SWIM COACHING STAFF
Dave Anderson - Head Coach / Director
Dave leads the Senior Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center and is the primary contact for all competitive programs.
Phone: (414) 364-0275 -> Video with Dave
Email: danderson@wsacltd.org
Anderson, 61, is in his 40th year of coaching and 30th at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. Since 1985, Anderson has coached an Olympian who represented Sudan in Paris, a Paralympian, an USA Olympic Team Triathlete, 32 Olympic Trials qualifiers, and three Olympic Trials finalists, a Junior World Championship Team Member, a Junior Pan Pacific Team Member, 16 Big Ten and Big Eight Conference Champions, five US Open Champions, 57 USA National Finalists, a USA National Champion and two USA National Championship Relays, six USA National Junior Team Members, three USA National Team Members, two Junior National Champions to six Junior National records. 2 Speedo Summer Champions, and 18 National YMCA Champions. Anderson has been a member of the USA National Team and Junior Team Coaching Staff, Head Coach of the Southern Zone Select Camp, named YMCA National Coach of the year in 1996 and again in 2007 and 2013, Coach of the Meet in 2023 & 2024 and led the Schroeder YMCA Swim Team to a National Combined Team Title in 1997, the Women's Team Championship in 1999, a Combined Team Championship in the (Covid) 2021 YMCA Swim Festival and a Men's Team Championship in 2024.
Anderson began coaching high school and club swimming in his home state of Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia area. In 1987, Dave moved to Lincoln, Nebraska as a graduate assistant with the University of Nebraska's men's team and in 1989 he was named Men's Assistant Swimming Coach at the University of Minnesota. The Gophers finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships four times and he earned his Masters degree in Education. He has served as WI Swimming's Senior Chair, the Central Zone's Coach Director, has been a member of USA Swimming's Board of Directors and has been a member of the National YMCA Coaches Committee several times.
Dave coaches high school, college and post graduate ages. A graduate of Hartwick College (NY), Dave enjoys a variety of athletic endeavors including cycling, ski marathon and ski touring. Anderson is married to Laura Petrie Anderson. They have a daughter, Grace, and he lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin.
Caleb Hernday - Age Group 1 / Junior 1 Coach
Caleb leads the Age Group 1 and Junior 1 Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: chernday@wsacltd.org
Caleb is entering his twelfth year of coaching and his seventh with Schroeder. He coaches the AG1 (11-12) and JR1 (13-14) groups at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. During his seven years, he has coached athletes to 23 state records, over 50 team records, 1 National Age Group Record, 3 athletes ranked #1 in the country and 1 Olympic Trials Qualifier.
Prior to Schroeder, Caleb coached for one year for the Tosa Swordfish and four with Lake Country Phoenix. At LAKE, he coached all age groups from the Super 8s to the Senior Platinum. He also was the assistant coach for the Arrowhead Girls for four years and the Arrowhead Boys for two years. For one year he was the Head Coach for St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy High School team.
Caleb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has lived in Wisconsin for most of his life.
Phil Davies - Age Group 2 / Age Group 1 Coach
Phil leads the Age Group Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.
Phone: (914) 384-2924
Email: pdavies@wsacltd.org
Phil is currently in his 13th year coaching and his 11th with the Schroeder Swim Team. He works primarily with AG1 and AG2 groups (9-12 year olds) at the Ramirez Aquatic Center site and also helps with the Nicolet Knights and South Milwaukee Sharks programs. He also currently coaches the St. Augustine Prep girls team and was the coach at Marquette High School for ten years. He has been a Wisconsin Zone coach three times.
Phil grew up outside New York City, swimming for the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, NY through high school. He then attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he swam for 4 years. At Madison, Phil competed in multiple Nationals, NCAA championships and the 2008 Olympic Trials. A former school record holder in the 100 freestyle and 200/800 free relays, Phil completed his collegiate career in 2010 and started coaching for Badger Aquatic Club, where he worked for two years before moving to Milwaukee for graduate school and starting at Schroeder.
Phil has two big goals when coaching younger swimmers - to provide them with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful as they advance through our program, and to create a love for the sport.
Outside the pool Phil enjoys playing music, attending live shows and volunteering at the Wisconsin Humane Society.
Chandler Lewis - Junior 2 / Junior 1 / Senior 2 / Senior 1 Coach
Chandler leads the Junior and Senior Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.
Email: clewis@wsacltd.org
Chandler is in his 4th year of coaching with the Schroeder YMCA Swim Team. He graduated from the University Wisconsin Whitewater with a bachelors in Human Health & Performance and a minor in Coaching. While at Whitewater, he was a team captain, a three time 1st Team All-Conference selection and finished in the top 3 in school history in several events.
