Jonathan and the Rapids are entering their 8th season together after an unprecedented start to the remarkable "Rise of the Rapids".  During the first seven seasons, the Rapids have managed to change the landscape of swimming in the Greater Richmond area by providing accessibility and flexibility to families while also swimming at the highest levels.  The relationships his coaches are building with the athletes are personal and life-changing.  As a result, in just over six seasons, the Rapids have grown from 0 swimmers to over 550 athletes while also being among the Top 3-4 teams in Virginia and Top 75 in the Nation, including being ranked as one of the Top 30 Age Group Teams in America for teams with over 400 swimmers!  In addition, the Rapids have grown from 3 to 27 coaches (and from 1 to 8 full-timer coaches!), helping us focus on developing character skills that have allowed us to become one of the top teams in the state and even nation!

Prior to SwimRVA Jonathan got married and moved back to the Richmond area where he went on to enjoy a very successful two years as the head coach at the Dolphin Club in Richmond.  In two years, he grew the club from 63 to 183 athletes.  Jonathan believes in each child's potential and growing relationships one swimmer, one family at a time.  While at Dolphin Club, the team improved in USA Swimming's virtual club rankings from 31st to 23rd in the state and 1955th to 958th nationally.  At Virginia Swimming's age group champs the team improved from 30th (27 points) to 15th (291 points) and his girls team finished 9th overall, while also having a Top 15 team finish (Top 10 Girls) at Senior Champs for the first time in team history.

Prior to Dolphin Club, Jonathan served as the Assistant Director of Competitive Swimming at YMCA of Triangle Area.  As head coach of the Gold Group, he guided 50 YMCA National qualifiers, 5 YMCA national finalists, 12 NCSA Junior National qualifiers, 2 USA-Swimming Winter Junior National and 1 USA-Swimming Winter National qualifier.  Jonathan helped YOTA grow to 600 members and earn Top 25 rankings in USA Swimming's Virtual Club Championship.  While at YOTA, Jonathan worked with over 130 athletes with video instruction and stroke analyzation.

Before heading to Raleigh, Kaplan coached in Richmond for NOVA of Virginia Aquatics as the head coach of the Senior Silver Group and assistant coach of Senior Gold.  Jonathan's Senior Silver group included 16 NCSA Junior National, 6 USA Swimming Winter Junior National and 1 USA Swimming Winter National Championship qualifier, 1 National Age Group Record Relay participant, and 14 Virginia State Records.  While at NOVA the team earned a 3rd place overall team finish at the 2014 Spring NCSA Championships, an overall Virginia State Championship and a 6th place overall team ranking in the USA Swimming Virtual Club Championships.  Jonathan help in the organization and create of the first ever Henrico County high school swimming program.

From 2006 to 2013, Jonathan was the Head Swim Coach of the Panama City Swim Team.  While head coach, the year-round membership grew from 65 to 250 members.  PCST earned bronze medal club status for USA Swimming Club Excellence for the first time in team history.  In 2012, PCST had its first ever swimmer compete at the USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials.  In addition, Kaplan tutored 3 swimmers who qualified for USA Swimming's Summer National Championship, 3 qualifiers to USA Swimming's Summer Junior National Championship, 11 NCSA qualifiers, 1 USA Swimming Junior National Runner Up, 1 US Open Finalist, 5 SES Champions, 2 LSC records, 3 HS All-Americans and 6 Florida High School State Champions.  In 2011, PCST won Southeastern Swimming Medium Team Championship.  17 of Kaplan's swimmers went on to compete in the NCAA.  One of Jonathan's greatest accomplishments includes the fortune of coaching a high school valedictorian in 6 consecutive years while at PCST.

Jonathan is a graduate of Florida State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Sport Management and his Master of Science in Sport Administration.  He resides in Richmond with his wife, Jessica, and their four beautiful children Rowan, Finlay, Crew & Cora along with their three dogs (Cordelia, Bayou & Rowdy) and cat (Pearl).  Needless to say, he and his family are excited for the Rise of the Rapids here with SwimRVA!

