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Coaches & Directors
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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.
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 Sean C HutchisonCEO / Head CoachEmail
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 UreLead Coach - KentEmail
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
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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 SpencerLead Coach - Federal WayEmail
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 MiladLead Coach - MI/Bellevue/SeattleEmail
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 KingLead Coach - CovingtonEmail
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 KienlenLead Coach - FifeEmail
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 GroseLead Coach - Des MoinesEmail
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 AndersonCoach - CovingtonEmail
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 HannanCoach - Federal WayEmail
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 DjangCoach - Federal WayEmail
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 SwansonCoach - Federal WayEmail
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 TackeCoach - FifeEmail
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 HawthorneCoach - KentEmail
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 PendergastCoach - MI/Bellevue/SeattleEmail
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.
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