Chandler has a wide range of coaching experience. He has coached with J-Hawk Aquatic Club, Cedarburg High School and has assisted with the Wisconsin Badger Performance Swim Camps. Chandler has over 16 years of swimming experience and has been a member of the Schroeder Swim Team for 10 years; first as a swimmer and now as a coach. Chandler's role at Schroeder is spent on the south side of town where he is the lead senior/junior & masters coach at the Ramirez Aquatic Center at St. Augustine Preparatory Academy..
Chandler has coached 7 athletes to the USA National Junior Level and two athletes to the USA Senior National Level. He help led Schroeder to a combined Team Championship in the (covid) 2021 YMCA Swim Festival. He has been a part of coaching several athletes to both State and YMCA National records. During the 2021-2022 season, he guided Schroeder's 13- 14 Boys 200 Medley, 400 Medley, 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle relays to Top 10 in the country.
More recently he took part in a National YMCA record in the women's 200 Medley relay at YMCA Nationals and guided a boys relay to a National Championship.
Chandler has been selected to take part in the USA National Junior Team Select camp in 2022 and also the Central Zone Team Select Camp in 2023.
Chandler also has a passion in Strength & Conditioning and after concluding his internship at Athlete Performance he received his ACE personal training license. Chandler currently trains his clients in the Milwaukee area at the Wisconsin Athletic Club- Tosa. He also helps lead the athletes at RAC in the weight room with their strength and conditioning program.
Chandler is currently pursuing his masters in Sport Psychology from California Southern.
Tracy Kellner - Age Group 2 Coach
Tracy leads the Age Group 2 Team at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: tkellner@wsacltd.org
Tracy Kellner, age 52, has coached at Schroeder in various roles since 1996. She started swimming at age 9 and swam locally as a youth. Tracy went on to swim four years at the University of Iowa where she earned her degree in Civil Engineering. Swimming is a big passion for Tracy and she is delighted to teach and coach young athletes in this great sport. Currently Tracy is the lead coach for Age Group 2 at Schroeder.
Another passion for Tracy is triathlon, where she has been Age Group National Champion (2018) as well as World Champion (2015) in her age group. When the weather turns cold, Tracy also enjoys playing ice hockey - the fast paced sport is extremely fun!
Tracy lives in Mequon with her husband Todd (also a great competitive swimmer!) and they have 3 adult kids - Douglas, Julius and Alison as well as two wonderful dogs, Raven and Ginger.
Gabe Hilliard - Lions / Super 8 / Age Group 3 Coach
Gabe leads the Lions, Super 8 and Age Group 3 Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.
Email: ghilliard@wsacltd.org
Gabe has been part of Schroeder for very long time. He started in age group swimming and continued through high school. He has a lot of experience in the swimming world with instructing swim lessons, coaching at Brown Deer High School and University School of Milwaukee where he was awarded coach of the year. Coach Gabe is currently coaching the Lions, AG3, and Masters groups at the RAC location. He loves long walks on the beach and trying new restaurants.
Mark Gwidt - Super Stars / Schroeder Stars / Super 8 / Age Group 3 Coach
Mark leads the Super Stars, Schroeder Stars, Super 8 and Age Group 3 Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: mgwidt@wsacltd.org
Mark, 52, is in his 25th year of coaching overall. Starting in 1996 with the Schroeder Swim Team as a Assistant Age Group and Masters Coach. In 2001 Coach Mark moved to Ozaukee Aquatics where he has spent the past 21 years. During his time he has coached numerous Age Group State Champions, High Point winners, Relay Champions, Zone Qualifiers and Zone Champions. He has also been named Age Group Coach of The Year 3 times. Mark is also the Head Coach of The Homestead Boys High School swim team for the past 21 years. He also coached the Homestead Girls team from 2001-2016. During his coaching time at Homestead, he has coached his teams to 20+ Conference Championships, numerous Individual Conference Champions and WIAA State Champions. Mark is super excited to be back at Schroeder Coaching!
Mark also has a swimming background in the state of Wisconsin and Illinois. He started swimming in Arlington Heights, Illinois where he was a solid age group swimmer. Mark moved to the Schroeder swim team from 1981-1990. During that time Mark was a State Champion in Club and High School. He still holds some Schroeder team records. He went on to swim at The University of Iowa and was a 1988 Olympic Trials Qualifier.
Mark has been married to the love of his life, Kristen, since 1999. They have 3 kids Catherine, Brigid and Charlie. They have lived in Cedarburg since 2003. Mark loves any baseball, all Wisconsin sports, long walks, concerts, projects in the house and spending time with family.