Coach Blake has enjoyed a tremendous amount of immediate success as our Head Pre-Senior Coach.  In April of 2024, Blake was promoted to become our Head Senior Coach and now oversees, guides and inspires our Senior level athletes.  Not only has he helped inspire and guide countless Rapids swimmers to believing in themselves in ways they never have before, they are also getting crazy fast too!  Prior to changing the lives of our athletes in a positive way, Blake spent 5+ years as the Head Varsity Group Coach at the Lynchburg YMCA. While in Lynchburg, Blake was also the Head Coach for EC Glass High School Swim Team and Boonsboro Country Club. During his tenure he served twice as an Assistant Coach for the Virginia Swimming Zones Team and served as an assistant coach for 10+ years at Oakwood Country Club.

Blake thrives working with the 11-18 year old swimmers helping them to become more self-confidant and improve their swimming skills, along with developing a strong mental attitude.  His coaching successes include several Junior National qualifiers, numerous YMCA National finalists, and high school state champions. He also takes pride in coaching the kids who never swam competitively before but discovered how awesome swimming can be after dedicated training and encouragement.

Blake brings his energetic and enthusiastic coaching style to SwimRVA in a fresh approach that mixes mentality building and technical knowledge to help his swimmers understand their performance and develop a sense of ownership in their results. He encourages swimmers to act with integrity and develop character as teammates, leaders, and future adults

Coach Blake likes to play disc golf and guitar when he isn’t at the pool coaching or swimming. He is a huge music fan of all genres and time periods. We welcome Blake to SwimRVA and look forward to seeing some fast swimming coming from his groups!

Coach Brad Flynn has truly blossomed as the Head Developmental Coach as well as Lead Advanced Novice Coach for the "Rowdy Rapids". He joined the SwimRVA coaching staff in 2021 after coaching for two years with NOVA South. He also coached summer league with Wood Dale Swim Club for 10+ years, and coached the Thomas Dale Varsity Swim Team.

Brad was born in Rosenheim, Germany, but was raised and grew up in Hopewell, VA. He has spent over 25 years working for the Hopewell Department of Recreation and Parks, running the aquatic division for the last 10 years. During this time, this enthusiastic coach has taught countless local youth and adults to swim, lifeguard, shoot archery, and paddle kayaks. Brad also was the first swim instructor for two athletes that have a special place in his heart. One was a finalist at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games while the other won gold and silver at the 2022 USA Special Olympics.

Brad had his first partnership with SwimRVA as they were getting their Learn-to-Swim program started, helping to teach and facilitating the use of the aquatic facility. The "Wizard" as he is so fondly known as, is married to his amazing wife, Jessica, and has 3 girls who have contributed heavily to the distinguished look of his wizard-like beard. He loves teaching the fundamentals to new or younger swimmers with the goal of setting a foundation for future success.

"The thrill of a swimmer breaking new ground, or their recovery from not hitting a goal, are what drive me to continue to grow to be the best coach I can be." I look forward to developing the next great group of Rapids. Rise UP!"

Coach Wes has been an amazing addition to the SwimRVA family since joining the Rapids.  During his tenure, he has grown tremendously as an "age group" coach, guiding many of our 10 & under and 11-12 athletes to become the fastest in the state of Virginia!  He has especially enjoyed being back in the Richmond area because he grew up swimming nearby for VACS (now NOVA South) in Hopewell, VA. After high school, Wes went on to earn a B.S. in Health and Exercise Science at Marymount University (VA).  There he competed all four years as a well-rounded swimmer while specializing in the 1000 Fr, 400 IM, 200 Fly, 100 Fly, and 100 Breast.

