Jim Abt

Senior and Stroke Mechanics - Cleburne

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Coach Jim is currently a coach and retired businessman. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and an education certification from UT Permian Basin.

Amy Anderson

Developmental - Lake Worth

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Amy Anderson is currently working as a Pre-AP math teacher and head swim coach at Chisholm Trail High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in Math Education from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, TX in the spring of 2012.

Amy began swimming at a young age for Cleburne TAAF and continually excelled up through the varsity program at Cleburne High School Swim team under Coach Jim! In 2008, she moved to Abilene for college and began her coaching career with a position as assistant coach of the Tidal Wave Swim Club. Over the next several years Amy worked diligently to grow the team from a relatively small club to an established family program of over 100 swimmers.

At the start of her senior year, Amy took over the position of head coach of Tidal Wave club from her mentor, COM coach Jenna Purkey. In addition to her school and work with the club team, Amy was also the head coach of the Wylie High School swim team before moving to Chisholm Trail High School this past year.

Coach Amy has coached swimmers of all levels over the past 4 years. "Taking a group of kids  who barely knew each other and teaching them to work together and become a family was an experience I’ll never forget. I love building a team and teaching them how to support, encourage, and respect each other."

Amy’s top three coaching interests are stroke technique, mental preparation, and team unity.

Lauren Bach

Sigma Swim School - Lake Worth

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Lauren Bach is currently a sophmore at Aledo High School. Where she is a  member of the high school swim team in addition to the Sigma swim team.

Lauren will graduate AHS in 2015, and hopes to swim for a college team. She  would like to go into healthcare after completing college.

Lauren began swimming competiviely for SWAT swim team in Duncanville when she was  6 years old. She moved to Aledo in 2007, where she began swimming with Sigma . She has been swimming with Sigma for the past 5 years. 

Lauren also  began competing last year for the Aledo high school swim team. Where she made  the varsity swim team, after lettering at the disctrict meet. Last year she also  earned her life guard certification.

Coach Lauren has prepared many swimmers for their first meet. She enjoys  watching her students take pride in their accomplishments.

Lauren enjoys speding time with her family and friends. She is passionate  about swimming and coaching. In her spare time, she is active in her church youth  group.

Lauren's top three coaching interests are stroke technique,  endurance, and hard work.

Tiffany Barbine

Developmental - Cleburne

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In addition to being the coach for our Cleburne location, Coach Tiffany is currently a student at The University of Arlington, coach for Cleburne's TAAF swim team, and a substitute Teacher for Cleburne ISD. At UTA, Tiffany is pursuing her Bachelors of Science in Math with a minor in Education.

Alice Barton

Sigma Swim School - Lake Worth

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Alice is in her final semester at TCC NW. She will transfer to Texas State in San Marcos. Alice is an Early Childhood Education major.

Coach Alice started swimming her freshman year of high school and began swimming at the varsity level her sophomore year. She has been teaching swim lessons for 6 years. Alice lettered in backstroke her sophomore year and junior year.

Alice's proudest moment in her coaching career was when her 7-8 year old boys placed 1st in their 100 yard freestyle relay and 2nd in their 100 yard medley relay at the YMCA state meet.

Outside of swimming, Alice loves yoga, reading, and her corgi, Lilly.

Alice top three goals for her swimmers are to build endurance, stroke technique and a sense of community with their peers. 

Kurt Browder

Senior and Developmental - Lake Worth

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Coach Kurt is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems.  Outside of coaching he is currently pursuing a career as an IT consultant.  

Wendy DeLuca

Developmental - Fort Worth

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Wendy recently moved to Arlington with her husband from Augusta, Ga. She will continue to pursue certifiaction inDiagnostic Medical Sonography in the Spring of 2013.

She attended the Augusta State University until she was a senior in the Spring of 2012 pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She plans to obtain her certification in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and then finish her Bachelors degree in Science. She later plans to continue her education in Sonography and become a Cardiac Sonorgrapher.

Wendy began her competitive swimming career at the age of 6 and has continued to swim competitively through out her life. She swam for her local high school in Oklahoma and was ranked in the top 16 in multiple events and qualified for the state meet in every event for all four years. She has taught swim lessons for 14 years,  has more than 5 years of experience as a USA swimming age group coach and has been head coach of a large summer league team in Georgia.

Coach Wendy has concentrated on teaching beginning swimmers. She takes great satisfaction as a coach in assisting a non swimmers to develop competency in all four strokes and to develop their love of swimming.

Her interests include music, hunting and fishing, running, lifting weights, swimming, body building, her husband Anthony and her dog Baby Girl.

