COACHING STAFF
Alicia’s passion for swimming was ignited after watching the 1988 Olympics on TV. Her mom, Coach Kim, then told her that she was a swimmer in her youth and competed in the Olympic Trials. Alicia immediately started in lessons, and then soon joined a year-round team in Southern California. Alicia swam on the Mission Viejo Nadadores for 8 years and Irvine Novaquatics for 3 years. She competed in her first Speedo Junior National Championships at 13 years old in the 200 Fly, 400 IM and 500 Free. At 15, she qualified for her first Phillips 66 National Championship in the 800 Free and soon added the 200 Fly and 400 IM.
Alicia graduated as Valedictorian from her high school and received an academic scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where she also competed in their division 1 swim program. Unfortunately, a shoulder surgery at the end of her freshman year ended her swimming career. Alicia went on to graduate from USC with a B.S. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a minor in Business Administration, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health. To further her education, she pursued a nutrition degree and became a Registered Dietitian. She worked for the university as a research assistant, but really enjoyed the teaching aspect and wanted to become a professor. Alicia then returned to USC’s Doctorate program in Preventive Medicine focusing on health behavior research and obesity prevention in youth. She was 3 years into a 5-year PhD program when her grandmother fell ill, compelling her to leave the program and help aid in her care.
Alicia then started teaching in a learn-to-swim school while coaching a summer league program at Evolution Swim Academy. In an unexpected way, coaching combined all her educational experiences in teaching and promoting a healthy lifestyle with her lifelong passion for swimming. Alicia was quickly promoted to Head Age Group Coach at Evolution Racing Club, where she also served as team administrator and manager alongside the club owners. Her swimmers and team won multiple Junior Olympic Championships and Age-Groups Championship meets in California. Two of her swimmers achieved National Age Group rankings in 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle, and several of her swimmers set Southern California swimming LSC records. She received a SoCal Age Group Coach of the Year nomination, and continued to develop an age group program that broke records year after year. She was instrumental in the technical development and training of dozens of swimmers who went on to achieve Junior National, Futures, and Sectionals time standards.
Alicia and her husband, Jorge, moved to North Idaho and soon after, their son, Axl, was born. She is excited to share her passion for swimming with this community and can’t wait to lead CAST into the future!
Jorge grew up in Venezuela where soccer became his passion at a very young age. He played on several national junior teams throughout high school and was sent to Florence, Italy to play as well. He was recruited for the country’s National Team to play in games all over South America. He was on his way to play in the Copa America when he broke his knee, unexpectedly ending his soccer career. Jorge then pursued an undergraduate degree in marketing and a master’s degree in graphic design, and in his free time he coached youth soccer.
Once Jorge moved to the United States, he began working for Evolution Swim Academy as a senior visual and web designer. He was responsible for all marketing materials, apparel design and creation, as well as web and social media presence for Evolution’s various youth programs. He helped create, develop, and expand its summer sports camp that provided technique and skills training in multiple sports and was attended by 500+ kids each summer. Jorge also taught in-water learn-to-swim lessons and was fundamental in developing an intro to competitive swim team program for Evolution. This class focused on transitioning kids who graduated from lessons but were not quite ready for the year-round swim team. Jorge also coached on the competitive swim team, Evolution Racing Club, alongside his wife, Coach Alicia, and mother-in-law, Coach Kim. Jorge continues to pursue his athletic interests in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Crossfit, and competing in Spartan Races.
Chelsey started swimming on a summer recreation team when she was 5 years old. That's when she realized her love for swimming! She would go to morning practice, come back for open swim 1-5:00pm and then come back again for night swim 7-8:30pm. She lived at the pool all summer long!
Chelsey grew up in Dayton, Washington, which was a 45 minute drive each way to the closest indoor pool. At age 12 her parents decided to make the travel commitment each day and joined the Walla Walla club team. Swimming was never "easy" for her and was something she had to work very hard at. All of the driving and daily doubles was worth it when she found out she had earned a swim scholarship to the University of Idaho. She was the first athlete from her school to receive a Division I sports scholarship.
During college Chelsey had several coaching internships with the club swim teams and loved it! Coaching and working with youth in any sport is something that is fun and comes very easy to her. After she graduated from college with a degree in Recreation and a minor in Outdoor Recreation & Health, she began to teach swim lessons and fitness classes. During this time, she also pursued her other hobbies such as coaching various youth sports and running half marathons! A couple years after college, she landed her first full time job as a Recreation Coordinator. Chelsey ran programs such as summer camps, sports camps, sports leagues, and other various recreational activities.
While Chelsey’s experience as a club swim coach is new, her passion for fitness, health and youth sports/ recreation runs long and deep. She has been working in the fitness, recreation and aquatic industry for over 12 years and absolutely love every aspect of it. She believes in health and wellness; and that means not only physical health but social and emotional health as well. Chelsey’s background demonstrates how she is a perfect fit to become a positive influence for the CAST swimmers!
