2007 Ohio Zone Team Coaches

Coach George

George Leatherman - Head Coach geoswimcat@yahoo.com Club Affiliation: GCST Years Coaching: 10

George started coaching in Columbus, OH, with a summer league team for the City of Columbus. In 1999, he was hired as an assistant coach with New Albany Swim Club. At NASC, he coached many AA, Zone, and Top 16 qualifiers. Also several Age Group State Champions. From 2004 to 2007, he was the Head Coach for the Findlay Area Swim Team and is currently an assistant coach for the Greater Columbus Swim Team. George has been a coach of many Ohio Teams in the past. George swam for Findlay Area Swim Team under Rock Snow as an age group swimmer. George was a 3-time state qualifier in high school.  After high school, George swam for the University of Kentucky, then the University of Findlay where he also wrote practices and played water polo.

Coach Chris

Chris Pierson cpierson@sev.org Club Affiliation: GTAC Years Coaching: 5

Chris first coached on a summer league team in Toledo for 8 years (head coach for 3 years), growing the team size by 140%.  Since coaching GTAC, he has coached swimmers from 5 years old learning to float for the first time to 11-12 Age Group T-16 qualifiers.  Chris enjoy working primarily with kids in this age group. This is Chris's second trip with the Ohio Zone team. He has also been a coach for the Ohio Quad team once, and a coordinator for the Ohio Quad Team once.  Chris is the Club Development liaison for Ohio Swimming, as well as the current webmaster for Ohio Swimming.  Chris really loves coaching the Ohio All-Star teams, and prides himself on the fact that he has always been able to learn (and remember) the name of all the kids in his groups by the end of the first day.

Coach Susan

Susan Tonjes CoachSuze@columbus.rr.com Club Affiliation: GCST Years Coaching: 8

Coach Susan is finishing her 8th season of coaching with Greater Columbus primarily with athletes in the 10 & under and 11-12 year old age groups.  She swam with Head Coach Steve Nye at GCST more than 20 years ago, as Steve puts it 'one of his original bunch'.  As a swimmer she was primarily a freesylist, both sprint and long distance, and breastroker.  When Coach Susan's oldest daughter developed an interest in the sport, Susan brought her to Greater Columbus.  During her second season, she volunteered to help out with a couple of the groups, feel in love with coaching, and she has been doing so year round ever since.  Recently she returned to Ohio state University to pursue Licensure for middle childhood education, as well as coursework in athletic training & coaching.  Coach Susan has no time for hobbies, unless you include chauffeuring a teen (Ashlee) or chasing after her daughter (Arden) at meets.

Coach Laurie

Laurie Karr laurie@buckeyeswimclub.com Club Affiliation: BKHY Years Coaching: 20

Laurie Karr is the Head Coach of Buckeye Swim Club/Hilliker YMCA.  With over 20 years of coaching , Laurie’s experience runs from teaching novice swimmers, developing age groupers into national Top 16 swimmers, coaching high school state qualifiers to Junior National Qualifiers.  She’s coached state age group champions, zone champions and senior meet champions.  She has previously coached on 4 zone teams.

Coach Lee

Lee Whitson lwhitson@cincy-marlins.com Club Affiliation: CM Years Coaching: 5

Bio: Lee comes to the Marlins after a successful swimming & coaching career with the Washington Township Sharks. Lee was coach of the Leopard group (8-12 years of age) for the three straight seasons while also assisting Coach Mark Davis with the senior group. During Lee's 4 seasons as a coach, he has coached multiple AA Champions, 11 Top 16 qualifying time standards, and won the combined 9-10 boys team high point championship three times. Lee was a 4 time member of the Ohio Zone team. He began swimming with the Sharks at age 10, and is very familiar with Ohio Swimming LSC events and the Zone Teams' rich tradition within USA swimming. Lee swam at Centerville High School and Bowling Green State University. He is currently working on a degree in Physical Education and would like to teach at the High School level. Lee brings a very positive attitude to his coaching and likes to create a fun environment for his swimmers while also developing a strong understanding of stroke fundamentals.

Coach John

John Matzen aquadelmar45@yahoo.com Club Affiliation: DR Years Coaching: 11

Coach John Matzen, a former All-American High School swimmer, joined the Raider staff in the fall of 2004.  John is coming off a successful Wright State University career where he was a part Horizon League Champion teams and record-setting relays is a sprint freestyler.  John is also a member of 200 & 400 Free Relay school & WSU Pool records.  John was a transfer from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in his Junior year.  At UNI, John was the most improved freshman and won MVP honors as a sophomore.  As an age group swimmer, John broke the YMCA state record in the 50 Back. Coach John's coaching resume is filled with experience.Coming off two summers as a coach for the Wayne Wahoos Swim Club in Huber Heights (OH), John also coached at the University Texas Swim Camp, the Meadow Dolphins in Orinda (CA), and club swimming for 3 years. John also coached the Chaminade Julienne Falcons H.S. Swim Team in 2004-2005. Coach John graduated from Wright State University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and is teaching in the Dayton area. John is the primary coach for the Red, White, and Mini groups, and assists with all other groups.

Coach Brent

Brent Peaden - Coordinator Coach bpeaden@woh.rr.com Club Affiliation: DR Years Coaching: 18

Bio:  Brent Peaden became the Dayton Raiders Head Age Group Coach in September 1999 after three years as the Raiders Senior Assistant. From 1989-1996, Brent was the Head Age Group Coach for the Wright-Patterson Flying Fish at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Brent began his swimming career in San Pedro (CA) and later in the European Forces League in Madrid, Spain. Brent has coached National Junior Qualifiers, National Age Group Top 16 swimmers, state record holders, Zone Qualifiers and record holders, and Ohio Junior Olympic State Champions. Brent has coached swimmers to more than 100 National "Top 16" rankings and 30 National "Top 3" rankings. Brent was awarded Ohio Age Group Coach of the Year in 1999 by the Ohio Coaches Association.  His Dayton Raider Age Group program won the Ohio "Junior Olympic" State Championships in 2004, 2006, and 2007 - a first-ever achievement for a non-Cincinnati program since the meet's inception in the 1960's.  Coach Brent and his wife, Ann, had their first child Connor just 3 days after the conclusion of the 2003 "Mega" Zone meet in Indianapolis - which makes him real accurate with a stopwatch.  Brent's hobbies are shore and off-shore fishing in the gulf - his favorite is chasing the "Big Reds"!

Additional Coaches nonTT: JR Leahy, Ann Brewer, Todd Saltus
Parent Chaperones TT: Greg Fullington, Polly Mayhew, Jeanne Smith
Parent Chaperones nonTT: Denise Rabold