MAVERICK COACHES

Mark Townsend, Head Coach/Genesis Coach/Lead Senior Coach
Mark began swimming competitively at the age of 8. He competed for the Cress Creek Country Club in the Naperville Park District, the Naperville YMCA,Naperville North High School, The University of Iowa, and North Central College. He was a four-time high school All American and thirteen-time NCAA D3 All American. Mark captained both the Naperville North and North Central College Swim Teams. He has earned Bachelor Degrees in Management from North Central College (’91), and in Elementary Education from Benedictine University (’97). Mark has been coaching swimming for the past 26 years. He was a three year assistant coach for the Cress Creek Country Club and a two year assistant coach for the Downers Grove Area Swim Team. Mark was the head coach of the Huntington Estates Swim Team for 9 summers. Mark is the original head coach and one of the founding members of the Maverick Swim Club. He is currently coaching his sixteenth year with the Mavericks. Mark resides in Aurora with his wife, Katie, and son, Logan.

Doug Helm, Head Age Group Coach/Genesis Coach
Doug competed from the time he was nine years old until he turned 30. He swam competitively for Hobson West of the Naperville Park District, the Naperville YMCA, Naperville Central High School, The University of Iowa, and the Maverick Swim Club. Doug’s coaching experience includes 1 year as the Iowa City Boys HS Coach, 1 year as a NCHS Assistant Coach, 2 years as a NCHS Volunteer Coach, and eleven years as a Maverick Swim Club Coach. Doug earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa. He is a Project Manager for General Mills in his career away from the pool. He resides in Naperville with his wife, Marsha, and their two daughters, Penelope and Nadia.

Mike Adams, C3 Lead Coach
Mike’s experience includes coaching tenures at theCincinnati Pepsi Marlins, theNaperville YMCA, and Naperville Central High School. He is currently the head coach of the NCHS boys swim team and the C3 lead coach of the Maverick Swim Club. Mike is an ASCA Level 5 certified coach.

Mike Hubbard, C2 Lead Coach
Mike started swimming on the Cress Creek swim team when he was four years old. He joined Mavericks the first year that it began at the age of 9. Mike swam for Naperville North in high school where he was the team captain his senior year. He began coaching at the age of 15 for the Cress Creek Rebels. He coached there for seven seasons. Mike attended college at the University of Illinois where he received a bachelor’s degree in Advertising. He coached the Champaign Aquachiefs in Champaign, Ill during college. This is his third season coaching the Maverick Swim Club. Mike also works full-time at the Naperville Magazine as an account manager

Missy Hines, C1 Lead Coach
Coach Missy received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Illinois University and taught Pre-Kindergarten for 5 years. She began coaching with the City of Plano Swimmers in Plano Texas in 1998 until moving back to Illinois in 1999 where she started coaching with Maverick Swim Club. Missy has been with Mavericks for 9 years, and this year will be her fourth year as lead coach for the Core 1 group. She also founded the Mighty Mavs group three years ago. Missy’s husband Jay is also a Maverick coach. They have been married for 15 years and have 2 boys, Jamey and Justin.

Kelle Lalko, PC Lead Coach
Kelle has 14 years of swimming experience. She swam for Naperville North High School and the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse where she held honors as MVP, team captain, and record holder. Her coaching experience includes 4 years in the Naperville Park District Swim Conference, 4 summers as assistant coach for the Oakhurst Swim Team, and 2 summers as head coach for Oakhurst North Swim Team. This is Kelle’s third season with the Maverick Swim Club. Outside of the pool Kelle is a physical education teacher at Granger middle school in district 204. She also coaches track and enjoys competing in triathlons.

Jim Lullo, C1 Assistant Coach/Senior Assistant Coach
Jim began swimming competitively at the age of 4. He swam in the Naperville Park District, for the Maverick Swim Club, and for Naperville Central. Jim competed in the state finals and was part of the 2002 state championship team. He swam for 4 years at Ball State University and majored in Elementary Education. Jim teaches 2nd grade at Steeple Run School in District 203.

Lauren Carpenter, C3 Assistant Coach
Lauren started swimming with the Maverick Swim Club when it began in 1994 when she was in 5th grade. She continued swimming with the club through high school. Lauren was a 4-year varsity swimmer at Naperville North High School. Her favorite and best event was the 200 butterfly. She graduated from Naperville North in 2002. Lauren earned a bachelor's degree in Speech Communication and History at Augustana College. She started coaching for the Maverick Swim Club in the fall of 2006.