Prior to joining SwimRVA, this knowledgeable and talented coach worked at NCAP and was a college coach at Olivet College in MI, Bridgewater College in VA, and Arcadia University in PA. In his time guiding and leading young adult athletes on the college scene, Wes helped produce many Conference Champions, including a Female Swimmer of the Year.  More importantly though, he felt the most pride in watching his athletes turn into confident leaders both in and out of the pool. In addition to his skills as an age group coach as well as higher elite level competition, Wes is looking forward to being used as a resource for aspiring college swimmers & families. He brings to Rapids a plethora of college coaching connections and guidance in the college selection process that will prove to be very useful for our aspiring athletes. 

Coach Wes resides in Richmond where he plays disc golf on weekends and loves to watch Premier League soccer. SwimRVA is beyond excited to have Wes on the coaching staff and look forward to enjoying many years of his expertise and enthusiasm.

Coach Ben is technically the longest tenured SwimRVA employee on the Rapids coaching staff and is only 2nd behind our Head Coach as the longest tenured Rapids swim team coach.  Since joining the Rowdy Rapids, he has been an instrumental part of our program over the years.  Having worked with literally every level on the team from Novice up through Senior, Ben's experience helps give him a unique perspective of what it takes to guide a young swimmer from the early stages of their career up to the highest levels.  He has coached swimmers from lessons and summer league, all the way to earning Junior National qualifying times!

Prior to his time at SwimRVA, Ben started swimming at 3 with the Chesterfield Aquatic League (CAL) from 3 until 18, and the YMCA League from 3 until 18, where he also coached for five years!  He swam while at Kansas for a portion of his college career as a sprint specialist. Being a sprint swimmer has given him unique expertise as the Head Senior Speed Coach for the Rapids!  As an athlete, Coach Ben has always loved swimming the 50 Free and 100 Free.

This very tall and encouraging coach is also now married to the love of his life, Jen and are fantastic dog owners!  Ben wants to make sure Rapids swimmers become well rounded teammates, saying, "I want kids to get fun, learning, and a sense of unity from being a member of this team."

Coach Ashley has been doing some pretty amazing things since becoming the Head Age Group Coach at SwimRVA.  During her stay, she has connected on a personal level with hundreds of "Rowdy Rapids" swimmers and families and is using her unique ability to keep things fun, light and challenging all at the same time to help our athletes improve and believe in themselves.  She comes to Richmond after a successful 10+ years as the Lead 10 and Under Coach for Fox Valley Swim Team in Naperville, IL. While in Naperville, Ashley was also the Head Coach for the Breckenridge Breakers Swim Team and she also served as an Assistant Coach for Team Illinois for the Central Zones Meet. Team Illinois has been the reigning champion of Central Zones for the last twenty years. 

Ashley enjoys working with all ages of swimmers to show them how much fun swimming can be while focusing on improving technique of strokes. Her coaching successes include multiple Age Group State qualifiers with Top 8 finishes and Central/Eastern Zone qualifiers. 

This wonderful coach brings her positivity and energetic coaching style to SwimRVA with a different approach to technique focused swimming. She encourages swimmers to find what swimming brings to their life and the joy of finding success in ways in and out of the pool.

Outside of the pool, Coach Ashley enjoys spending time with her fiance Dan and their two dogs, Domino and Ollie. Since moving to the Richmond area, she has truly enjoyed taking full advantage of the sites and scenes in Virginia and loves going to the beach, the mountains and enjoying all of the unique places to visit in Richmond.

Karen Ladman is SwimRVA’s Full-Time Head Novice Coach, becoming the first full-time staff member to have full guidance over the initial and critical training Class 1 Novice level. She  believes that each swimmer needs to be seen and encouraged to reach their full potential. She loves connecting and communicating with families and swimmers.

She was previously the Head Coach of the Petersburg YMCA Tsunamis, growing the program from 26 swimmers to 127 swimmers.   She is continuing her involvement with the Stoney Glen Stingrays in the SSL.  From 2017 until 2023, she was the team manager before shifting over to the other side of the deck as the Head Coach where she loves to coach athletes of all ages and focus heavily on improving their stroke techinique.  

