South Siskiyou Swim Team Coaches
Our amazing coaches have many combined years of experience coaching athletes of all ages. They bring their swimming background and a passion for the development of the sport to our swim team.
Jenn Carr joined the SSST coaching staff in 2017. She swam competitively from age 7 through 20 and also played water polo at the high school and college level. Beyond swimming Jenn has an extensive outdoor background and is a certified Pilates instructor. Jenn's interests are personal in addition to coaching she is a "swim mom" and is embracing the challenge of coaching her own child. " I love watching kids improve and gain confidence in themselves as swimmers. I know first hand that that confidence transfers to so many other aspects of their lives. I also believe that drowning is preventable and it is my mission to improve water safety and proficiency in our community. It is a true joy for me to share my love for aquatics with this team."
Ryan Pursell started assisting SSST in 2021. He swam competitively in high school and has harbored a love for the water and swimming all his life. He coached soccer locally for a youth league. He came to SSST after finally talking his son into competitively swimming (after attempting for a few years) and loves to see the swimmers improve both in the pool and out. He is looking forward to working more with the wonderful kids, parents, coaches and officials in the upcoming seasons! Ryan will be coaching for both practice times with a focus on technique, turns, streamlines from the beginning of the season, drill input, more games.
I started swimming competitively at age 5 and continued to swim, dive and play water polo throughout high school. As a young adult, I coached and taught swim lessons at a local swim club. My full time job is as a 3rd grade teacher at Weed Elementary school. I really enjoy coaching during the summers. It so fun watching young swimmers develop their skills in the pool. I have two daughters Lilyn (11) and Willow (5) and both love the water. Lilyn loves being on SSST and Willow looks forward to being on the team when she gets older. While I no longer swim competitively, one of my favorite activities is swimming in all of the high mountain lakes dotted throughout Siskiyou County.
I love being in the water and enjoy working with kids. I started helping out assistant coaching the South Siskiyou Swim Team in 2022. I have never swam competitively except for a couple in fun races in open water. I have taken every swim lesson I could as a child and continued taking swim classes in college for stroke improvement and for the workout. Now I have fun swimming in the nearby lakes and playing in the water with my son. I enjoy working with kids and helping them feel more comfortable and confident in the water as I believe it is such an important lifesaving skill that is also fun. I enjoy working with the younger team members that are getting more comfortable in the water and stroke improvement as I am new to competitive swimming. It is fun to learn more about this aspect of swimming and how to I can support our swimmers and the swim program.