LESD COACHING STAFF

JERRY HOLTREY, HEAD COACH: The team's head coach since 1968; Coach Holtrey has enjoyed remarkable success with Hawken School and the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins. A protégé of some of the finest coaches in American swimming history, including Dr. James Councilman of Indiana University, Coach Holtrey has been recognized for his outstanding coaching on the local, state, and national level. Holtrey’s USA Team, LESD, has been recognized as one of the top 16 clubs in the country in 2003 earning a Gold Status designation from USA Swimming. His Hawken High School teams have won seventeen State Championships, and 6 in a row Division II, while his LESD ladies’ teams have won many of the USA Sectional Meets. He has spoken numerous times on the training of distance swimmers at national conferences and at the Olympic Training Center and recently at an Allegheny Mountain LSC clinic. An assistant coach on the USA team at the 1998 and 2002 Pan Pacific championships in Japan and the head coach of the US National Junior team in Spain in 2000. The high points of his career came when he coached Diana Munz to a Silver medal in the 400 free and a gold medal on the 800 free relay at the 2000 Olympics in Australia, again at the 2002 Pan Pacs games in Japan where Diana won gold in the 400, 800, 1500 free and the 800 free relay, and at the 2004 Olympics where Diana won the Bronze in the 800 free in Athens.

RICK STACY, Age Group Coach: Coach Stacy provides the transition between the novice groups and the more demanding training required at senior level swimming. Coach Stacy provides a strong endurance base for his younger swimmers and emphasizes proficiency in all four strokes. Several times selected as age group coach of the year and head coach of the southern zone

Distance camp in 1999, Stacy has been a presenter on age group training at the American Swim Coaches Clinic, the USA Coaches College, the National Age Group Forums and Sports Science Forum held at the Olympic Training Center. His LESD age groupers have achieved numerous National Age Group Top 16 awards and several national records and have enjoyed remarkable longevity in the sport. Coach Rick spoke at the ASCA Age Group Coaches Clinic in Los Angeles in November 2003 and the 2004 Allegheny Mountain LSC clinic.

PAUL WAGNER, Red Group Coach: Coach Paul creates the basic foundation for his swimmers to carry throughout their careers. Now enjoying his 25th consecutive year of swim coaching, Coach Paul brings to his protégés a background from summer country club, AAU, YMCA, USS, USA, high school, and Division III college swimming. In his years in the Cleveland area, he has been Zone coach six times and Head Ohio Quad Team coach twice. In the years of running the LESD Red group, his program boasts better than a 90% retention rate for each season. Finally, in the five years that the younger LESD swimmers have attended the Barbara K. Minimeet in Columbus, Ohio (a meet that attracts the best 8 & Under swimmers in about a 130 mile radius), his team has finished in first place five times and second place only once.

RICK BALCAM, Mayfield branch: Coach Balcam joined the coaching staff of LESD in 1999, and being a past Dolphin swimmer himself, he was quite familiar with the program. Rick swam competitively for twelve years from an age grouper through college. He has coached for 19 years at various levels from country club, summer leagues to high school. His high school teams have won two consecutive sectional titles. In the past seven years he has also qualified swimmers for the state championship meet five of his seven years as a head high school coach. His coaching philosophy includes a desire that every swimmer become proficient in all four strokes. He then believes in adding yardage and stressing mechanics in every workout. His goals are for every swimmer is to enjoy swimming, have a positive experience and to learn self discipline. This he believes will carry over to everyday life situations. Rick Balcam currently teaches World History at the Memorial Junior High School in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School system where he also serves as a team facilitator. Rick spends his summer as pool director for the Chagrin Falls Recreation Department where he runs the “learn to swim program” and supervises the lifeguards.

TIM HABLE, Silver Group Coach: Tim coaches the Silver Group which is the final preparation before senior swimming. Tim started swimming for the Silver Dolphins in 1965 and began coaching in 1977 and has been doing so intermittently ever since. Tim also swam for Hawken School and later at Dartmouth College.

LINDSEY MEIER, Blue Group Coach: Coach Lindsey has been part of the Silver Dolphins since she was five-years-old, first as a swimmer and now as a coach. She has been coaching since 2005 and working with the Blue Group and Hawken, her alma mater. The Blue Group focuses on both technique and endurance while creating a competitive and fun atmosphere in the pool. Coach Lindsey believes that swimming is a wonderful opportunity for children where they can learn important values such as hard work, setting and achieving goals, and making lifelong friends along the way. She loves working with this age group because the swimmers are full of energy, determination and promise.

BILL BARE, CVAC Coach: Coach Bill grew up in Chagrin, swimming at the Chagrin Rec Center when he was 7 years old. He first trained with Mark Braun and joined LESD around the age of 12. Bill went to Hawken High School and swam for Jerry Holtrey. He was a State qualifier in individual and relay events his sophomore through senior years. He qualified for Junior Nationals several times as an individual and relay swimmer. Bill attended DePauw University where he swam all 4 years.  His major was Biological Sciences. He qualified for DIII nationals his sophomore and senior year in both individual and relay events and held some school records. An All American/ honorable mention several times.

Coach Bare has been married since 2000 to Jeremy Neal who he met through age group swimming when he was 7 or 8.  Jeremy swam for Lakewood Swim Club and Lakewood High.  The Peg Neal Pentathlon Swim Meet is named in memory of her mother. He has 2 daughters, Sydney and Libby, who are both trying out swimming for LESD.

Coach Bill works for Liquid Plastics as a sales rep., manufacturing roofing and waterproofing materials for commercial applications. He previously coached for Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta prior to moving back to Ohio.

LINN GROSSMAN, White Group Coach: