With over 30 years of coaching experience, Ken has opportunity to coach at all levels on both coasts at teams both large and small.  In the last 9 Seattle Metropolitan Aquatics has grown from a small team based in the Central Area of Seattle to Nationally recognized, premier swim club in the Pacific Northwest.  Ken is committed to making SMAC a model club in the country by making swimming accessible to all in our local communities, while at the same time providing our athletes a coaching staff and operational structure that encourages athletes to take their swimming career as far as they are willing to go.   

His swimmers that have gone on to compete at all levels of national competition, collegiate swimming and Olympic Trials.  Ken’s previous coaching experience includes extended periods with Columbia Aquatics Association and King Aquatics. 

Ken, and his wife Melissa, have lived in the Seattle Area since 2004 and have 3 children who all swim with the team.

• 50+  Junior/National Qualifiers
• 3x PNS AG coach of the year
• 4 National AG record holders
• 20+ Athletes selected to USA swimming select Camps (Zone, Diversity, etc.)
• 100+ top 16/100 time on USA swimming all-time list

Ken also serves at the Senior Vice Chair on the PNS board and the president of the Greater Seattle Swim Association.

Derek Young is in his 16^TH season of full time coaching.

His attachment to swimming started in the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL) as a six-year-old who wasn’t quite sure how relays worked. Carried to initial success in the sport by three amazing relay teammates, who consistently overcame the large deficits he provided, Derek decided the sport wasn’t the worst use of his time and spent 10 years, spread between the Arlington Aquatic Club and Alexandria Y Flying Fish, as a club swimmer in Northern Virginia and 4 years as a member of the University of Maryland swim team before officially entering the world of swammer in the spring of 2000.

A substitute high school teaching job at Langley High School brought him back onto the pool deck where he’s worked for the Arlington Aquatic Club, where he coached a young wetsuit wearing Torri Huske, Nations Capital Swim Club, and Sandhills Sandsharks, before relocating to the Pacific Northwest in the spring of 2018.

Since arriving at SMAC, Derek has had the opportunity to work with swimmers of all ages and ability levels, served as the Head Coach for the Pacific Northwest Zone Team twice, been invited to be part of the USA Swimming National Select Camp staff in 2020 (girls) and 2025 (boys), qualified an athlete to the National Junior Team, and never finished last in the coaches’ fantasy football league.

He currently resides in West Seatle with his wife, Jessie, daughter, Fred, dog, Barley, and wide collection of incredible irritating “dad jokes.”

Truly it is a life well lived.

Josh has been involved in competitive swimming for more than fifteen years. He started when he was 6 years old with the Twin Lakes Swim Team. He went on to swim with King Aquatic Club for 7 years, and at Stadium High School for 2 years. During his swimming career, Josh was able to win 2 High School State Championships and break 2 National Age Group Records. After high school, he went on to swim and serve as club president with Central Washington University’s Swim Club. Josh started coaching in 2017 at Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club, where he coached all ages for 3 seasons.

Outside of swimming, Josh enjoys hiking and running, though he still tries to swim as much as he can. He is currently working on his degree in engineering at the University of Washington.

Laura has been actively involved in swimming most of her life. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and swam competitively for the JCC Sailfish through high school. She also swam as an undergrad for Penn State. Laura has a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. Ever since she was old enough to join, Laura has been active in masters swimming and she frequently can be found swimming in the pool at Mercerwood Shore Club, in Lake Washington, or in the Puget Sound at Alki beach. She is the mom of 3, all of whom swam collegiality. Laura lives in Bellevue with her husband Andy, 2 dogs, a cat and whichever of her kids who happens to be home.

Since moving to the Northwest, Laura has participated in swimming as a lifeguard, swim instructor and coach. She has taught lessons for King Aquatic Club, coached at OCA for 10 years and spent the past 2 years coaching with Columbia Athletic Club at Pine Lake. Her focus has been with novice and developmental swimmers. Laura’s philosophy is steady improvements are made through improving technical skills, correct body positioning and developing confidence all while having fun in the process!