In addition to coaching, Karen is a USA Swimming official, wife to husband, Bruce (a retired Army officer), and a swim mom of two awesome competitive swimmers.  In her free time, she enjoys knitting and spending time with her family and fur babies (dog Katie and two cats Chico & Snickers).

Coach Aponi first joined the SwimRVA family as an instructor the summer of 2019, but made her coaching debut in 2021 as one of the Novice Assistant Coaches at the Church Hill location.  Aponi began swimming at the age of four and swam for the Richmond Racers now Richmond Rapids and was also a City of Richmond lifeguard throughout highschool and college.  In college Coach Aponi took a break from the swim team and began synchronized swimming.  In addition to coaching Aponi is a professional harpist, harp instructor, and an Elementary School Music Educator in Hopewell, VA.  Coach Aponi is excited to work with all levels swimmers at the Church Hill Boys and Girls Club that she attended as a young child!  Now she is guiding even more upcoming swimming stars across the community as the Assistant Director of Programs - Northside.

SwimRVA has been enjoying the amazingness that is Coach Mike McKee for years now! Mike prides himself on keeping the sport fun and his ability to connect with swimmers. In doing so, he creates a positive environment to help all of his swimmers become the best version of themselves both inside and outside of the pool. Mike is exceptional at developing proper stroke technique for swimmers of every level where he has the mindset of, "Every stroke you take is reinforcing a habit. Let's make sure they are good habits." The results of his approach have been staggering at SwimRVA and everywhere he has coached. Previously serving as our Lead Novice Coach, he helped grow the group and the team to record numbers. While you will still find him coaching Novice in the evening, this year his primary practice group is Junior.

Mike started coaching professionally in 2008 for NOVA Aquatics where he led Novice groups and assisted throughout the program. In 2009, Mike was tabbed as the lead coach for a group called Age Group Bronze. In a few years, Mike helped grow the group from 20 to over 70 swimmers. By his final season at NOVA, Mike was trusted to be the lead coach for almost 150 swimmers, many of whom have gone on to impact the team’s overall success in a positive way.

Most recently he served as Assistant Head Coach for 757swim in Williamsburg. During his time there, he helped grow team membership by 57%, where it increased in size from 145 swimmers to 228 swimmers in just one year. He helped lead 757swim to win 9-12 District Champs, even against many much larger teams. Swimmers in his practice groups broke 24 team records throughout the season even before covid cancelled the championship meets.

Mike has been selected to coach multiple Virginia Swimming Zones Championship Teams. He also has 14 years of summer league coaching experience. The past 4 summers he served as the Head Coach of the Hallsley High Tides. Before Mike took over the program, Hallsley finished 11th at CAL Champs. In his first year he guided the High Tides all the way up to a 4th place finish at CAL Champs. The next year, he helped them climb even higher to third. The following season Hallsley went undefeated during the season and finished 2nd at CAL Champs. His 4th and most recent season was historic for Hallsley and the Chesterfield Aquatic League. Hallsley once again went undefeated and capped it off by winning their first CAL Championship. Hallsley didn't just win Champs, they finished an astounding 853 points ahead of the 2nd place team, more than doubling their score. Hallsley swimmers broke an incredible 10 league records this past season as well, some of which haven't been broken since 1999!

Before Halllsley, Mike started his summer coaching career at Woodmont, where he led the team to four division titles and three sportsmanship awards. He coached the Country Club of Virginia to a second-place finish in the 2006 JRAC Championship meet. In 2011, he led Fox Hall to an undefeated season, winning their division.

Mike is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he both swam for and helped coach their club swim team. In his free time he enjoys playing hockey, traveling, playing music by ear, video games, and cheering on his Hokies. What he enjoys most about coaching at SwimRVA is the positive and uplifting culture and the chance to have an impact on so many lives. We are very excited to have him and his partner, Rachel, in the SwimRVA family and look forward to enjoying the positive experience he provides to each of his swimmers and families!