Marsha Helm, PC Assistant Coach
Marsha has been either swimming competitively or coaching for 26 years. Marsha swam her age-group and high school years in Newcastle, Wyoming and went undefeated at the state championship meet for 4 years. Marsha started her college swimming career at the University of Iowa. After two uneventful years, Marsha transferred to Colorado State University where she became an NCAA Division I All-American through her swims on Colorado State’s 200 Medley and 400 Medley relays. Marsha began coaching in college as an assistant coach for Colorado State University’s summer swim camps. She has been head coach for two park district swim teams - Heritage Village Swim Team (Littleton, CO), and Hobson West Swim Team (Naperville, IL). Marsha has been coaching with the Maverick Swim Club for 10 years. As a Maverick coach, Marsha has worked with every age group and swimmers at all skill levels from novice 8 & unders to college-aged competitive swimmers. Marsha, her husband Doug, and their two daughters live in Naperville, IL.

Karen Snyder, C1 Assistant Coach
Karen grew up in Naperville and started swimming competitively in the summers when she was 5 years old. At the age of 8, she joined the Naperville YMCA Swim Team for winter swimming. In high school, Karen swam for Naperville Central and placed top 4 at State in the 100 breaststroke all 4 years. She went on to swim 4 years at the University of Michigan. Karen was an assistant coach at Centennial Beach for 3 summers and head coach for 1 summer. She also spent a summer as the head coach at Sea Lion Aquatic Park in Lisle. This is her second year coaching the Maverick Swim Club. Karen has earned a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University. She lives inNaperville with her husband and 3 children.

Kurt Johns, C1 Assistant Coach/ Long Course Assistant Coach
Kurt began swimming competitively when he was 8 years old for Lyons Swim Club.  He was a team captain and 3 year state qualifier while attending Lyons Township High School.  Kurt continued to swim for the next 4 years at Eastern Illinois University where he was a team captain and a school record holder.  Kurt began coaching in the summers as head coach of Village Field Club in LaGrange Park where he spent the four summers during college.  After his college eligibility was up, he was an assistant coach at EIU for 1 year before getting a job teaching and coaching at Naperville North High School.  For the past 7 years Kurt has been the head coach for water polo and swimming at NNHS as well as a PE teacher.   During this time he has coached on and off for Maverick Swim Club.

Nora Schroedter, C2 Assistant Coach
Nora swam for Centennial Beach, Cress Creek and Naper Carriage Hill in the Naperville Park District Swim Conference. She also swam for the Naperville YMCA, Naperville North High School and North Central College. During high school and college, Nora coached at Naper Carriage Hill and Centennial Beach. After college she coached for the Lyons Swim Club, the Downers Grove Area Swim Team and the College of DuPage before starting the Maverick Swim Club along with Mark Townsend and Sue Hubbard. She currently is Vice President of Swimming Pool Management Systems, Pool Guards Inc. and DuPage Swimming Center. Her children Riley and Jack are members of the Maverick Swim club

Bill Lavery, C2 Assistant Coach
Bill began swimming for the Hornet Swim Club at the age of 7 and competed until he was 14. He is currently coaching his seventh year with the Maverick Swim Club. Bill also coached for the Lockport Homer Swim Club for one year. He is also affectionately known as “Coach Sir”.

Liz Dillmann, C2 Assistant Coach
Liz started swimming at age 9 in Sydney, Australia, where she held national age group and open records and competed internationally. She continued to swim at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where she also earned her Masters degree in Exercise Physiology and taught competitive swimming and learn to swim classes, weight training and nutrition. Liz currently competes in U.S. Masters Swimming, a National Champion in pool and Open Water events. She has 4 children that swim and has been a Maverick parent since 2003, and an assitant coach since 2008 .

Brian O’Dowd, C2/C3 Assistant Coach
Brian began swimming competitively when he was 4 years old.  He swam for Maplebrook I, the Naperville YMCA, the Maverick Swim Club, Naperville Central High School, and the Iowa Master’s swim team.  Brian coached in the Naperville Park District for 10 years for White Eagle and Maplebrook I.  He coached for the Iowa City Eels Swim Club for 3 years where he was an All-Star coach for the state of Iowa 2 times.  Since 2003, Brian has coached with Maverick Swim Club and as a volunteer swim coach for NCHS Boy’s swim team.  Brian earned his Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University (’06) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Iowa (’03).  Since 2003, he has been teaching 5^th grade at Ranch View Elementary School in District 203 where he also coaches a 5^th grade Running Club.  Brian and his wife, Jenny, currently reside in Aurora.

Mike Rigali, C3/Genesis/Long Course Assistant Coach
Mike is a former Maverick swimmer who joined the club in 1994 when I was 13 years old.  He graduated from Naperville Central High School in 2000 where he was an All-American his Junior and Senior year and from Michigan State University in 2004, where he was team captain his final year.  He earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice from MSU and earned his Masters in Arts of Teaching through Aurora University in December of 2008  He is now an eighth grade math and history teacher at Scullen Middle School in District 204.  He will be entering his fifth season as head coach of the Benet Academy Boy’s swim team.