Wendy's top three coaching interests are safety, technique development and love of the sport!

Deborah Dover

Sigma Swim School - Fort Worth

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Deborah Dover is currently attending Texas Wesleyan University where she is pursuing her Masters Degree in Early childhood Education while specializing in Bilingualism.  She plans to graduate in May 2015 and teach kindergarten ESL students. 

Deborah is a 2010 graduate of China Spring High School in Waco, Texas.  She continued her education at McLennan Community College while playing on their women’s golf team. She received her Associates Degree in May of 2012.  She then transferred to Texas Wesleyan’s Women’s Team in the fall of 2012.  Deborah has been giving swim lessons for three years prior to joining Sigma.  

Deborah loves God and spending time with her family and friends.  Outside of golf and school she enjoys working out, having fun, reading, playing with her baby cousins, and running. 

Deborah’s top three coaching interest are creating a fun environment, learning basic fundamentals, and overall water safety.    

Denise Dunham

Sigma Swim School - Lake Worth

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Adam Grillo

Senior and Developmental - Burleson

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Adam is currently a student at Weatherford College completing prerequisites required to transfer to the UNT Health and Science Department to study Physical Therapy.

Andrew Ha

Senior and Stroke Mechanics - Fort Worth

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Andrew is currently completing his dissertation towards a Doctorate in Education at Texas Wesleyan University. He is also in his sixth year as a full-time Math Instructor at Weatherford College.

Andrew is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a Master of Arts in Math and a Bachelor of Science in Math. He has minors in Education and Exercise Sports Science.

Andrew grew up swimming for the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team (FAST) which is now one of three US Olympic Committee Post-Grad Training Centers. While swimming for FAST, Andrew achieved Top-16 rankings in Southern California Swimming and was a three-time CIF consolation finalist.

Andrew has coached USA Swimming Top-16 nationally ranked swimmers, Sectional and Junior National qualifiers, TAGS champions, UIL State finalists, UIL Regional champions, and UIL District champions. Click HERE for a video made by one of his swimmers.

Andrew's life revolves around academia, swimming, motorcycles, friends, and family.

Andrew's top three coaching interests are stroke technique, mental performance, and workout design.

Shawn Hertel

Developmental - Burleson

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Shawn is currently enrolled in Hill College and working on his associates. Shawn graduated from Burleson High School (GO Elks!). Shawn swam all four years of high school and was named captain his senior year.

Shawn loves his family and friends more than anything. When he's not spending time with family and friends, Shawn also enjoys staying fit, jogging with his dog, and the occasional rib eating contest at Riscky's.

Shawn feels he has triumphed as a coach when his students try harder and continue to love the sport. Shawn feels even more pride and fulfillment when his swimmers are able to master the techniques and insight he imparts.

Shawn's top three coaching interests are motivation, responsibility, and making sure his swimmers have fun doing what they love - Swimming!

Friday Idehen

SSS - Fort Worth, Dev - Burleson

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Julie Jackson

Developmental - Lake Worth

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Julie Jackson is currently a busy but fun Mom of 2 kiddos, Harper (age 9) and John (age 13). When not managing a household, she volunteers at her daughters school.

Julie is a graduate of Univ. of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Sociology. She also has a teaching certification from Univ. of Texas at Arlington in General Education with a strong background in Biology. Julie taught third grade for a number of years in the Arlington I.S.D. and is currently retired from teaching.

Julie is currently a masters swimmer for Team Ridglea Masters and has coached age group swimming for the last 5 years specializing in entry level competitive swimming. She is also a triathlete and has helped individuals incorporate swimming as a weight loss program into their workout.

Julie coaches the developmental aspects of swimming to new swimmers. She celebrates many small fundamental steps that lead to a great swimmer. All from first time dives from a block, to trying a new stroke and getting a first BB time.

Julie has one main love of her life and that is her family. She is passionate about swimming, exercising, volunteering, outdoor experiences, reading and drinking coffee.

Julie's coaching interests revolve around mentoring young swimmers, developing stoke technique, and promoting personal goals and growth.

Amber Jones

Sigma Swim School - Cleburne

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Amber Jones is currently a stay at home mother of 6 who home schools her children. This is her third year to homeschool. Before that she was a dental assistant for 26 years.

Amber graduated from Spirit and Word Christian School and was in the top ten of her class. She also took some college courses in dental hygiene and marketing at TCJC but never finished her degree.

Amber has always loved the water and swimming and currently has four of her children in swim which she thinks is very important; so important that they took swim lessons until the end of middle school.

