Wheaton Swim Club

Coaches Information

The team's coaching staff has over 100 years of combined coaching experience. Each coach is a college graduate with varying degrees, ranging from kineseology to education. Many of our part time coaches are also local teachers in the DuPage county area.

Please feel free to contact any of the coaches by clicking the contacts link above and we will return your call as soon as possible.

Bob Strube Head Senior Coach
Contact Bob: 630.752.5770 bob@wheatonswimming.com Groups: National, Senior	Bob Strube has been coaching since 1977, and in the area since 1986. His list of accomplishments are nearly unparalleled in Illinois and across the country. He has coached 16 Olympic Trials swimmers, countless National Champions, and dozens of state qualifiers. Many of his swimmers have earned college swimming scholarships and have been named Captain of their college teams. Many others have gone on to enjoy successful college careers. Bob is the two time recipient of the YMCA Long Course National Coach of the Year award. He is also an assistant coach to Marc Gamble for the College of DuPage Swim Team. Because of Bob’s personal experience in swimming, having not begun swimming competitively until the tenth grade, he is committed to providing “something for everyone,” regardless of their ability or experience. He believes that teaching swimmers Life Values through competition is more important than fast times. He feels that learning the value of hard work, discipline and self-respect though sportsmanship, respect for others, will result in an overall successful person. Designing and implementing a program which allows swimmers to achieve these things will have successful swimming as a by-product.
Chris del Galdo Head Age Group Coach
Contact Chris: 630.752.5770 chris@wheatonswimming.com Groups: Junior National	Chris del Galdo has coached teams to 5 JO State Championships and 12 YMCA State Championships. He recently assisted Marc Gamble as a College of DuPage coach, where he helped coach the team to a second place finish at the NJCAA Chhampionships. Chris has coached all ages and ability levels during his 15 year coaching career. Chris believes that young swimmers should be involved in as many activities as possible as they grow up, so that they can choose to participate in an activity which they enjoy. This helps create an atmosphere in which swimmers feel they are involved in the true sport of their choice once they reach the upper levels of the swim team. He believes that each athlete deserves a full explanation of all training and technique principles which are used in the program. As a result, swimmers come to adopt their own philosophies rather than to simply believe things “because the coach said so.” Chris and his wife reside in Wheaton and have two daughters who attend Wheaton Warrenville South High School, where they participate in the swim team.
Jacob Ayers Head Administrative Coach
Contact Jacob: 630.752.5770 jacob@wheatonswimming.com Groups: Pre-National	Jacob Ayers has been coaching since 1995 and is currently the coach of the Wheaton Co-op High School Team (Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North High Schools), where he has been the head coach since 2000. He is a Wheaton College Swimming alum, and has coached swimmers ranging from novice to All-Americans, State Champions, and NCAA finalists. Jacob takes his coaching philosophy from a number of well known coaches, including Ray Lawrence, Tom Avisious, and Tony Young at the Carmel Swim Club; Jon Lederhouse at Wheaton College; and the other coaching members of the Wheaton Swim Club. He believes in creating a supportive “team” environment which also encourages swimmers to develop individually. For the younger swimmers, stroke technique and other skills are always placed over simply swimming laps. For the older swimmers these skills are always reiterated as they begin to train more seriously. His catch phrase is “Courage, Commitment, Character” and his first goal is to instill these values in young people.
Sydney Campbell Group Coach
Contact Sydney: 630.752.5770 sydney@wheatonswimming.com Groups: Silver	Sydney Campbell comes to our program from the Naperville Riptides, where she coaches since 2006. Sydney is a Naperville Central grad and is currently an accounting major at Norther Illinois University. She also has a younger sister who swims with the Wheaton Swim Club. Full bio for Sydney coming soon!
Meghan Daly Group Coach