Adam Martinez comes from Tacoma Washington and has over 35 years of swimming and coaching experience.  The past 3 years and was the head coach for North Tampa Aquatics, as well as the Director of Aquatics for the Club at Cheval. Before coming to Tampa, he was the Senior Coach with Rochester Swim Club for 4 years. Prior to that Adam was the Head Coach for Albany Starfish, as well as the Head Coach of Tacoma
Swim Club for 2 years, and an assistant coach with Tacoma Swim Club the previous 5 years. Before coming to Tacoma, Adam was the Head Coach for the Washington Aquatic Killer Orcas. Adam has helped develop swimmers at all levels, ranging from Sectionals up to National qualifiers, and Olympic Trial Qualifiers, and US National Team members along with several top 16 age group rankings. Adam has also had several high school champions and state record holders.
 
Adam swam for Tacoma Swim Club, the Napa Valley Swim Team, and attended the University of Washington on a full ride athletic scholarship, he was a Five-Time All-American, and qualified for Nationals and Olympic Trials in the Individual Medley and the Butterfly.

When Adam is not on deck he spends as much time with his wife Ashley and three kids Lorelai, Jackson, and Kieren and cheering for all Seattle and Washington Husky sport teams.

Coach Bill brings a lifetime of experience and passion for swimming to SMAC after 8 years as Assistant Coach at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, where he teamed in developing 26 new all-time team records and over 200 top ten all time swims. For three years prior to that as Head Age Group Coach, he led Portland’s Mount Hood Aquatics to record Championship team placements, participation and PR’s and developed an eventual Olympic Trial qualifier.

His competitive swimming experience includes two US Olympic Trials, World Championship Trials, All-American honors at University of Washington, US Swimming Coaches Championships and a US National Team member.

He is excited to be a part of the SMAC team and to contribute his passion for adding to a goal-oriented environment where results are the biproduct of excellence in all things.

Bill and his wife Catherine are excited to be back in the Seattle area again and near their family, including their three wonderful grandkids (two are SMAC members). When he isn’t coaching, Bill enjoys swimming, biking, cycling, playing pickleball and cheering on his alma mater.

Kieran came to SMAC after a 4 year career as a varsity swimmer at Seattle U. He runs Age Group Performance at the Central/MIBC site. Kieran was a competitive swimmer for 13 years, which includes his time swimming for Seattle University. He grew up club swimming in Oregon, and was a 50, 100, 200, and 500 yard freestyler.

Keith Ure has over 30 years of coaching experience beginning in 1987 with the Kent Area Dolphins. Keith was heavily involved with the formation of King Aquatic Club, bringing the Kent Area Dolphins and Highline Swim Club together in 1996. In addition to over 30 years of club coaching experience, Keith also has 6 years Head Coach/Assistant Coach experience with Summer League Clubs (KSTC/Arbor Heights), and 9 Years as a Head High School Coach (Evergreen/Hazen).

Keith has been involved at the Pacific Northwest Swimming level serving as Head Coach of All-Star Teams and Assistant Coach of All-Star Teams on a number of occasions. Keith has also been apart of several Zone Team staffs as well.  

Keith has been recognized with a number of honors including:

• American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year (PNS) – 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012 & 2015
• American Swimming Coaches Association National Age Group Coach of the Year Top Ten Finalist – 2015

Keith has a track record of producing results with athletes credited for:

• 14 National Age Group Records
• Multiple Swimmers on the USA Swimming All-Time Top 100 List
• Over 200 National Top 16/National Top 10 Rankings

Keith currently works at Boeing as an Engineering Manager on a Defense Program. 

Sami has spent the past nine years coaching swimmers of all ages in Seattle and New York City, with stops at SMAC, AGUA, and 92YFD. Her coaching philosophy is rooted in values and technical excellence, and she has had the privilege of guiding swimmers to achieve Sectionals, Junior Olympics, PNS Champs, Age Group Regionals, Zones, and Senior Mets qualifications.

Sami grew up in Seattle, where she began swimming at eight years old, eventually achieving Senior Sectional standards in butterfly and freestyle. She was the captain of my high school team for three years, leading them to state titles and WIAA records. She took a step back from competing due to medical issues, her passion for the sport never waned, and she quickly found her calling in coaching.

