Team Sponsors

Coaches & Directors

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 your coaches. For all questions related to administration, such as dues, safety, or policy issues, please contact the CEO/Head Coach.

Coaching Staff

Sean C Hutchison

CEO / Head Coach

Under Sean’s guidance, the KING Aquatic Club has seen almost unmatched success in the pool. KING’s athletes have been successful at all levels: state and sectional champions, individual and relay national and junior national titlists, US National team appointments, Olympic medalists and World and American record setters.

Despite the success in the water, Sean’s goal as a coach hasn’t necessarily been fast swimming. His goal is to "help people achieve what they thought was beyond their grasp" so that they might believe in themselves and be inspired to do great things in their lives.

Sean is a leader in the training and technical aspects of the sport. Although his education is founded in the liberal arts, in 2008 he became a published scientist for work done in the world of fluid dynamics. He sits on the Pacific Northwest Swimming board, the USA Swimming Steering Committee and the Olympic International Operations Committee. KING still stands by Sean’s mission since becoming head coach in the fall of 2002:

I envision developing a model for other clubs to mimic - both in terms of performance and administration.

I envision a prototype program that builds success through results and feeds on it, thereby showing our athletes how to become successful people.

I envision challenging coaches to become the best staff in the world.

I envision a joint venture between the membership, the business community, and the coaches to create something special, professional, and successful that has never been seen before.

Most importantly, I envision creating an environment where excellence is inevitable and fun!

Sean has been awarded or achieved the following accolades and accomplishments in his tenure as KING head coach:

- 2009-Present US Olympic Post-Graduate West Coast Training Center Head Coach
- 2009 US World Championship Team Head Coach
- 2008 US Olympic Team Assistant Coach
- 2007 US World Championship Team Assistant Coach
- 2006 US Pan Pacific Games Team Assistant Coach
- 2005 US World University Games Team Assistant Coach
- Two-time George Haines Award Winner

Speaking Engagements:

- World Swim Coaches Association - World Swimming Clinic
- National Team Coaches Conference
- Rotary Club

Keith Ure

Lead Coach - Kent

Keith is the Head Age Group Coach and began coaching with the Kent Area Dolphins, which is now King Aquatic Club, back in the Fall of 1987. Additional coaching experience includes 10 years of High School Head Coaching (Hazen & Evergreen High Schools) and 5 Years as a Summer League Head Coach (Kent Swim & Tennis Club). Keith enjoys spending his free time supporting the Seattle Thunderbirds and working for the Boeing Company.

1998, 2007 American Swim Coaches Association Age Group Coach of the Year - PNS
2002, 2003 Pacific Northwest Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year
2006-07 PNS Technical Commitee Chair
2007 Head Coach, PNS Pacific Coast All-Star Team

Kenneth R Spencer

Lead Coach - Federal Way

Another transplant from the land of pleasant living, Ken brings his 15 years of coaching experience to KING. Formerly the head coach of the largest team in Maryland swimming, Ken is proud to be a part of the strongest staff on the West Coast. On his former club, Ken’s swimmers routinely produced top 16 times, US Open and National cuts. Ken was an active member of Maryland swimming, acting as the coach’s representative to the administrative board and consistently serving as a zone coach.

Ken earned his degree in psychology at Villanova University and is currently completing his masters degree in Kinesiology at the University of Maryland. In his other life, Ken worked seven years for the Howard County public school system, teaching 4th, 6th, and 7th grade. In the past year Ken has gotten married, taken a trip around the world covering five continents in six months, and made the move to Seattle. He is an ASCA level 4 coach.

Ash G Milad

Lead Coach - MI/Bellevue/Seattle

Ash Milad comes to us from the Washington D.C. area where he has been coaching on the U.S.S. level since his early years in college. Ash was born and raised in Northern Virginia and graduated from Penn State. At Penn State he coached age groupers with the State College Area YMCA and help found the Nittany Lion Aquatic Club.

Upon graduation, Ash returned to Northern Virginia and worked as Director of Managment for NVPools, Inc. While working for NVPools Ash coached for the York Swim Club and most recently Machine Aquatics and George Mason University. He also has extensive experience with summer league teams.

Since joining the KING Staff in 2004 Ash has been a member of the PNS All-Star Team staff for the last three years and serves on the Pacific Northwest Swimming Board of Directors as an at-large member. Ash and his wife Kate live in downtown Seattle and enjoy spending time with their dogs Moseley and Mable.