As a child, Kim suffered from asthma which severely limited her physical activities, so her doctor suggested that swimming might help develop her lung capacity. At the age of 7, her swimming career began. Kim took to the water like a fish and joined the local swim team, City of Commerce, in Southern California. She achieved National Ranking by the age of 10 and set several National Age Group records in breaststroke and individual medley events. At the age of 12, Kim qualified for the Olympic Trials in 4 events: 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 and 400 IM. At 16, she swam in the Olympic Trials but fell 1 spot short of her goal to qualify for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
Kim hung up her cap and goggles and retired from swimming until she joined Irvine Nova Masters Swim Team in 2005. With the support from her teammates and coaches, her love for swimming was quickly rejuvenated. Once again, swimming became her focus and zest for life. She began coaching for her NOVA Masters team in 2007 and loved helping her swimmers achieve their personal and fitness goals. In 2010, she was asked to officiate for the local LSC (Southern California Swimming) where she worked as a Meet and Administrative Referee and a Timing System Operator for both USA Swimming and high school meets.
Another opportunity presented itself in 2015 to become an age-group coach for Evolution Racing Club alongside her daughter, Alicia. Kim’s goal as a coach was to motivate each individual swimmer to achieve their own personal goals. She emphasized technique and fitness with her swimmers, hoping to ignite a passion for swimming as a life-long sport.
Kim retired and moved to Coeur d’Alene where she immediately joined the KROC Center. You can find her swimming either on her own or with Masters most days of the week.
Brian has been involved in the swimming community since he was 2 years old teaching himself to swim in the baby pool. He fell in love with coaching after one of his coaches taught him the "Why" behind everything swimming related. Understanding the reason for doing different sets, drills and techniques is his passion and has fueled his coaching career. A lifelong learner of the sport, Brian has been coaching since he was 14 years old. He has coached all ranges of swimmers from those just learning to swim through lessons and all the way up to masters-level adults. He led two premier age group programs on the Terrapins Swim Team in Northern California where he grew up. At the Terrapins, he was named Pacific Zone All Star Coach twice and produced multiple Far Western and Junior Olympic Champion swimmers.
Brian is enthusiastic to share his knowledge, passion, and excitement for the sport with the North Idaho swim community. When he is not on deck, he enjoys exploring the mountains with his wife, Elliot, and his two dogs, Riggs and Walker.
Dee grew up in Kentucky and began swimming at the age of six with her brother and sister. Dee quickly excelled in age-group swimming, consistently ranking among the top three in Kentucky. However, at eleven, she had to stop swimming due to family challenges. In her junior year, Dee joined her high school swim team and soon rediscovered her passion for the sport. That year, she qualified for the high school state meet and decided to elevate her swimming further. At the start of her senior year, Dee joined the USA Swimming club Wildcat Aquatics. She enjoyed a successful year, achieving personal bests in freestyle and backstroke, and setting high school records. Dee’s success led to recruitment offers from several NCAA DII and DIII schools, as well as a few NCAA DI programs. She ultimately chose to swim at the University of Evansville, a small NCAA Division I school in Evansville, IN. At Evansville, Dee competed in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke, 200 and 500-yard freestyle, and the mile. She also taught swim lessons for the university and was selected for the NCAA Student Advisory Committee and Senior Council. After graduation, Dee worked as a social worker and later earned a master's degree in counseling to support youth in school settings.
Dee has prior USA Swimming club coaching experience with Newburgh Swim Club in Newburgh, IN, and Dolphin Aquatics in Orange County, CA. She is currently also a Life and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Coach, specializing in children and teens. Outside of work, Dee enjoys snowboarding, paddleboarding, gardening, making bread, and exploring North Idaho with her family and two dogs.
Hi my name is Camryn Schmidt! I’m 17 years old and a senior at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington. I’ve been a part of CAST for 6 years and swimming competitively for 9. I began my swimming journey at the YMCA in Spokane Valley where I took swim lessons and eventually joined their recreational swim team. After that I went to the rec team at the Liberty Lake Athletic Club. I live with my mom, dad, sister Brielle, and dog Harley.
I am hoping to go to college somewhere in either Texas or Florida and I intend to major in Kinesiology and double minor in business and psychology to prepare for Physical Therapy school after completing undergrad. My interest for Physical Therapy has stemmed from the multiple times I’ve had to go to PT for my own injuries. After recent shoulder surgery, I decided I would later want to work with athletes like myself. For about two years now I’ve been the female representative for CAST on the IES Athlete Council, where I work with other athlete reps to improve all aspects of our LSC. I have also represented CAST and the IES at the Western Zone Diversity Equity and Inclsuion Summit and Camp as the IES rep in Indianapolis, Indiana this summer. I was fortunate to go on that trip and bring back lots of notes for our team and our LSC. Along with that, I served as a team captain for our team during my sophomore and junior years!
I was previously on the Senior Squad and am now part of the Elite Group. I started as Junior Coach this summer during our first ever Season Summer Swim Team! I enjoyed coaching very much, as it was another outlet to something I love…swimming! I am often on the pool deck, interacting with swimmers and my teammates. As far as my interests go, I love shopping, taking naps, and trying new restaurants! One of the other places I spend the most time at is the mall. I would like to consider myself a sneakerhead and I’m still working on my shoe collection! A few fun facts about me: I am always chewing a piece of gum, I dislike melted cheese (yes, including cheese on pizza), and I have a podcast called MAC (Molly and Cam) with one of my classmates! I highly recommend taking a listen to an episode or two…it’s pretty funny if you ask me.
