My Mission
My mission with Barracuda Swimworks is to facilitate a positive relationship between my clients and the water so they can transform wholly — from reactive to proactive, panicked to calm, flailing to focused — because that’s what saves lives. I train the mind as well as the body, building the skills and tools that help prevent drowning and the confidence to enjoy and respect the water rather than fear it.
About Me
I’m an Olympic silver medalist and multi-time NCAA champion, All-American, and US National champion in swimming. I was 16 years old when I competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics — and from there, I never stopped learning. I was named one of the top ten all-time greatest athletes from Pensacola, graduated from the University of Texas, and was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Fame in 2023
With over thirty years of experience and more than 3,500 students taught, I’ve developed my own curriculum —including a safety swim method, an underwater readiness assessment with strengthening exercises, a water exposure rehabilitation method and a universal backfloat.
Outside the water I’m a mom of two plus my fur babies. I’m a lifelong animal lover and am happiest outdoors. I studied Russian history as an undergrad and public history at Arizona State University, which means I think about context, patterns, systems, and why things work (or don’t).
My long-term goal is to expand my reach and provide more parents, community partners and instructors the tools and confidence to teach with creative patience.
Barracuda Swimworks Origins
I started Barracuda Swimworks in Phoenix, Arizona, to serve triathletes, masters swimmers, and competitive age group swimmers. Performance and stroke coaches are a valued part of the swim community in most parts of the United States and the world. However, when my son hit the learn-to-swim age, I would watch swim lessons from all over the Valley, and I started questioning instructors’ “tried and true” methods. Methods that I myself had been taught and used since college, but now that I was a mother, didn’t make sense. Nothing had evolved. As a mom, this was a concern. What industry survives that never evolves? Kids were dying every day - and yet we were still teaching two-year-olds to blow bubbles when they needed to learn how to hold their breath. That’s when I decided to shift gears and combine my Momma Heart with my technical knowledge and shift it more toward beginners – children and adults – and I never looked back.