Coach Amber loves kids and can be serious when needed and fun when appropriate to help her swimmers find a passion for swimming and inspire some to dream big as a mentor and coach. Coach Amber believes nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it and put the effort and hard work it requires, but all the while always having fun and enjoying swimming.

Coach Amber's philosophy is to do your best, train hard, never give up, and no excuses. When life gives you lemons make lemonade. The glass is always half full. Very positive thinking makes big differences and always encourage each child to his/her potential.

Coach Amber's main coaching interests are correct technique, positive outlook, and designing workouts specific for the level of swimmers that she has.

Blake Kahla

Stroke Mechanics - Burleson

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Blake Kahla currently teaches sophomore and junior English at Crowley High School. He has been the head swim coach there for the past five years. 

Chris Keese

Developmental - Cleburne

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John Leitch

Sigma Swim School - Fort Worth

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John is currently a high school senior and a Sigma Swim School Instructor for the TWU location. He has been swimming with the Sigma Swim Team for just shy of 5 years, and actively participates in a Fort Worth Boy Scout troop.

John intends to major in the engineering fields, and if money permits, wishes to go to college as far away from Texas as possible.

John's favorite perk of competitive swimming is its application to the real world through determination, discipline, and dedication.

John enjoys experiencing the growth of his swimmers minds and techniques.

John enjoys sleeping, reading, computer games, and the occasional camping trip.

John's top three coaching interests are stroke fundamentals, enjoyment of the sport, and a slight competitive edge.

Eric Montez

Sigma Swim School - Lake Worth

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Eric Montez Is currently studying at Texas Wesleyan University. He is pursuing a MBA/BA in Accounting and plans to graduate in the Spring of 2014.

Eric started swimming competitively at Southwest in 2005, and continued till his senior year of high school in 2009. He prefers long distance freestyle but participated in short distance and all other strokes as well. He started working for Sigma in 2010 and hopes to influence his students to learn as proficiently as possible.

Eric's primary interests are making new friends, swimming, drawing, school, and traveling.

Eric's top three coaching interests are technique for proper kicking, tact for effective communication, and humor to make it fun learning experience for the swimmers.

Kona Morren

Stroke Mechanics - Fort Worth

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Kona is a wife and mother of three children, ages 13, 7, and 1.   She is certified in infant and child survival swimming and is an instructor for Diaper Dolphins & AquaSharks Survival Swim Academy.  Kona iscommitted to teaching and educating children and their parents about water safety, technique, and training. 

Kona is currently attending the University of Texas at Arlington where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Health Science and Business.  She is looking forward to the opportunity of obtaining her Masters in Sports Management.

Kona began swimming competitively for USA Swimming at the age of five in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout her 15 year swimming career, Kona participated in Far Western Championships, Western Zone Championships and Sectional Championships and achieved Pacific Recognition Times (PRT) for the 200 free, 500 free, 100 Individual Medley, and 200 Individual Medley. 

Kona’s most rewarding coaching accomplishment includes mentoring swimmers as they achieve their personal goals.

Kona adores her family, friends, and 3 dogs.  She also enjoys the outdoors, traveling, gardening, running, swimming, and reading. 

Kona is interested in stroke technique, nutrition, and conditioning.

Bridget Moty

Developmental - Lake Worth

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Bridget Moty is currently a Clinical Research Management Masters student at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Physiology with minors in History and Chemistry from the University of Arizona in 2009.

Bridget started swimming competitively at the age of 8 for Westtown Aquatic Piranhas in Westtown, PA.  She swam with state champion Scottsdale Aquatic Club from 1999-2005 and with Swim Neptune, also in Scottsdale Arizona, in 2005 through 2010.  Her best strokes are butterfly and freestyle.  She also played water polo for the University of Arizona women’s water polo team.  She is currently a Master’s swimmer at the Lake Worth location and looking forward to competing again.

Bridget began coaching in 2004 for Swim Neptune in Scottsdale, Arizona and was one of the original coaches for the now booming team.  Her swimmers have gone on to win many state championships and to become admirable young adults.  Bridget also ran her own private swim lesson company while in Arizona.  She believes that swimming is not just great for the body, but also for the mind and personal growth.  Bridget thrills in seeing her swimmers succeed in the pool and in their lives.

Outside of the water, Bridget loves to run 5k’s with good friends, try new recipes in the kitchen, and test her mind over crossword puzzles or trivia competitions.

Bridget’s top three coaching interests are stroke technique, discipline, and personal fulfillment.

Amber Murphy

Senior and Stroke Mechanics - Lake Worth

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In addition to coaching swimming, Amber Murphy makes a great cup of coffee at Starbucks and helps her husband with his tree service.

