Coaches



Head Coach Paul Mazzarelle

Paul Mazzarelle joined SASO in November 2010 and brings more than 21 years of competitive swim coaching experience to SASO. Paul started coaching in 1991 with North Coast Swim Club in Arcata, California while earning a Bachelor of Sciencedegree in biology at Humboldt State University. After graduation, Paul worked as an age group coach in San Diego, California and simultaneously coached high school JV and Varsity swimming and water polo for three years. In 1998 Paul returned to Arcata as the Head Coach of Humboldt Swim Club. Paul produced three young Junior National qualifiers in just two years (swimmers aged 14, 15, and 16), gaining recognition in the area and preparing the local swimmers for collegiate swimming. Paul also coached for Pacific Swimming at Western Zones and was selected by Pacific Swimming to attend the National Age Group Coaches Conference at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. The clinic was moderated by USA Swimming’s Bill Boomer, who revolutionized stroke technique with a scientific whole-body approach to teaching and training competitive swimmers. Paul continues to carry these concepts with him to his daily practices. Paul was also an Associate Professor teaching swimming classes at College of the Redwoods between his morning and afternoon club coaching duties.


Always seeking education and mentorship, Paul spent two summers as a coach with the Stanford National Swim Camp,which reinforced the stroke technique and training philosophies of Bill Boomer/Stanford University and Olympic Coaches Richard Quick and Skip Kenney, 6- and 3-time Olympic Coaches respectively.

Between 2000 and 2005 he joined the coaching staff at the world famous Mission Viejo Nadadores in Mission Viejo,California. During his time in Mission Viejo, Paul was the 13-14 age group Division Director overseeing a number of assistant coaches and was personally responsible for coaching the club's elite 13- and 14-year-old swimmers. With well over 750-year-round team members, Paul was responsible for almost 150 swimmers in the 13-14 agegroup. Paul developed multipleindividual and relay NRT (Top 16) swimmers in the 13-14 age group (swimmers earning an NRT time are in the top 1 percent of American age group swimmers). In addition to his coaching responsibilities in the 13-14 age group, Paul assisted with daily National Team practices under the tutelage of Olympic Coach Bill Rose. Paul was fortunate enough to be a member of the Nadadores staff during two Olympic cycles, in which Coach Rose placed Chad Carvin (200 freestyle) on the 2000 Olympic Team and Larsen Jensen (silver medalist and American Record holder in the 1500 freestyle) on the 2004 Olympic Team. The Mission Viejo Nadadores have successfully placed at least one athlete on every U.S. Olympic Team from 1976 to the present, with Chloe Sutton keeping the streak alive by qualifying in the 400 freestyle in 2012. Paul served as a coach for numerous Southern California Swimming All Star Teams and served as Vice Chair for the Orange Section and the Program Committee.

Paul’s tenure at Mission Viejo was cut short to tend to an ailing family member and moved to San Diego after only five years with the club. In San Diego, Paul was hired as Head Age Group Coach for the ever-growing competitive Rancho San Dieguito Swim Team in Solana Beach. By the time a second pool was built, Paul’sresponsibilities increased by overseeing the program and assistant coaches as membership swelled from 120 to 250 swimmers 12 years old and younger. Paul managed the growth and helped create an age group progression from novice to elite swimmers in preparation for competitive swimming at the high school age. Paul also worked with the local governing swimming committee and was active in the San Diego-Imperial Swimming Coaches Association and Meet Program Committee.

In 2012 Paul was awarded a Masters of Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy. Paul and Coach Shannonmet while coaching together with the Mission Viejo Nadadores years ago and were married in San Diego in 2010.


 

Age Group Coach Shannon Mazzarelle

Shannon Mazzarelle comes to SASO with over five years of competitive swim coach experience and years of swimming experience. Shannon is the primary coach for the Age Group and Age Group Elite practice groups.

Shannon coached with her home team, the Mission Viejo Nadadores working with various practice groups and ages from 2000 through 2005. She was Assistant Novice Coach (swimmers 5-12 years old), Age Group Stroke Coach (swimmers 7-9 years old), Summer Satellite League Head Coach, responsible for 120 swimmers (swimmers 4-14 years old), and Assistant Master’s Coach (adult competitive swimming program). While in college Shannon coached with the competitive swim team in Flagstaff, Arizona. During her time in Arizona she coached both age group and high school aged swimmers at daily practices, organized land exercises for all team members, and attended swim meets.Shannon was also self-employed, teaching private swim lessons for toddlers, children, teens, and adults of all experience levels between coaching and swimming practices.