Coach Maria is one of our longest-tenured Rapids coaches here at SwimRVA!  She has been a critical member of the coaching staff and is a huge part of why we have grown into the successful program we are today.  She has guided our Rapids from groups such as Novice, Advanced Novice, Age Group, Junior, and Pre-Senior to personal levels of growth that has helped them tremendously as individuals as well as swimmers.

She grew up in the Andean mountains of La Paz, Bolivia and was the undefeated national swimming champion of Bolivia for five years.  She swam in various international swim events including the SudAmericano Championships where she placed seventh in all of South America and she placed 3rd at the Bolivarianos meet, another South American event.  Coach Maria also swam in Russia at the 1979 Spartakiad Games.  The following year, she was selected to attend the 1980 Olympic Games, but Bolivia did not send a delegation.  She came to the United States for college and swam for 3 years where she qualified for and participated in the NCAA Division III Nationals.     

Prior to coaching at SwimRVA, Maria was also the head coach of the Creekwood Swim Team in Chesterfield for four years. She is a wonderfully experienced USA Swimming coach and ASCA level 2 coach.  This year is her 7th year coaching at a USA-level team and her fifty year with The Rapids.  She loves learning about swimming and encouraging swimmers to reach their full potential.   

Maria loves family gatherings, exercising with her family, gardening, traveling, and M&M’s (with peanuts or without). 

Wells is excited to bring over a decade's worth of coaching experience to SwimRVA and the Rapids family!  His personal touch with the athletes he works with helps them learn new ways to believe in themselves and get the most out of the work they are putting into each and every practice.  In addition to being an awesome school teacher by day, Wells is always ready to inspire his swimmers in the afternoons and evenings.  He has done that each high school season for the last 7 years as an assistant coach with Trinity Episcopal, while also coaching USA Swimming with the Richmond Racers for several years.  He also has a strong connection to our important Richmond summer leagues with many years of experience coaching both Southhampton and Willow Oaks.  SwimRVA is THRILLED to welcome Wells to our staff and Rapids family and is excited for great things to come from him over the years!

Coach Becca first joined the SwimRVA famly in the role of Mom to her 4 kids, following Lydia and Eliza to the team and now enjoying having her youngest son, Ace, swimming with the Rapids. She loved SwimRVA so much that she added the role of coach in April 2021, working primarily with the Novice and Age Group level swimmers. Since then, Becca has grown into a fantastic coach who challenges our Rapids swimmers in a way that create positive self-belief in the athletes.  Her experience and wisdom in the sport has grown to the point where she excels as a coach in nearly all levels of the team, particularly from the Novice through the Junior level and we are grateful to have her!

This fun, to the point motivational coach ASCA Level 3 Coach started swimming on her neighborhood team at the age of 4 and swam for Williamsburg Aquatic Club (WAC), Jamestown High School, and Masters Swimming at the Midlothian Athletic Club. She brings with her a unique skill set as a special education teacher having worked with children with autism for 15 years. She loves forming relationships with her swimmers, determining how to best communicate and develop skills with each individual swimmer. and helping them to see the best in themselves in and out of the pool. Coach Becca is a perfect fit for the Rapids and she is beyond excited to join in on the rising up of our young athletes!
 

Zach started swimming at age 10 with the SWAT swim team in southwest va (now h2okie aquatics) and swam with them through 6th grade. Zach swam through high school and also all 4 years at VMI, mainly competing in the 100 Free and 100 Backstroke, while obtaining a bachelor's degree in Computer and Information Science. Zach started coaching a local summer league swim team when he was home from college, and that is where he discovered his love for coaching. Zach began working at SwimRVA as a swim instructor in July 2024, and has since joined the Rapids swim team as an assistant coach! Zach looks forward to pushing athletes to become the best versions of themselves in a sport that was so good to him, Zach is married to his beautiful wife Rebecca and enjoys playing golf and hanging out with friends and family in his free time. 