Amber graduated from TCU in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychosocial Kinesiology (Sports Psychology) with a Minor in Psychology.

Amber started her swimming career with her local YMCA. In high school, she was a varsity swimmer on the Paschal High School Swim Team. At TCU, Amber swam and lettered for 4 years and was a member of the 2004 Conference USA Championship team.

Currently Amber is a member of the Team Ridglea Master’s Swim Team. At last year’s South Central Zone Short Course Championship meet Amber came away with 2 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes.

In addition to swimming, Amber enjoys reading and other outdoor activities such as running, hiking, biking and disc golf.

Amber’s top three coaching interests are technique, mental performance, and creating a lifelong love for swimming.

Paula Peckham

Developmental - Burleson

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Paula Peckham is currently a mathematics teacher and swim coach at Burleson High School. She has been teaching there since 2000, and has been coaching the swim team since 2010. Paula received her Bachelors in Business Administration - Marketing from the University of Texas in Arlington, and went back to become certified to teach through their education program.

Paula started her second life as a swim coach at BHS when she was asked to take over a previous coach's spot. There was not a swim team at BHS when she was a student there in the 80, so she never had the chance to compete, but she has loved swimming all her life and spent three years as a lifeguard during high school. The past three years have been amazing and a blast for her as she has learned more about the fine details of crafting a stroke and encouraging young swimmers to give their best at their sport.

Paula loves to read, to scuba dive, to swim, and loves her church family at St. Matthew Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Burleson. She's also pretty fond of her granddaughters.

Paula's enjoys helping swimmers understand how their bodies work in the water and to realize the relationship between movements and speed. Answering the "why" of things is always a fulfilling part of coaching for her, and she loves it when her swimmers begin to see how everything fits together. She also loves watching the growth of self-confidence as swimmers begin to improve and meet their goals. " It is very exciting to watch them grow!"

Paula's top coaching interests are stroke mechanics, developing the whole swimmer, and personal growth.

Lyndsay Peden

Developmental - Burleson, Cleburne

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Lyndsay graduated from Texas Christian University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, and a Minor in Spanish.  She joins Sigma after spending the last two years coaching and teaching at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lyndsay started swimming at an early age, competing with the Thorobred Nautical Team, a USA club team located in Frankfort, Kentucky.   In high school, she was a varsity swimmer at Santa Catalina School for Girls in Monterey, California.   Her favorite event to coach and participate in is the 500YD freestyle.

Alongside coaching and teaching, Lyndsay is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, concentrating in the fields of Environmental Ethics, Environmental Science and Education.  In her spare time Lyndsay works with animals and devotes time to a cooperative farming project where she spends time playing in the dirt. When she grows up she hopes to teach ethics at the collegiate level.

Lyndsay’s top coaching interests include stroke technique, developing discipline and endurance, and creating a passion for swimming as a lifestyle.

Jonathan Peterson

Sigma Swim School - Fort Worth

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Jonathan is currently a 17 year old high school senior graduating in May. He plans on enlisting in the military after graduating.

Jonathan started taking swim lessons from Mrs. Mary Jane Ott at the age of four. After completing all the levels she offered, he swam on the local YMCA summer swim team for seven years. He also worked there as a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor during the 2012 summer.

One accomplishment Jonathan is proud of was helping a young child get over his fear of being in water deeper than his knees.

Two very important things in Jonathan's life are his family and finishing high school well. His favorite hobbies are swimming, martial arts, and playing computer games.

The main focuses of Jonathan's coaching are stroke technique, building endurance through practice, and helping swimmers recognize and appreciate their incremental improvements.

Kelly Ransom

Sigma Swim School - Lake Worth

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Kelly is currently working for the D.M. Wood Foundation which focuses on conserving natural habitat for imperiled species in North and West Texas, by connecting landowners, industry and conservation agencies. She also does some dessert catering on the side.

Kelly is a 2012 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in political Science and a minor in French. She plans on returning to school to pursue a masters and certification in elementary education.

Kelly has been swimming for almost 10 years now. While in high school, she varsity lettered in both swimming and cross country. Her favorite race was the 500 free!

Kelly’s greatest coaching accomplishment so far would be teaching her kids a new skill set and watching the individual progress of each swimmer in practice!

Outside of swimming, Kelly is passionate about ballroom and latin dancing. She also loves trying out new dessert recipes and playing the cello.

Kelly’s three coaching interests are learning new skills through fun games, mentoring young swimmers, and creating a positive environment for swimmers to succeed.