These days, she lives on Mercer Island with her husband and our Bernese Mountain dog. When she is not on the pool deck, she is working at OneTeam, a sports union agency, where she manages college partnerships (hello NIL!).

Brian started his swimming career on a local summer league team before continuing onto swim at Kentwood High School and for VAST, where he broke a few high school and club records.  He swam collegiately for the University of Redlands where and was a multi-time all-SCIAC honoree. 

On the other side of the pool deck, Brian brings years of experience coaching at the summer league and high school level. Brian works primarily with the Catfish and Stroke Development groups out of Kent.

Coach Mariko, or “Mari,” grew up in the Kent area, where her lifelong love of swimming began. During high school, Mari began teaching swim lessons, sparking a passion for helping others learn and grow in the water. That early experience laid the foundation for her coaching career. Over the past three years, she has coached club swimming and remains actively involved in summer league coaching as well.

She is in her senior year at the University of Washington Tacoma, pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. She strives to bring the same enthusiasm, patience, and love of learning from the classroom into the pool, fostering a positive and encouraging environment for swimmers of all ages and abilities.

Ananya began coaching in 2018 in San Diego and has loved working with swimmers of all ages and abilities ever since. With a lifelong background in competitive swimming, she’s passionate about helping athletes build confidence, improve technique, and develop a genuine love for the sport.

Over the years she’s coached a wide range of age group swimmers and has been selected to coach on the PN Age Group Zone Team and the PN All-Stars Team. She’s committed to creating an environment where athletes can work hard, have fun, and grow both in and out of the pool.

Outside of coaching, Ananya works as a UX designer, enjoys hiking and snowboarding, and loves spending time with her dog, Benny.

Elayne Chen is a Division I swimmer at Vanderbilt University and a member of the SEC Conference. As a freshman, she was one of Vanderbilt’s top performers in the freestyle events, ranking among the team’s fastest swimmers in the 200 and 500 freestyle. Prior to Vanderbilt, she helped Tahoma High School win the State Championship Title her freshman season, and later on she earned 3 individual state titles. 

Since 2022, Elayne has taught private swim lessons to swimmers of all ages and abilities, from beginners learning water safety to competitive swimmers refining technique and race skills. She is passionate about helping athletes build confidence, develop strong fundamentals, and enjoy the sport of swimming.

At Vanderbilt, Elayne studies Medicine, Health, and Society and Child Development. Her academic interests focus on supporting children’s growth, health, and overall well-being.

Outside of swimming and academics, Elayne enjoys hiking, exploring local cafés, and playing her cello in her free time!

Daniel grew up swimming in Tennessee when he was 10 years old and since then, he has kept swimming as a core part of his life. He swam at Harvard from 2016-2020, setting a team record in the 200 Medley Relay and being part of a Top 8 NCAA team finish at the 2019 NCAAs. After graduating and moving out to Seattle, he finished his career on a high note with SMAC competing at the 2021 Olympic Trials. After training with such an incredible team of swimmers, he moved into the other side of practices as a coach. 

Olivia is a fourth year college student at the University of Washington. She swam two years at Whitman College prior to transferring to UW. Before that she swam for SMAC in Senior Performance. She is excited to coach for SMAC and inspire others with her love of the sport. Olivia spends her free time hiking, exploring caves, and all things outdoors. 

Warren Briggs is a SMAC alumnus, who swam collegiately at Indiana University, competing on three Big 10 championship winning teams. His events were the 1650, 500, and 200 freestyle. He currently owns multiple Washington State and collegiate records, as well as 12 of the top SMAC times. He has coached club swim lessons and camps through Indiana University Swim Club, as well as consulted for private lessons in competitive stroke development.  

Warren has returned to Seattle after completing a bachelor’s in computer science, and he is excited for the opportunity to coach and help develop SMAC swimmers! 

Laurae got involved with competitive swimming through her three children. Warren, Olivia, and Eleanor started swimming with a summer league team and that quickly grew into club swimming. All of her children have participated in college athletics - Warren at Indiana University, Olivia at Whitman College, and Eleanor with Colorado State University. In her free time Laurae enjoys spending time with her family - camping, hiking, and walking on the beach at the family cabin. Oh, and hanging out with her dogs - Winnie and Penny!