Shannon swam with the world-renowned Mission Viejo Nadadores in Orange County, California from age 5 through college. At age 13 she qualified for Junior Nationals in the 200 meter backstroke and the 100 meter freestyle, and became one of the youngest team members to qualify for the Nadadores National Group, coached by Olympic Coach Bill Rose. In high school, Shannon was a 12-time All-American and placed in the top three at CIF all four years.Shannon earned a full-ride scholarship to swim at NCAA Division I Northern Arizona University where she earned U.S. National Championship qualifying times, placed in the top three at Conference Championships all four years, and earned NCAA “B” cuts, all while earning scholar-athlete accolades.

Shannon’s day job is as a Technical Publications Specialist with The Shaw Group, Inc. and will complete her Master of Art in Professional Writing in May 2013.

Shannon and Coach Paul met while coaching together with the Mission Viejo Nadadores years ago and were married in San Diego in 2010.

Beginner Coach Bob Southward

Bob's name is synonimous with Northern California swimming.  He has coached in the area for over 30 years. Bob began coaching with the legendary Sherm Chavoor at Arden Hills, who coached such Olympic Champions as Debbie Meyer, Mark Burton, and Mark Spitz. Bob has coached all level of swimmers, from National to Age Group. Currently, he enjoys coaching younger swimmers from beginner to intermediate, teaching the basics of the four strokes and perfecting technique at an early age. Bob also runs Southward Swim School at his home swimming pool in the summer, which has the reputation of being the premier Swim School in Solano County. To watch Bob Coach is a lot of fun, and many of the parents stay on deck during practice just to see him in action.

 

 

Senior Assistant Ray Wieser

Ray Wieser has been coaching competitive swimming at various levels since 1985. He began coaching with SASO in early 2000 and has held the title of Head Coach, Age Group Coach, and Senior Distance Coach throughout his tenure. Presently, Ray works with the senior distance swimmers. For eight years Ray was the head coach of the Sierra Nevada Western Zone All Star Team and had the pleasure of coaching some of the area’s top swimmers, including three who went on to represent the United States in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Over the years he has assisted several of the areas high school programs and now serves as an assistant coach for perennial swimming powerhouse Jesuit High School of Sacramento.

Ray helped move the SASO program from a novice swim program into a recognized year-round competitive swim program. Ray coached SASO’s first ever Far Western Qualifier, section qualifier, and Junior National qualifier. Ray’s swimmers have been crowned high school champions, high school All-Americans, and earned NCAA Division I and Division II college swimming scholarships.

Ray is very active in the Northern California swimming community. Currently he sits on the board of director’s of Sierra Nevada Swimming and has served as a board member for SASO in the past.

As a child Ray moved to California and joined the Marin Aquatic Club, where he trained with Olympians, National qualifiers, and multiple All-Americans. With Marin, Ray qualified for three National swim meets, was named a high school All-American, and received a swimming scholarship to the University of Georgia where he swam for Olympic Coach Jack Bauerle.

Assistant Coach Sarah McLaughlin

Assistant Coach Sara McLaughlin

Sarah was a swimmer and graduate of Mt Holyoke where she specialized in the 200 and 500 freestyle evens. She is currently an AP US History teacher at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield and has been the head coach of the boys and girls swim program since its inception. In 2009-2010 Sarah's varsity girls finished lst in the SCAC regular season dual meets and championships while the varsity boys finished 2nd in the regular season and SCAC Championships.

Strength & Conditioning Coach Amy Fischer

Strength & Conditioning

Owners & operators of Your BodyWorks, Amy & Mark have developed a unique fitness environment integrating targeted exercise, nutritional counseling and multi-sport training, custom tailored for the needs of the competitive swimmer.

After more than 22 years with the biotech leader Genentech, Mark retired to pursue his passion to have a more direct impact on the health and wellness of people within his local community. Mark has had Type I diabetes for over 37 years. Mark incorporates exercise and healthy eating into his everyday lifestyle in an effort to control his blood sugar and improve his overall health—an approach which he applies to the training and health of all SASO swimmers.

Amy is a Graduate of the National Holistic Institute with her degree in Therapeutic Massage and Holistic Health Education. In addition Amy holds various certifications and accreditations including the National Academy of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, American Fitness and Aerobics Association of America, Apex Council of Fitness and Nutrition, International Strength and Conditioning Association, CEC in Sports Nutrition and Peak Performance.aduate of
  

Strength & Conditioning Coach Mark Fischer

.

.

.