Meet the 2010/2011 Seals Coaching Staff

Head Coach/Senior Group Coach - Ian Grunewald



Biography: 
Ian is extremely pleased to be working with the St. James Seals again this year, particularly in the capacity of Head Coach. This is Ian’s 16th year of coaching in Manitoba & his 5th year coaching for the St. James Seals. Before becoming the Head Coach of St. James Seals Ian was the Junior Coach for the Seals & worked for several swim clubs in Manitoba. Ian has been the recipient of the Swim Manitoba Grassroots Coach of the Year for 2002 & 2004. Additionally, Ian was Global TV coach of the month in June 2005. Ian has coached several swimmers who have broken provincial records (14 in total), & has coached numerous provincial champions and medalist at age group nationals. Ian is certified NCCP skills Coach & Course Conductor, and is currently pursuing a higher classification in his coaching certification. Lastly Ian served as the Team Manager for Team Manitoba at the Canada Games 2005. Ian has a great deal of determination and drive & brings it to every practice. He is a well respected member of the coaching community & currently sits on the executive of the Swim Manitoba Coaches Association.

Interesting facts:
Ian holds two degree's, one being a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Brandon.  Ian also works at Elmwood High School where he is an English, and Social Studies teacher.

Assistant Head Coach/Junior 2 Coach: Rhiannon Leier Blacher



Biography:
This is Rhiannon’s third year coaching with the St. James Seals & she is delighted to be the Junior 2 Coach. Rhiannon has worked as a coach for the Assiniboine Masters and the Manitoba Masters Swim Clubs. Rhiannon is an accomplished swimmer as she was member of the Canadian National Swimming Team for four years. From 2000 to 2004 she represented Canada at many international competitions including the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Some of Rhiannon’s major accomplishments include 13 national titles, 19 international medals, being named the 2004 Canadian Female Swimmer of the Year and being nominated for the 2001 and 2004 Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year Award.

Interesting facts:
Rhiannon holds two degree’s one being a Bachelor of Health Science from the University of Miami (FL) and Creative Communications from Red River College. She currently works as an Account Manager for Fusion Communications and lives in Winnipeg with her husband, son and daughter.

Junior 1 Coach: Emma Richardson:



Biography:
Emma Richardson spent 12 years swimming with the St. James Seals, from the time she was 6 years old to 18 years of age. Emma started in the Pups Program and worked her way up to the Senior Group; she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of her swimming “career” with the Seals. This is Emma’s fifth year coaching with the Seals and she is delighted to be working with the Junior 1 Group this year. In addition to working for the St. James Seals she also works for the City of Winnipeg as an Instructor/Guard. In order to work as an Instructor/Guard you have to have many qualifications such as the National Lifesaving Service Award, Lifesaving Instructor, Water Safety Instructor, First Aid and CPR Level C, and Aquatic Emergency Response Training. Emma has all of these qualifications as well as her NCCP Skills Coach.  Emma graduated from the University of Manitoba in June 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Political Studies and a minor in history.

Pups Coach - Brett Goldhawk



Biography:

Pups Coach - Adara Germinder



Biography:
Adara enjoyed coaching the pups program last year and can’t wait to start up with a new year. Adara loves the water and the St. James Seals swim team. She swam for 9 years with the St. James Seals and is going onto her second year of coaching for the team Adara is very excited to pass on her knowledge of the sport and teach her little tricks to help her pups get stronger. She is very excited to work with the Mini Pups who are our building blocks of the future swim team and hopes that she can pass on her love for the sport onto her pups, (mini, 1, & 2). No matter what the age, Adara can’t wait to see what they all can do and how she can help them improve. While coaching, Adara is attending the University of Manitoba (2nd year) and is enrolled in Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, History, Computer Science and Statistics. She plans on continuing her education in Genetics and receive a minor in math. She hopes to see everyone around the pool deck from last year and get to know the new members while helping them feel part of the team. See you around!

Mini Pups Coach - Karleigh Gallaher



Biography:
Nineteen-year-old Karleigh Gallaher is one of the coaches for the pups group.  She swam competitively with the St. James Seals for 10 years and during that time set a number of club records.  She spent most of last year traveling and working in Australia and is happy to be back coaching the Mini-Pups this year. 2008 was her first year coaching the "mini's" and it was a great experience. She's excited to meet all her new swimmers and can't wait for the swim season to start.  She looks forward to all the great experiences and wonderful kids she will meet this year.