Samuel King

Lead Coach - Covington

Sam enters the 2009-10 season as the Lead Coach at the Covington Aquatic Center at Tahoma. Sam came to KING after a stellar career with the University of Wyoming Cowboys men’s swim team as their IM/Butterfly expert. While at Wyoming, Sam earned First Team All-MWC honors, Academic All-Conference award, and a four time letter award winner. Sam’s hometown is Missoula, Montana. While attending Sentinel High School, Sam was the Montana state record holder in the 200 IM. He was an All-State selection all four years of high school and was a state champion in the 500 freestyle and 200 IM. He was an All-American in the 200 IM. He was the Sentinel school record holder in the 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. He was a team captain as a junior and senior and a four-year letterwinner. He was a USA Swimming Academic All-American, a four-time honor roll member and a member of the National Honor Society. While not serving KING as a coach, Sam also works for Aquatic Management Group at the Kent Pool and Mount Rainier Pool.

David A Kienlen

Lead Coach - Fife

Dave is the lead coach at the Fife Swim Center and brings years of competitive coaching to KING. He began his coaching career in 1970 as Head Coach with the Joliet Swim Club in Illinois where he developed dozens of state and regional champions along with multiple national finalists in both US Swimming and YMCA competition. He continued his coaching career in Oregon during the 80’s with the Willamalane Swim Team and again produced state and regional champions. In 1990 he left for North Carolina to become the Head Coach for the Sharks Aquatic Club and developed the team from a small group of 40 swimmers to over 160 within 3 years. While in North Carolina he not only produced state and regional champions, but several junior national swimmers along with the first ever State High School Championship for Kings Mountain High School. In 1993 Dave moved to Washington where he took over a struggling Issaquah Swim Team (IST). During his seven years with IST he developed the team from 60 swimmers to over 220 swimmers, six junior national swimmers and several state high school champions. In 2001 Dave was selected to become the first Head Coach for the South Sound Titans. There he developed the team from about 70 swimmers to over 140, produced several junior national swimmers, over a dozen US Open swimmers and led the team to a 7th place finish in the US Swimming Women’s Senior National Championships. He also coached Olympian, Megan Quann, to over 5 additional National Titles during her career with the Titans. Dave is currently the Aquatic Coordinator for the City of Fife. He has held the following positions or titles with Pacific Northwest Swimming: PNS Senior Chair, PNS Board of Review, President – Greater Seattle Swim Association (GSSA), PNS Senior Coach of the Year – 2002 and 2003.

Darren Grose

Lead Coach - Des Moines

Darren enters the Fall 2009 with his first year as the Lead Coach at Mount Rainier Pool in charge of the Developmental & Novice swim team programs. Darren has been swimming all his life. He was a four year letter winner and team captain at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a collegian at the University of Michigan. Although he was not nearly accomplished enough to join the Michigan swim team, he continued to swim on his own. After two years at Michigan he transferred to Pitzer College, where he competed for three seasons, and also ran track. Darren enjoys chocolate milk, Gossip Girl and all things swimming related.

Thomas W Anderson

Coach - Covington

Tom is one the coaches at Covington Aquatic Center at Tahoma. Tom started coaching for KING April of 2000 and has worked at many of the KING training sites. During this time Tom took a couple of years off to focus on his teaching career.

Tom’s aquatics career has spanned nearly four decades as a swimmer and coach. He swam club at the West Seattle YMCA and Husky Swim Club, summer league at Arbor Heights, high school at Kennedy HS, college at Central Washington University, and finally at the masters level. His coaching career has been very exciting, as he has had the chance to work with the entire spectrum of athletes from beginning novice to national caliber swimmers. Tom has coached: club teams-Ellensburg Area Swim Team, Husky, Kent Area Dolphins, and now KING; summer league-Arbor Heights and Twin Lakes; high school-Ellensburg High School boys and girls, and Highline High School boys and girls; and finally masters-Southwest Seattle Masters.

Tom’s coaching experiences include 4 summer league titles with Arbor Heights, 2 district titles with Ellensburg High School, league titles at Highline High School, teams that included 2 HS All-Americans, Northwest Age Group Regional title with Husky Swim Club with several National Top16 swimmers from those groups. He also has the notoriety of being the final Head Coach of the Kent Area Dolphins, one of the teams that merged to create KING.

In real life, Tom has been an elementary teacher for over 20 years. He taught fourth grade for 12 years, was a Mass Media Specialist for 4 years, and is currently a Reading Specialist at Sherwood Forest Elementary in Federal Way. He lives in Redondo with his wife. Tom loves to read, do crossword puzzles, play and watch all sports (Husky season ticket holder), live theater (season tickets to the 5th Ave. Theater), traveling, and playing on the computer.

