History of MSC
Originally known as the Cascade Swim Team, MSC’s roots can be traced back to 1925 when the residents of McAllen built the city’s first swimming pool and opened the city’s first swim club. Once operating as a “whites only” facility, membership was eventually offered to everyone and was a hub for swim lessons, lifeguard training & summer recreational swimming which ultimately led to the birth of the McAllen Swim Club in 1963.
By 1971, under the direction of head coach Joe Claire & assistant coach Steve Cravens, the team had grown to close to 30 swimmers and officially became an established non-profit organization in 1977. The early to late 70’s brought about some of MSC’s most decorated swimmers, among them Danny Goodwin who to this day is considered to be MSC’s best swimmer of all time. Goodwin competed in the 1984 Olympic Trials where he placed 16th and held TAGS records for many years in the 500 Free and 1650 Free. He swam for Southern Methodist University and was a part of a recruiting class that was considered among the best in SMU history.
From 1976 - 1982, the team was led by legendary coach Bill Walker who also served as the head coach for the McAllen High School swim team. Throughout his career, coach Walker coached 55 high school all-Americans and won three TAGS titles. He was voted TISCA Girls Coach of the Year and as aquatics coordinator, his teams won nine UIL state titles. He is considered to be the pioneer of South Texas Swimming and was a founding member of the Texas Swimming Association. The North East Aquatic Center in San Antonio was named after him in 2005 for his 40+ years of contributions to Texas swimming.
By the late 1980’s through mid 1990’s, MSC had grown to close to 100 swimmers with more than half of them actively participating as year round competitors. As the team grew, so did the desire to seek out new places outside the RGV in search of newer and faster competition. The team began to take many trips to San Antonio, New Braunfels, Austin, & Corpus Christi to go against the best around as often as possible. They were long distances to travel for a weekend but many families understood the need and reason for doing it. The Lake Boerne swim, open water swims in Corpus Christi, & the IMAX challenge meets were all things that hadn’t been done before so we jumped on lots of opportunities to expose our swimmers to different experiences.
In 1990, MSC competed in the first ever international meet in Mexico City against the Mexico City All Stars. Since then, McAllen has hosted international meets in ’94, ’99 & ’00 and in 1998 attended the Olympia de Nacional in Colima Mexico.
In 1993, Roxanne Balducci took over as head coach and went on to become MSC’s longest and most influential coach to date (1993-2016). During her storied 37-year coaching career, coach Balducci’s dedication & commitment to the team helped influence thousands of Rio Grande Valley kids & took MSC to new levels of competition. Under her leadership, the club participated in a number of highly recognized meets including the NCSA Junior Nationals, NASA Junior National Cup, All American Championships, Sectionals Championships, Southern Zone Championships, All-American Championships, IMAX Regional Competition, & the CNCA National Age Group meet in Buffalo NY.
In 2004, she was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame and she has received the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association Lifetime Achievement Award and Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association Theron Pickle Lifetime Achievement Award, among many other numerous awards and achievements.
Today, MSC continues to be a magnet for swimming enthusiasts of all ages across the Rio Grande Valley. In 2017 we reached 237 participants and kicked off the team’s first ever USMS Adult Masters group which has grown to 25 participants within the first 7 months.
Important Dates & Events
1977
MSC officially founded as a non-profit organization thanks to the La Mantia family & is made up of the
original 5 members of the board.
1988
The team began to host Swim-A-Thon’s as a way to help promote swimming and raise funds for
supporting the club. To this day, it continues to be the team’s biggest annual fundraising event and
through the years has provided hundreds of scholarships to McAllen ISD students.
1989
Enough money was raised to purchase the team’s first Omega timing system needed to run home swim meets.
’92-’16
MSC collaborated with the McAllen ISD by providing all the personnel needed to operate UIL
sanctioned meets in exchange for use of the facility.
’92-’16
MSC begins to host Olympic Swim Clinics open to all teams across the RGV. Hosts include Olympians
such as Chloe Sutton, Aaron Peirsol, Rowdy Gaines, Brendan Hansen, Ricky Berens, Garrett Weber-
Gale, Rebecca Soni, Nick Thoman & coach Texas coach Eddie Reese just to name a few.
2017
MSC’s first Adult Masters group is formed
2022
MSC receives Safe Sport Recognition.