Sarah Wenszell - Junior 2 Coach
Sarah leads the Junior 2 Team at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: swenszell@wsacltd.org
Sarah joined Schroeder at the age of 7. Sarah swam for Schroeder until she was 18, then she focused on her acedemics. Sarah attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she obtained her Bachelor Degree in Athletic Training. Sarah will later on go back to school to become a Physician Assistant (PA). While attending UWM Sarah still had a passion for swimming. She often went to the pool to support her brothers and sisters. It was at that moment that she realized how much she enjoyed swimming and being part of the culture.
Sarah started coaching for Schroeder the spring of 2013. Sarah started developing as a coach under the supervision of Matt Miller and Wendy Frank. After a year of coaching, Sarah knew she was ready to be the head coach of a group. Sarah enjoys working with 9-14 year olds, so Junior 2 was the perfect fit for her. Sarah has two fundamental goals she loves to follow when teaching her swimmers. One is to always have good technique. Good technique will always out perform endurance and keep you in the sport injury free. Her second goal that she lives by every day, is to show her swimmers how to have fun in the pool and grow their passion for the sport. Sarah is going on her 9th year of coaching Junior 2 and loves it just as much as the first day she walked out on deck as the head coach. Sarah is excited for the future and can't wait to see her swimmers, and the next generation ready to take on the water.
Greg Brostowitz - Assistant Senior Coach
Greg assists with the Senior Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: gbrostowitz@wsacltd.org
Greg has coached at Schroeder for 4 years, working with the Age Group 1, Junior and Senior groups. He has over 20 years of coaching experience, most of which came from baseball and football. It was his love of baseball that immediately drew him into the physics of swimming and eventually coaching swimming instead of baseball.
Greg helped Schroeder to a combined team championship at the 2021 YMCA Festival. He has coached multiple athletes to state records, including his son John Paul to 15 state records. He awarded podium finishes at 2022 YMCA Nationals when his daughter, Tori won the 200 Breast and at 2021 Speedo Summer Championships when Ziyad Saleem won the 100 and 200 Back. Tori is currently a member of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols' swim team. Lizzie became the third of his three kids to become a state champion when she swam breast in the 200-medley relay.
Greg is blessed to have been married to his wife Jill since 2003. He is a stay-at-home dad and homeschooled his kids through 8th grade. Family and faith are the foundations of his life and believes that is what has guided him to coach at Schroeder.
Johnny leads the Nights Teams at Nicolet High School.
Email: jalbrightson@wsacltd.org
Johnny is the head coach of the Jr. Knights Swim Team, a recreation level swim team created in partnership between Schroeder and the Nicolet Recreation Department. He began coaching in September 2021 and has enjoyed it ever since. To Johnny, the greatest part about coaching is creating meaningful relationships with his athletes and helping them to grow and improve. In addition to coaching the Jr. Knights, Johnny assists other coaches at Schroder and “runs tech”during meets. He is grateful for all the opportunities that the Schroeder staff has given him. Johnny has been swimming for as long as he can remember. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, he swam on the Jr. Knights team. Johnny attended Brown Deer High School and swam for the BD/USM swim team at the varsity level for all four years, primarily competing in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly. In fall 2022, Johnny was an assistant coach for the BD/USM girls swim team.
Collin leads the Sharks Teams at South Milwaukee Middle School as well as assists with Super 8, Age Group 3 and Senior Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.
Email: cgroppi@wsacltd.org
Collin began coaching in April 2022 with the South Milwaukee Sharks and then started assisting with Age Group 3, Super 8s, and the Senior groups at the Ramirez Aquatic Center site. Collin swam for 12 years, 3 of those with the Schroeder YMCA swim team, and specialized in distance free and IM. He also swam for Marquette University High School's varsity swim team for four years and was a captain during his senior year before graduating in 2020. He is currently pursuing a degree in biomedical sciences at Marquette University.
Cassandra coaches Masters as well as assists in multiple groups at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
Email: cjernberg@wsacltd.org
Cassandra is an assistant coach for Schroeder. She swam for Schroeder and the Milwaukee Piranhas, where she holds distance freestyle team records. After Schroeder, she went on to compete collegiately for Indiana University. Recently, Cassandra has returned to Schroeder as a coach, assisting with all age groups and masters swimmers.
Her favorite part of coaching is getting to watch young athletes enjoy being in the water and succeed. Outside of coaching, Cassandra is pursuing a Master of Architecture degree. A Milwaukee native, she loves hanging around the shores of Lake Michigan.