Coach Jessica began swimming at age 5, when she took swim lessons at the YMCA.  She swam summer league from age 6-18, first on Swim and Yacht Club, then Battlefield Park, where she also coached while in high school.  She also swam year round from age 7-17 on VACS (Virginia Associate for Competitive Swimming).  She attend JO's (age group champs) multiple times.  She also qualified for YMCA nationals from age 14-17.  Jessica has experience coaching all ages, as well as teaching swim lessons.

Andrew was a water baby from the start. He started competitive swimming at age 6 with the Orange Otters in Orange County in the J-League, then later Tri-Counties League.  He later swam with the Charlottesville Area Swim Team (CAST) until soccer became the year-round priority.  Andrew attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, earning a degree in History with a double minor in Political Science and Philosophy while also being a member of the soccer team.  Go Badgers!  After college, he joined the US Army as a Forward Observer.  He was deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq.  While in the Army, he passed and then instructed to standard with Army Combat Water Survival Training.  Andrew enjoys partaking in 5 & 10K charity runs, and any event involving the James River or any type of water-based activity.  He has completely two Olympic Triahlons and pretends to train as if one is coming up.

Phoenix was a competitive swimmer for 13 years and have been a swim Teacher/Coach for 3 years now.  She bring her amazin energy to the swimmers she adores and truly thrives in helping people find their joy in swimming and helping them feel powerful. She is all inclusive, gender affirming, Neurospicy, LGBTQ+, ect. Let's have some fun!!

Coach Jo and her family joined SwimRVA the Summer 2025 after relocated from Washington State where she was the Juniors Group Coach at Puget Sound Swim Club in Bremerton, WA for 2 years . Her love for swimming started with she joined Hopewell Aquatics Team (HAT) at the age of 9 and later Virginia Association for Competative Swimming (VACS) through her middle and high school years. Over these 10 years she grew a passion for backstroke, breaststroke and IM.  

 At an early age she recognized the powerful impact coaches have on shaping the lives of future adults. Because of this, she values building relationships in order to provide tailored feedback and promote goal setting with the individual swimmer. Coach Jo is a firm believer that the lessons, skills and values developed on the pool deck transcends beyond just the sport of swimming. They turn into foundationary life skills that swimmers carry with them to navigate through life as an adult. 

Outside the pool deck, Coach Jo enjoys spending time with her husband Travis and cheering on her kids, Mason and Isabella, as work to meet their goals in Age Group and Senior Speed Group. They also have three fur babies who hold down the homefront- Charlie (Chocolate Lab), Clara (Goldendoodle) and the esteemed Mr. Pickles (Cat). 

Luke started swimming at 11 when he joined NOVA Swimming and stayed there through high school. After that he started coaching in summer league with Chesterfield Aquatic League (CAL) and the James River Aquatic Club (JRAC) before joining masters swimming in 2020 where he has been competing there ever since. 

Outside of swimming, Luke is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University pursuing his degree in engineering as well as coaching at a local gymnastics gym.

Coach Erin Crostic is delighted to be working with Novice swimmers to develop their stroke mechanics and endurance!  Her career has come full circle in working with the Rapids as she dives back into coaching. 

Erin swam competitively and coached for the Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL), Fort Belvior Swim Team, and was captain of her high school swim team.  With the NVSL’s LHP Gators, she began a developmental swim team as well as a winter swim program at the Alexandria YMCA so her Gators had the opportunity to swim year round.  Coach Erin won the Mount Vernon Region of the NVSL’s Coach of the Year, Sportsmanship Awards, Relay Carnivals, and Divisional Championships. 

Coaching inspired her love for working with children.  She majored in elementary education and taught first and second grades in Fairfax and Prince William Counties.  Her love of education continues on as she homeschools her children and leads a writing co-op.  She is currently studying for her certification in personal training and nutrition and hopes to help young athletes excel in their sport and balance healthy living.  Coach Erin is a multi-year Age Group National Championship qualifier in triathlons and loves the way swimming, biking, and running are complimentary of one another.  She also enjoys serving in several children’s ministries at her church, adventuring with her water polo playing sons, and swimming with the Hammerhead Masters group!