Noor Shammas, C3 Assistant Coach
Noor has been involved with the sport of swimming for many years. She swam in the summer for the Farmstead Swim Team from the age of 9 until she graduated from high school, Maverick Swim Club for four years, Naperville Central High School swim team and water polo team for four years, where she was captain of the swim team her senior year. Noor was an assistant coach at Farmstead for 5 years, and has been their head coach for the past three summers.  She is currently coaching her third year with the Mavericks.  Noor teaches fourth grade at Lakewood Creek Elementary School in Oswego School District #308 and is currently working towards her Masters Degree in Instructional Technology.  

Mark Schmitt, Senior Assistant Coach
Mark swam competitively from age 8 to 22 with the Naperville Racquet Club, Naperville North High School, The University of Iowa, and North Central College, all while swimming Mavericks swim club every summer from ages 12-22.  Along with graduating with a B.A. in Psychology, Mark placed 2nd at Division III NCAA Championships in the 100 backstroke, and won the National Championship in the 200 backstroke.  Mark's greatest swimming achievement was breaking Maverick Head Coach Mark Townsend's records in the 100 and 200 backstroke.  This is his second year coaching the senior group.

Jay Hines, Senior Assistant Coach
Jay started as a summer swimmer at age 8 and swam competitively for Burkwood Swim Club of Mechanicsville VA, Hobson West of the Naperville Park District, the Naperville YMCA, Naperville Central High School, and Bradley University. Jay’s coaching experience includes 1 year as the Bradley Bourbonais Head Coach, 1 year as a NCHS Volunteer Coach, and ten years as a Maverick Swim Club Coach. Jay earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Bradley and is a partner in Thruput Inc. and GreenCells Inc. away from the pool. He resides in Aurora with his Core One coach Missy, and their two sons, Jamey and Justin.

Chris Saxtan
Chris Saxtan is a former Maverick Swimmer, starting at the age of 13 in 1994. He swam competitively for 14 years starting at his neighborhood pool, Maplebrook 1, at the age of 5. Chris coached Maplebrook 1 for 3 years while in high school as well as being one of the co-captains of the Naperville Central Boys Swim Team his senior year in 2000. He earned a Bachelor’s in Marketing at the University of Missouri in 2004 and is excited to be coaching the Mavericks Team for the first time.

Erin Albright
Erin Albright began swimming at 7 years old on the Maplebrook II Blue Dolphins, a member of the Naperville Park District. She began swimming year round in 2000 with the Naperville YMCA and then with B.R. Ryall and the Wheaton Swim Club. She began her coaching experience in 2006, coaching 2 years with Wheaton Swim Club and 1 summer with Stonebridge Country Club. She also works at Kiefer Swim Shop and is a sophomore at Trinity Christian College studying math.

Jen Schafman
Jen Schafman began swimming with the Hobson West Waves through the Naperville Park District at the age of 5. She just completed her second year of coaching with Hobson West. Jen is a senior this year at Naperville Central High School with plans to pursue a bilingual Elementary Education degree in the future. In addition to swimming with Hobson West, Jen has swam with Riptides, NCHS and Maverick Swim Club.

Kelly Foster
Kelly just graduated from the University of Illinois earning a BS in Math and has her Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education. She started swimming at the age of 5, swimming on summer league swim teams for twelve years. She swam for Rockwood Swim Club out of Chesterfield, MO, as well as Marquette High School. Kelly has taught private swim lessons and group swim lessons over the past five years. This is Kelly’s first year with the Maverick Swim Club.

Megan Mau
Megan swam competitively from the age of 5 to 17, mainly for the Cress Creek Country Club in the summer and the Mavericks in the winter. She spent the last 9 summers coaching for Cress Creek. Megan attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she graduated with an Elementary Education degree. During her final two years at school, she coached the local YMCA club team, the Champaign Aquachiefs/Heat. This will be her second season coaching for the Mavericks. Away from the pool, Megan will be subbing in District 203 - so don't be surprised if you see her at your school!

Stephanie McHale
Stephanie began swimming competitively at the age of 9. She competed for the Naperville YMCA, Pine Crest Swim Club in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Hobson West Swim Club, Waubonsie Valley High School and Purdue University. She was a high school All-American and ranked within the top 10 for 100 backstroke and 200 IM. While at Purdue, she earned a Bachelor Degree in Health and Kinesiology and became a certified Personal Trainer, specializing in endurance and strength training. Stephanie coached one of the first Maverick senior teams in the summer of 1994 and coached one summer with the Hobson West swim team. Stephanie lives in Naperville, with her husband Geoff and their 2 kids.

Lenny DePasquale
Coach D has spent most of his life around the water. Growing up swimming for both an age group program in Norridge and for a USS Chicago Park District program, he made waves leading him to swim in high school. His coaching interest developed as he took over the leadership of the age group swim team several years ago and he refined the program focusing on teamwork, hard-work, and dedication which is currently thriving, as it has nearly doubled in size. Coach D coached the boys swim team at Neuqua Valley when they took 1st and 2nd place at the State Championship meet and currently teaches English and is the Head Girls Swim and Water Polo Coach at Metea Valley High School.