has loved her entire life.