Gene Ann Newcomer at the SMEast facility will work with the younger and less experienced swimmers on Tuesday and Thursday practices and on Wednesdays one a day high school and older swimmers.

Jerry Laws, the head coach of the Olathe Lightning swim team, will coach with Mary Jo at the SMSouth facility on Tuesday and Thursdays and will run the Wednesday practice at that site. We are very excited to offer this opportunity to our older swimmers and feel that they will benefit greatly training under the watchful eyes of these outstanding coaches and with the increased competition at training sessions that these combined practices will offer.

ELITE /JUNIOR OLYMPIC COACH Mary Jo Klier

SMEast: M-W-Sat-Sunday

SMSouth: T-Th

Coach Klier began swimming competitively at the age of 12 and competed through her college years at Syracuse University where she was captain of her college team. In 1972 after graduating from Syracuse she spent the summer working with Olympic Coach Don Gambril with the P66 Long Beach Swim Club

in southern California. Over 20 national champions and three world and Olympic gold medalists comprised this training group including a talented 16 year old Tim Shaw who eventually would win many national and world titles.

Over the past twenty eight years Coach Klier has developed many outstanding swimmers at the high school and national level. In 1989 the Swim Academy had out first senior national champion when Dirk Marshall upset the reigning Olympic champion in the 100fly and swam one of the fastest times ever done for that event. His unique sprinting program was featured in an issue of

“Sports Illustrated.”

Coach Klier’s emphasis on the total development of the individual has helped to develop healthy, well-balanced swimmers who continue in the sport through college and beyond (Master’s Swimming). Both Dirk Marshall and Peter Egan have won and set national records for the butterfly events in the Senior Division of Master’s. Our swimmers have distinguished themselves in the classroom as well as winning athletic and scholastic scholarships.

As a coach Mary Jo has been selected to several national committee’s which have included All-American selection and sports medicine. This summer she volunteered her time throughout the week working with Mike Forte to begin an inner city swim team at the KC Boys and Girls Club.

AGE GROUP COACH: Gene Ann Newcomer

SMEast: T-W-Th

“When as a young child I first saw our top swimmer doing laps at our country club I thought that I was viewing the most beautiful ART work in the world.” These are Coach Newcomer’s feelings about swimming. She was in her first race at eight and competed in country club, AAU (today’s USS), high school, college and Master’s beginning in upstate New York, continuing to Illinois and Kansas City. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from U of Illinois in teaching and loves to bring her classroom techniques to the pool in teaching children to co-ordinate their physical talent with their mental processes.

ELITE/AGE GROUP COACH: Jerry Laws

At SMSouth: T-W-Th

Jerry has been coaching for over 30 years while working a full time job outside of swimming. His love of kids and swimming is legendary and he has been the subject of many a swimmer’s profile for school writing assignments. Jerry as coach of the Olathe Gators and the Olathe Lightning has produced many outstanding Missouri Valley and age group nationally ranked swimmers. Many of his swimmers have gone on to excel in college swimming.

Practices at SMSouth will utilize both Mary Jo (T-Th) and Jerry (T-W-Th) coaching input which will be a real PLUS for our swimmers!

AGE GROUP: Jennifer See

Jennifer will be working with our age groupers at the SMEast facility. She is currently a junior at SMEast and a member of the SMEast high school girls’ team. This summer she life guarded at several pools in the area including Misson Hills Country Club. She was highly recommended to Gene Ann as an assistant by Mary Jo because of her patience, responsibility and enthusiastic love of children. We consider her a unique asset to our program.

SUBSTITUTE COACH: Tom Ringwelski

You will see Tom helping around the team wearing several different hats of responsibility. At the pool he will assist with our coaches when needed. He and his wife, Lori, will be in charge of meet entries. As a certified referee he will be our head official at our Grand Slam meets. Tom is an engineer by training and travels around the world in this capacity. His greatest joy is his family and he is the proud father of Andy and Becky, two of our high school South swimmers.