Colin Davis is an awesome assistant coach for Senior Speed and a student at Brightpoint Community College. He has over five years of coaching experience already, including head coaching roles for a summer league and a year-round YMCA team in the Virginia Beach area. Colin competitively for 10 years with USA Swimming, RMAL, and YMCA teams and draws upon his own experience to help him elevate his coaching. He is passionate about building strong technique, endurance, and confidence in every swimmer through individualized, positive coaching, clear communication, and a focus on safety, sportsmanship, and personal growth.

Coach Bella moved to Richmond and just started working with the Rapids this year. She has had so much fun coaching the little ones in Advanced Novice:)

Bella started her swimming career at three years old with the Smithfield YMCA. She then joined the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins when she was five, and stayed with them until she graduated high school. While in high school, Bella coached the Suffolk Special Olympics swim team, as well as her summer league team, the Colony Cudas.

Bella attended the University of Miami, where she earned degrees in Chemistry and Health Sciences (LYGC <3). She was the president of UM's club swim team, as well as a head lifeguard and lifeguard instrcutor, an organic chemistry TA, and a researcher in the Radiation Oncology Department. She's currently obtaining her PharmD at VCU, and she is mom to two incredibly sweet cats, Bug and Moxie.

With a dad as a former swim coach, Ariel started competitive swimming at only four years old in Northern Virginia. She swam every summer and did year-round for Machines, and coached her Oakton Otters summer team for four and a half years during high school. She is currently a senior in the VCUarts program as a Communication Arts major, due to graduate in Spring 2025; through this line of education, she is working towards becoming a tattoo artist. Coaching again has brought back her excitement of helping young swimmers find a loving and healthy relationship with swimming; every child's success with swimming looks different, and the swimmers reaching their own definition of their greatest potential is very important to her. Ariel loves to read books, drink coffee, crochet stuffed animals, and of course, swim laps in the pool whenever she finds the time. 

Sydnee brings over 14 years of professional experience in aquatics and is passionate about giving back to the community that has shaped her and her family. Growing up in a multi-generational aquatic family, Sydnee’s connection to water runs deep. Her grandparents owned a home on 36th Street, and her mother, aunts, and uncles all learned to swim at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Sydnee herself began swimming at six months old, joined the Richmond Racers at age five, and spent her summers at the Powhatan Community Pool. Following her family’s legacy, she became a lifeguard for the City of Richmond at age 15.

After high school, Sydnee attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T SU), where she swam during their final competitive season. At that time, NC A&T SU was the only NCAA Division 1 all-black female swim team in the country and was one of just two HBCUs with a swim team. Sydnee’s career in aquatics continued as she worked at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, lifeguarding for prestigious events like the YMCA Nationals, ODAC Championships, and NCAA Championships.

In 2021, Sydnee returned to Richmond to serve as the Aquatics Director at the Powhatan YMCA, where she discovered a passion for swim instruction and community outreach. She is now excited to use her extensive experience to help others thrive in the water and continue her family’s legacy of making a positive impact on the community.

Brooke is excited to be a part of the Rapids family! She grew up swimming for NOVA of Virginia Aquatics where she specialized mostly in Breast and IM events. She joined the rapids swim team family in fall of 2022 first as an athlete and then in the fall of 2025 as a coaching staff member!

Prior to joining SwimRVA, Brooke had been coaching since 2019 where she started as a volunteer coach for Wellesley, a GRAL summer league team. She stayed at Wellesley and coached there until the summer of 2025 where she was a junior assistant, eventually earning the position of Head Coach. In addition to her awesome experiences through summer league coaching, Brooke also honed her skills with NOVA of Virginia as a lessons and stroke school programs instructor. Brooke also coached the varsity swim team at Godwin High School for the 2024-2025 season, helping prepare her even further as a senior level coach at SwimRVA.

Brooke continues to swim for the love of the sport and truly enjoys spending time with friends and family.