Go KING go!

Thomas Hannan

Coach - Federal Way

Tommy Hannan enters his first year in 2009 as a KING coach of the National & Regional training groups at KCAC in Federal Way. Previously, Tommy served three years as an assistant coach with the University of Washington after successful swimming careers at the collegiate and international levels. Hannan worked primarily with the sprinters and oversees recruiting for the men’s team.

Hannan was a three-time member of the USA National Team and was a member of the gold medal-winning 400 medley relay team at the 2000 Olympic games. Hannan served as team captain at the 2003 USA Pan American Games, won a gold medal at the 1999 World University Games, and qualified for the 2004 USA Olympic Trials as a member of King Aquatic Club.

A Baltimore, Md. native, Hannan swam four years at the University of Texas where he won three NCAA team tiles from 2000-2002. He also won two NCAA titles in the 400 medley relay and one in the 400 freestyle relay, setting American and NCAA records in the event. A 17-time All-American, Hannan served as the Longhorn’s team captain during his junior and senior campaigns, and graduated with a degree in finance in 2003.

Doug R Djang

Coach - Federal Way

Doug Djang started coaching for King Aquatic Club in 2006. At the start of the 2009-10 season, Djang worked at the Mercer Island/Bellevue site then moved to the Federal Way site. Previously, Djang served as a subsitute coach, filling in where needed within the KING system. In college, Djang competed for three years for the Seattle University Redhawks earning All-American status. As a former KING National group swimmer under head coach Sean Hutchison, Djang will bring a wealth of experience to KING.

Amanda Swanson

Coach - Federal Way

Amanda Swanson grew up in the Kent area and swam for Kentwood High School, under Mark Prothero for four years including captain responsibilities her senior year. Later she swam at BIOLA University in La Mirada, California.

Currently Amanda is coaching in Federal Way as the Developmental and Novice coach. She has been a longtime teacher and lifeguard at the Kent AMG Pool and has coached for two years in Summer League swimming for Kent Swim and Tennis Club. She believes that swimming changed her life dramatically and hopes that the children she coaches benefit in the same way. She loves getting to know the individual uniqueness of young swimmers and has a passion to teach them proper technique for speed while having a blast. Because swimming is competitive, she believes every practice builds the body, mind and spirit within the swimmer.

She is currently continuing her education in the local area majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Psychology. As she Studies to be an Occupational Therapist, she is thrilled to join the King Aquatic Club coaching staff.

John B Tacke

Coach - Fife

John has been both a swimmer and a swimming parent for many years. He started swimming competitively at age 8 in Alexandria, Virginia, and continued with the Lakewood Swim Club in Tacoma after his family moved to the Tacoma area. He then went on to swim for Lakes High School and after graduation attended Whitman College where he swam on the varsity team. He still trains and competes with the Federal Way Masters Swim Team at the King County Aquatic Center.

Two primary factors led to his becoming a coach. His daughters, Emily, and Hannah, swim on King and he wanted to contribute in a way that took advantage of his own swimming experience. In addition, while swimming on a Master’s team, he developed a newfound passion for understanding stroke technique and race strategy, and realized it’s never too late to fix a problem or incorporate a new idea.

John’s professional career also brings experience that will be effective in coaching. He graduated with degrees in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from Whitman and Columbia University in New York, and worked as an engineer for many years. He understands the mechanics and dynamics of competitive swimming and how to translate that into successful swimming. One of his favorite motto’s as an engineer (and as a swimmer), is “Efficiency is a terrible thing to waste!” Currently John owns and operates Frontline Solutions, LLC, a software development business.

Nathan D Hawthorne

Coach - Kent

Nathan joined KING in early 2010 as coach of the Developmental & Novice group at Kent Meridian Pool. He is the current Head Coach for the boys swim & dive team at Highline High School in Burien. He is looking forward to developing young athletes with passion and a drive to do their best.

Maureen L Pendergast

Coach - MI/Bellevue/Seattle

Maureen was born and raised in Snohomish, WA where she quickly fell in love with the water and swimming fast. She swam throughout her childhood with teams from around the Puget Sound area which lead her to swim for Oregon State University. At Oregon State, she pursued a major in education and a minor mathematics.

Maureen comes to us with a wide range of coaching experience. She has coached varying levels of USA Swimming, High School, Summer League, and had been a Head Age Group Coach during 2002-2004 swim season. From 2004-2009 she was the Lead Coach at Covington (Tahoma) Pool. In 2010 she joined the KING North (Mercer Island/Bellevue/Seattle) group and is looking forward to developing young athletes with passion and a drive to do their best.