|
|
We are here to support your needs. If your questions are related
to workouts, meets, events, goal setting, and other swimming
related needs, please contact one of the coaches.
|
 Peter WrightHead CoachEmail
Originally from Overland Park,
Kansas, Coach Pete was raised in Westfield, NJ where he spent 11
years swimming for the Westfield YMCA. Pete then traveled to
OberlinCollege where he swam for four years and was team Captain
for both his Junior and Senior years. Pete graduated from Oberlin
in 1993 with a BA in Biology and History. Since then Coach Pete has
had the opportunity to work with both the Ridgewood YMCA Breakers
and the RidgewoodHigh School as an assistant coach. From NJ Coach
Pete went to work for the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club as both a
Pre-Senior and Senior assistant. In the seven years at MAC Coach
Pete had over 25 Junior National qualifiers and was part of the
1999 Long Course Junior National Champion Women’s team. From
MAC Coach Wright came to be the leader of the Fightin’ Sea
Cucumbers in the spring of 2002. In that time, the team has
undergone many changes. The team has grown from 85 swimmers to over
350 and added 8 new practice groups for a total of 12. In addition,
the staff has grown to 4 full time and 6 part-time coaches. Since
joining YSSC, Coach Pete has been fortunate to work with a
tremendous group of athletes. These athletes have re-written the
South Carolina Swimming record books breaking 67 state records.
Coach Pete has also had 52 ranked Top 16 times, 4 #1 ranked times,
16 Summer Junior National qualifiers, 2 Senior National qualifiers,
1 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier, and 1 Junior National Team member.
While his swimmers have gone on to great things Coach Pete was
given the 2006 and 2007 Long Course and 2008 Short Course
Y-National Coach of the Meet awards. Coach Pete was also given the
2006 South Carolina Swimming Coach of the Year award. Coach Pete
has served as both an assistant and head Zone Coach and was chosen
to be an assistant at the National Select Camp in Colorado Springs,
CO. Coach Pete is married to the lovely Meghan Wright and they are
expecting their first child in November. Pete is also the faithful
leader of his dogs Topper, Lucky, Gracie, and Willie and his cat
Spooky. Pete is a devout Kansas City Chiefs fan and loves to
collect live music.
 Karl KozickiAssistant Senior CoachEmail
Coach Karl was raised in Farmington Hills,
Michigan where he graduated from North Farmington High School. He
then moved on to his collegiate years at Oakland University in
Rochester, Michigan where he graduated with a degree in History and
Political Science. During his years at Oakland University he was a
10 time Division II All American and part of three Division II
National Title winning teams. In his senior year he served as team
captain. After graduation he began his coaching career at the
Oakland Live Y’ers. He served as the Top Assistant to the
Head coach. As a senior assistant he was apart of a squad that took
runner up at the 2000 Eastern Junior Nationals meet. Some of you
might know some swimmers that swam for the Oakland Live Y’ers
during Karl’s time there. Alex and Peter Vanderkaay. Karl
then moved south to be the Head Coach of the Anderson Swim Club in
Anderson, South Carolina, where he has led the program for the past
8 years. During his tenure at ASC Karl coached numerous levels of
athletes from State Qualifiers to US Open and Senior National
Qualifiers. Karl’s swimmers have posted 40+ Top 16 Times
along with numerous AAAA and AAA times. Karl’s primary
responsibilities for YSSC will be the coaching of the Pre-Senior
and Senior 2 groups. Karl brings a wealth of knowledge in the sport
of swimming and especially in swimming at the senior and collegiate
level. His ability to challenge swimmers to perform to the best of
their ability in practice, in competition and in life meshes
perfectly into what we here at YSSC are geered to! Karl resides in
Anderson, South Carolina with his wife Erica and 2 yr old Adison,
and dog Corey.
 Timothy ConleyHead Age Group CoachEmail
Say Hello to
YSSC’s Head Age Group Coach Tim Conley. Tim has made a name
for himself as the "Young Gun" in South Carolina Swimming. In his
first FIVE seasons he was named South Carolina State Age Group
Coach of the Year (2005 - 2009). First Age Group Coach to
recieve the honor 2 years in a row let alone 5! His
impact upon the program and the State has been felt at each meet
YSSC has attended. Tim is a passionate coach who cares deeply about
each and every Sea Cucumber he has the opportunity to work with.
His attention to stroke technique and his ability to challenge
young athletes mentally and physically has earned him the respect
of swimmers and parents alike. Not one to ever sit down on the pool
deck, Tim breaths electric energy into the YSSC Age Group
program. In addition, Tim is a
ASCA
Level 2 certifed coach. Tim has also
been apart of the South Carolina Zone Team both as an asst coach in
2005 & 2008 and the Head Coach in 2006. and 2009 and 2010. Tim
is also the co-Age Group Chair for South Carolina
Swimming. Tim hails from
Drexel
Hill
,
PA
where he graduated from
Monsignor
Bonner
High
School
. Tim graduated from
Shippensburg
University
with a degree in Accounting. While
attending college, Tim worked at the Chambersburg YMCA for four
years as a successful Assistant Coach. Tim also coached the
James
Buchanan
High
School
during his collegiate years. Tim has
proven to be an incredible asset to the Middle Tyger YMCA where he
is always willing to lend a hand with computers and any heavy
lifting needed. Tim is a devout fan of the 2008 World Series
Champs Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles,
Philadelphia Flyers, and he guesses
the 76ers. He also enjoys spending time with his poochs
Colby and Sophie.