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Top MSC Alumni
Danny Goodwin
’78-’84
Diane Goodwin
’78-’83
Ace Holly
’78-’82
Rance Boren
’81-’86
Serafin Gomez
’98-’00
Shane Casas
'06-'08
Shaine Casas
’10-’16
Cooper Gates
’16-’19
Amani Singh
'20-'24
Notable MSC Alumni
Leah Sanchez
Kendal Walker
Juan Rocha
Brian Holmes
Christine Kohler
Chante Sanchez
Mauricio Gomez
William Holmes
Nikki Sanchez
Gina Daniels
Hector Becerra
Dylan Blackwell
Laura Corcoran
Ashley Reeve
Rick Sanchez
Rick Schreiber
Shaine Casas
Cooper Gates
Gabby Gonzalez
Amani Singh
NCSA Junior Nationals:
Juan Rocha de Murga
NASA Junior National Cup
Brian Holmes
Juan Rocha de Murga
USA Diversity Select Camp 2007
Leah Sanchez
USA Diversity Select Camp 2019
All American Championships 2008
Leah Sanchez
Kendal Walker
Sectionals Championships
Julian Adame
Dylan Blackwell
Serafin Gomez
Tyler Gomez
Brian Holmes
Nikki Sanchez
William Holmes
Mathew Orap
Juan Rocha de Murga
Leah Sanchez
Ricardo Sanchez
Kendal Walker
Cooper Gates
Amani Singh
Southern Zone Championships
Shaine Casas
Cristian Salinas
Davis Santos
Leah Sanchez
Kendal Walker
Andres Cabrera
Luis Cabrera
Mauricio Gomez
Nikki Sanchez
Serafin Gomez
Luis Cabrera
Eddie Becerra
Christina Kohler
Stacia Benitez
Cooper Gates
Amani Singh
ALL STARS
Luis Cabrera
Andrees Cabrera
David Santos
CNCA National Age Group
Hector Becerra
Felissa Lopez
Rick Schreiber
Chante Sanchez
Texas Age Group Championships (TAGS)
Shaine Casas
Gabby Guerrero
Serafin Gomez
Sophia Grossweiler
PJ Grossweiler
Chante Sanchez
Nathaniel Hickman Chow
Max Saenz
Audy Madrigal
Cristian Salinas
Leah Sanchez
Rick Schreiber
Sebastian Sanchez
David Santos
Ruy Mireles
Paula Santos
Ina Te
Hector Becerra
Jose Juan Villalpando
Jorge Vasquez
Scarlet Sawyer
Leah Sanchez
Tete Carmona
Luis Cabrera
Andres Cabrera
Gina Daniels
Cooper Gates
Natalie Holmes
Amani Singh
Olympia de National 1998 in Colema
Chante Sanchez
Kalena Sanchez
Walt Schulter National Stroke Award
Laura Corcoran
Ashley Reeve
USA Summer Olympics 2024
Shaine Casas
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COACHING STAFF
1971-1974
Joe Clare: Head Coach
Steve Craven: Asst Coach
1977 - 1982
Bill Walker: Head Coach
Jeff Derren: Asst. Coach
1983 - 1992
Jeff Derren: Head Coach
Roxanne Balducci: Asst. Coach
Debbie Schmitz: LTS Coach
1993 - 2016
Roxanne Balducci: Head Coach
Joel Penk Asst.: Coach
Alex Lerma Asst.: Coach
Brad Altermeyer: Asst. Coach
Bonnie Tisdale: Asst. Coach
Fabian Lara: Asst. Coach
Miles Pederson: Asst. Coach
2017-20XX
Hector Becerra: Program Director
Alex Lerma: Head Coach: Gold & Bronze Teams
Blake Blomquist Asst.: Coach: Bronze / Gold Teams
Abel Gutierrez: Lead Coach: Black Team
Shani Reyes Asst.: Coach: Black Team
Alec Sanchez: Lead Coach: Green Team
Ayeesha Mohammed: Asst. Coach: Green Team
Brad Altermeyer: Lead Coach: Red Team
Christian Garza: Lead Coach: White Team
Sergio Silva: Head Coach
Alexa Mendoza: Asst. Coach
Gabriela Gonzalez: Asst. Coach
Cooper Gates: Lead Coach: Bronze Team
Isela Ruiz: Lead Coach: Green Team
Iris Torres: Lead Coach: Black Team