photo coming soon Contact Meghan: 630.752.5770 Groups: Silver	Meghan Daly is beginning her third season with the Wheaton Swim Club. She was previously head coach of the Naper Carriage Hill swim team in Naperville, where she led the team to a second place finish at the city championships in 2006. She is a Naperville Central grad and also participated in many local swim clubs in Naperville. From the age of 5, she has been involved in competitive swimming on the club, high school, and collegiate level. In College swim was a varsity swimmer at both the College of Charleston and UIC, and was elected team captain as a sophomore. Meghan is currently pursing a paralegal degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and also coordinates private lessons for the Wheaton Swim Club.
Kristi Hyosaka Group Coach
photo coming soon Contact Krisit: 630.752.5770 kristi@wheatonswimming.com Groups: Gold	Kristi Hyosaka comes to the Wheaton Swim Club after many years as coach and head coach of the Glen Ellyn Gators park district swim team. She also is a true Wheaton Swimming alum, having swum as a young swimmers for coach Jacob Ayers and the Wheaton Tidal Waves! Kristi is a graduate of Glenbard West High school, and currently teaches 7th and 8th grade math, and 6th grade Spanish at St Petronille school in Glen Ellyn.
Allison Brown Group Coach
photo coming soon Contact Allison: 630.752.5770 Groups: Blue, Bronze, Orange	Allison is excited to be helping coach the Orange, Blue and Bronze Groups on Tuesdays and Thursdays at COD. Allison grew up swimming on a summer team, Raintree, in Glen Ellyn for twelve years. For four years she swam for Coach Chris on BRRyall. She ended her swimming career when she swam for the College of DuPage for two years and helped them to the NJCAA non-scholarship National Title in 2001. Allison has been the head coach for a summer team for the past five year, coaching against Coach Terri. She has also taught swim lessons for the past ten years in the Glen Ellyn area, including Butterfield Park District and Health Track. When not around a pool, Allison is a full-time kindergarten teacher in Lombard.
Liz Hennessy Group Coach
Contact Liz: 630.752.5770 liz@wheatonswimming.com Groups: Blue, Bronze, Orange	Liz has been in the water almost from birth - at the age of 6 months she began swim lessons at her local YMCA in Virginia! At the age 8, she was asked to try out for the Solotar Swim Team under the direction of Olympian Melissa Beloite. From 1989 to 1993 she moved to Illinois and joined the Joliet Jets where she competed in Y Districts, Y State and Summer Nationals and Age Group Champs. Beginning in 1993, she swam for Bob Strube and qualified for Spring YMCA Nationals in Ft Lauderdale. She was a Junior National qualifier in the mile and 400 IM, and even made a Senior National cut in the 800 Free Relay with great swimmers who swam for Bob at the time! Liz has recently gotten involved in the legal profession, and is currently a certified paralegal. She also enjoy volunteering in the community. In 2007 she did a swim a thon for the American Cancer Society, swimming 232 lengths of the pool in 2 hours in an effort to raise money for the fight against breast cancer!
Sharyl Damhorst Group Coach
photo coming soon Contact Sharyl: 630.752.5770 Groups: Blue, Bronze, Orange	Sharyl began swimming at the age of 6. She swam for the Glen Ellyn Park District, Lombard Park District and B.R. Ryall YMCA. As the team captain for B.R. Ryall YMCA, she lead her team to Nationals. While attending College of DuPage, she was an All-American Swimmer and Female Athlete of the Year. Sharyl has been a swim pool manager, head swim coach, aquatic coordinator, swim instructor and lifeguard for the Glen Ellyn Park District. As an assistant coach for Bob Strube at B.R. Ryall YMCA, she worked primarily with the ten and under swimmers. Several of Sharyl's swimmers have become YMCA District and State qualifiers and champions. In fact, in 1994 the eight and under boy's team that she coached won the YMCA State Championship. Swimming technique, which include strokes, starts, turns and finishes, is stressed in Sharyl's practices. She makes sure her swimmers are always well-prepared for competition. Most importantly, she believes that swimming should be fun and rewarding!
Holly Higgins Wheaton Diving Lessons Instructor
	Diving Lessons are instructed by Holly Higgins. Holly competed at the international level, where she was coached by Ken Armstrong, currently the USA Diving National Team Coach. Holly coached in Canada, where she developed several age-group and senior divers who later would final at the Olympic Games, most notably David Bedard, Mark Rourke, Debbie Fuller, and Wendy Fuller. Diving lessons are also assisted by state high school qualifiers. Holly has a BSC in Physical and Health Education and an MSC in Community Health from the University of Toronto. While working towards these degrees, she also coached the York University Varsity Team, the University of Toronto Diving Team, and the Etobicoke Diving Team. Holly and her family moved to Wheaton in 1998. She is married to John Blanchard (not the founder of Wheaton College) and she has two sons, both of whom swim for the Wheaton Swim Club.