 Erin McConkeyAssistant Age Group CoachEmail
Coach Erin has been a
member of the Cukes Coaching staff now for 4 years, but she is a
lifelong Fighting Seas Cucumber. Erin grew up as part of YSSC as a
swimmer (she competed at both Short and Long Course Y-Nationals)
and was then recruited heavily during her Clemson college years to
become part of the coaching staff. Erin also participated in the
SAIL program in Greenville as a swimmer and coach. As luck would
have it, Erin found herself engaged and living in Simpsonville, SC
looking for part time coaching work (Fall 2005), while she taught
full time. The Cukes jumped at the chance to bring her on full fime
and things have been going well since Erin started full time in
Fall of 2006. Erin is responsible for coaching Age Groups Green and
Red. She has had numerous state qualifiers and Age Group sectionals
qualifiers in her time at YSSC. She is a level 2 ASCA certified
coach. Erin is married to her husband Travis McConkey and is the
proud MOMMY of her new baby boy Jackson (DOB 5/16/08), sister to
Senior Cuke swimmer Addie Carne and enjoys spending free time with
pooch Peppers or at the lake!
 Reagan A CarneAsst Age Group CoachEmail
Coach Addie Carne will be leading the Purple group this
summer. Addie is currently a student and a member of the Virginia
Tech H2Okies swim team. She is a life long Sea Cucumber who just
recently graduated from the program in 2009 (Also the younger
sister of Coach Erin McConkey). She is a excellent swimmer and
coach. Addie is extremely excited about coaching the purple group
alongside Coach Tim and is ready for a summer full of great
swimming! Addie will be around the pool a lot this summer since she
is also swimming in Coach Pete's Senior 1 group.
Addie Carne's Virginia Tech Swimming Link to Bio
 Johnny ThonnAsst Senior CoachEmail
Johnny Thonn was born in Cambodia. He moved to California in
1980, swam and played water polo at Saddleback High School. He also
held the 100 Backstroke and was a member of the 200 Medley Relay
School records during his Junior and Senior years. He went on to
Santa Ana College where he also played water polo and swam. He
Coached at El Modena High School for 10 years (Freshman, JV, and
Varisty), first as an assistant than as a head coach. He also
coached at ORCA club team and on their junior olympic team where
the 18 & Under won the national tournament for three years in a
row. He was also apart of the Socal Swim Club; his former coach is
now apart of the USA Swimming Staff. Johnny recently moved to South
Carolina to pursue a writing career and currently is looking for a
new literary agent for his novels. We are excited to add a wealth
of swimming knowledge to the YSSC coaching Staff. Johnny is sharing
the coaching duties of Senior 3 with another new coach Brian Moran.
 Danyelle ParkerYSL CoachEmail
Danyelle Parker is a member of the
YSL Coaching Staff. Danyelle grew up in Greenville , where she swam
SAIL and played year-round soccer. Danyelle moved from Greenville
to Boston’s North Shore after middle school, and continued to
swim competitively. Following graduation from the University of
Massachuetts Amherst, Danyelle was the Head Coach at the Salem YMCA
(Think spooky witches!), where she met her husband, Andrew.
Danyelle has coached many New England Area champions, and
successfully merged her team with four other YMCA’s to become
the YMCA of the North Shore (YNS), one of the largest
YMCA teams in the country! Danyelle and Andrew have two
daughters that proudly swim for the Sea Cucumbers, Riley, age 8,
and Caroline, age 6. Riley and Caroline are proud bis sisters
to Bridget, who hopes to be a Cuke in 4 years!
The Parkers live in Greer, and in the summer you can find
Danyelle traveling to local pools teaching swimming lessons.
 Gretchen LentzYSL CoachEmail
Say Hello to YSL Coach Gretchen
Lentz. Gretchen was born in Southbend, IN and moved to Greenville
when she was 7. She swam SAIL with WoodyCreek growing up and
still has a classic record to this day! After and during her SAIL
says Gretchen was a competitive soccer player. Gretchen attended
DukeUniversity from 1993-1997. She was a 3-time NCSAA
(National Coaches Soccer Assoc. of America) All-American 89, 90,
91. She traveled with the U-16 and U-17 National Soccer team for
those three years. She was a Parade Magazine All-American 91
and South Carolinas Female Player of the Year her senior year in
1993. After graduation she married her husband, Gregory, and they
moved back to Greenville. She started her coaching career in
soccer in 1999. She coached with St. Giles (now CESA) for 6
years. During those years she also coached SAIL and just finished
her 8th year coaching the Silver Leaf Swim Club. This is
Gretchen’s second year with the Cukes. She is the proud
Momma of two Cukes, Rachel and Andrew!
 Jenny FaulconerYSL CoachEmail
This is Coach Jenny's third year coaching for YSL. She is
a graduate of
Bowling Green State University. Jenny's coaching
career actually started in Ohio where she coached gymnastics during
high school and college. She became involved in the
SAIL program when her children started swimming. She
began helping the Orchard Farm's Guppy team in 2006 and has been
the assistant coach for the past 3 years. Jenny is married to
Bill and is also the proud Sea Cuke mom of Savanna, age 11, and
Ian, age 9.
 Michael E IngrahamPalmetto Pro Timing ContactEmail
Mike Ingraham is the contact
person for Palmetto Pro Timing. Palmetto Pro Timing runs all
the timing for meets hosted at the Spartanburg YMCA
facilities.
|