Patrice Richter

Developmental - Cleburne

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Richard Romero

Developmental - Burleson, Cleburne

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Coach Richard's swimming interest started when he was five years old in Puerto Rico. He has been involved in competitive training since the age of seven. He was a member of the swimming team attended meets and was involved with different activities such as water polo games with the team.

Richard's first experience actually teaching did not come until the age of sixteen where he was hired as an assistant coach trainee which led to a position as a coach the following year. He continued his studies and training with the Antillean College which honed his teaching abilities and led to his promotion to Head Coach and Pool Manager. Richard was a member of the international swimming team and also coached the team in the years that followed.

Richard was promoted for be a Aquatic Director/Head Swim Coach in the west side of Puerto Rico and started a swimming team called Moca Swim Team. This team was a competitive and international swimming team with a focus on performance.

Richard was recruited by the Hamilton Aquatic Club in Hamilton, New Jersey as a swim coach to establish dry lands and practice program. The program allowed him to instruct and focus swimmers in different swimming methodologies and concentrate on strokes, turns, starts, and finishes. As an age group coach, he was responsible for building strong swimmers and taking them from basic skills to competitive national levels which included YMCA and USA Nationals, USA Zone, and Olympic Trials.

Richard's coaching interests include stroke technique, athlete motivation, and high performance training.

Kira Schlosberg

Sigma Swim School - Fort Worth

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Kira Schlosberg is currently a high school senior. She is a competitive swimmer for Sigma and competes at the Junior National level. Kira also participates on her high school swimming and cross country teams.

Kira is currently attending Aledo High School. Next year she is planning to attend the United States Air Force Academy and pursue a degree in Engineering.

Kira has been swimming competitively for 9 years. She has been a member of Sigma for 4 years. Throughout her high school swimming career, Kira has qualified for the Texas State Championships each year. Next year, she plans to be a member of the Air Force Academy swim team to further her swimming career.

Although being new to coaching, Kira enjoys the daily triumphs her swimmers achieve in practice.

For fun, Kira enjoys reading, sleeping, wakeboarding, skiing, rock climbing, and doing pretty much anything outdoors. She spends time with her family as well as at her church.

Kira’s top three coaching interests are basic fundamentals, a fun environment, and fostering an early love for the sport.

Meredith Schlosberg

Sigma Swim School - Fort Worth

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Meredith Schlosberg is currently a tenth grader at Aledo High School. There, she is on the swim team. Meredith also swims at the TWU location in Tier 1.

Selena Stewart

Developmental - Fort Worth

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Coach Selena is currently attending Texas Wesleyan University where she is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. She plans to graduate in May 2013 and teach general elementary music. Selena is also the assistant swim coach for All Saints Episcopal High School's swim team.

Selena is a 2007 graduate of Fossil Ridge High School where she swam three out of her four years on varsity and was made captain her senior year. Selena was a district champion in the 100 yard breaststroke, third in the 200IM, and qualified for regionals her senior year. She began giving swim lessons in 2006 which developed into coaching in 2008.

Selena is proud of having coached swimmers who have achieved Tier 1 status in Andrew’s group.

Selena enjoys rock climbing, dancing, and singing with her friends and family; Most of all, Selena thoroughly enjoys taking her niece and nephews on play dates.

Selena's top three coaching interests are stroke technique, mental preparation, and discipline.

Karen Stinchcomb

Developmental - Lake Worth

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Karen Stinchcomb is an “all-in” homeschool and Sigma mom of 2, and wife to Darren.   We spend our days doing school, with swim, AWANA, co-op, counseling, and childcare as welcome additions to our schedule. 

Karen grew up as a military kid, from England all the way to San Antonio.  She finished her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and a Masters Degree in Biblical Counseling at Colorado Christian University in Denver, CO.

With older siblings that swam, Karen began swimming at a young age.  Mortified to get DQ’d at age 6 in breaststroke, that became her favorite stroke!  She swam for AAAA team in San Antonio, then quit when they moved to playing water polo for the fall.  All through high school years she swam for her neighborhood summer team.  She lived in the pool, and secretly wanted to be a mermaid when grown up!

Karen loves to see swimmers progress in their strokes and as people; to set goals and achieve them, to apply skills and master them. Coach Karen is i nto all things Sigma, believing that it is THE place for technique-driven coaching in a caring, family friendly environment.

God is first in Karen’s life, with family and friends right behind.  She wants to be a light wherever she is – poolside helping families feel included, engaging with kids to help them enjoy learning and playing, counseling people to give them help and hope.  Travel is a love that time doesn’t permit enough of, too!

If swimmers come to learn, they will leave with new and better skills.  Olympian Josh Davis put it best stating things to remember:  1.  You are loved!  2.  Streamline!!