Our coaches are the backbone of our training and development programs, dedicated to supporting you in achieving your goals.
Between them, they’ve coached dozens of state, national, Olympic and world championship athletes in the pool, open water, surf lifesaving and water polo.
Whether you’re new to squads, swimming to keep fit or competing at an elite level in either the pool or surf, join us for a fun and enjoyable pathway to performance.
Find out more on our Squads page.
Justin Rothwell
Head Coach
A national medallist and Olympic trialist, Justin brings a huge range of high-performance coaching success to the Head Swimming Coach role.
His winner’s list include coaching world championship and Commonwealth Games medallist swimmers, Surf Life Saving series champions, Open Ironman champion Aussies and multiple Aussie surf swimming titles.
As a measure of his expertise as a performance level swimming coach, Justin is also the in-demand coach for several Olympic triathletes and Australian water polo players.
Michelle Thomas
Assistant Head Coach
Michelle is an accredited Advanced Coach with a long list of success.
She has coached all levels and ages of swimmers from learn-to-swim to State National Age/Open swimmers, as well as adult surf, water polo and triathletes. Michelle has also coached finalists and medallists at State and National age levels and been the team coach at State and National event camps.
She also holds an Associate Diploma in applied science sports coaching, Graduate Diploma of Sports Coaching and held an AIS women in sport swimming coach scholarship.
Kei Shiono
Swim Coach
As a competitive swimmer in Japan, Kei specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly.
Now running the 13 & under program at Manly Swimming Club, he has helped multiple swimmers achieve qualifying times for Junior Metropolitan and State Championships and helped others reach new personal bests and progress through squad levels.
Skilled in designing structured, seasonal training plans tailored to individual and squad needs, Kei is passionate about fostering a positive, engaging, and performance-driven environment.
Brandon Butler
Swim Coach
Growing up in Newcastle, Brandon competed at state schools’ level and then as a State Swimmer in NSW.
As a Foundation Coach and Development Coach, he considers himself fortunate to have coached several state and national swimmers as well as junior swimmers. Away from the pool he’s a ‘massive rugby league fan.’
Alex Burke
Swim Coach
Having enjoyed competitive swimming and playing water polo since childhood, Alex is now enjoying life on the edge of the pool having completed his Development Coaching certificate and completing his Bachelor of Primary Education.
His success so far includes coaching several athletes to competition at both state and national level.
Layla Paterson
Swim Coach
Qualified as a Teacher of Competitive Strokes, Layla was a state level swimmer for Manly before becoming a coach. She has now enjoyed success coaching swimmers at State level, mostly from our junior program.
Alana Wilson
Swim Coach
A former NZ National swimmer in 200 Fly and 400IM, Alana has taught swimming for 18 years and coached for 5.
Having trained competitors in national and international swimming, open water, triathlon and water polo, Alana’s philosophy is ‘Your weakness is the most fertile ground for growth.’
Marieke Bosman
Swim Coach
Growing up in the Middle East, Marieke competed in meets there and in the South Asia Championships.
She has coached in both the Middle East and Canberra at all levels ranging from LTS, masters, development, state, national, trials and the Paris Paralympics, where she coached an athlete to a gold medal.
A qualified yoga instructor and studying for a Master’s in Social Work, Marieke loves being able to bring that experience to her swim coaching.
Callyn Fenwick-Kearns
Swim Coach
Recently qualified in Development coaching, Callyn enjoyed a highly successful swim career before moving into coaching.
His achievements in the pool include being an Olympic trials finalist, Australian National Medallist, Australian Uni national silver medallist, Singapore national champion, water polo national medallist and a NSW state medallist.
He’s looking forward to adding a few coaching wins to that list.
Derrick Murray
Swim Coach
Derrick brings a wealth of experience to coaching, with over 35 years as a high level athlete, including four World Championship events in triathlon and endurance swimming in open water.
He has coached athletes to great success in the Pacific and South East Asian Games, Noumea Triathlon and French U21s, from grassroots to elite performance. He's a World Triathlon Level 1 & 2 coach and Swimming Australia development coach.
Still involved in masters, Derrick is dedicated to athlete development and performance and passionate about fostering a positive, motivating environment that encourages athletes to grow.
Christine McDermott
Sports Scientist
A Sports Scientist and Physiologist for over 30 years and across many sports, Chris has worked with National Age and Open, Commonwealth and Olympic swimmers from many clubs, including Carlile and the NSWIS.
Her roles have included testing and monitoring, competition and training camp testing and support, nutrition, recovery and strength and conditioning.
Master of Exercise and Sport Science and ASCA Strength and Conditioning Coach qualified, Chris also tutors in Nutrition at UTS and USyd and provides Sport Science services to the Manly Swimming Club.