OURCOACHES
NEMANJAČOLIĆ
Director of Performance and Coaching
High Performance and National Head Coach, Youth Group Assistant
[email protected]
Coach Nemo brings a wealth of experience to the club with having coached competitive swimmers since 2006. His passion for swimming has lead him to become a dynamic coach who strives to bring out the best in each athlete that he has the pleasure of coaching.
National Lifeguard Certified
Standard First Aid with CPR-C
Coach Hans started coaching while he was still in High School, although it was not swimming that he was coaching, rather, it was basketball, which was his favourite sport at the time. Since then he has coached nearly all ages and ability levels. So how did he end up on this deck coaching age groupers?
Hans was a multisport athlete as a teen, basketball, track and field, volleyball, football and yes, of course, swimming. Being cut from his University Basketball team allowed him to change course and start swimming both with his Varsity Team ( McMaster ) and his home club ( HWAC )
He was an OUA finalist in several events including the 200 fly and 1500 free.
After a couple of years he was asked to coach a Novice Group for HWAC and then expanded his role coaching both Novices and an intro competitive group. After 5 years coaching at Hamilton he was offered the role of Head Age Group Coach at Brantford a position he held for 18 years and then asked to become head coach for another 8 seasons. During that time he also was head coach of the Ancaster Masters, ran the BAC swim school program and worked for the City of Brantford as a guard and pool supervisor which he continued until 2018.
Following Brantford Hans went to Guelph to coach with the Marlins as an intermediate age group coach (12-14 year olds) as well as an assistant with the Guelph Gryphons Varsity team.
Following a very successful stint in Guelph developing several National and CIS qualifiers Hans moved on to. ROW where he was senior coach and mentored several coaches who have moved on to become head coaches. He was also head coach of the WLU swim team for 3 years. He then moved on to Barrie to serve as head coach for three years and Head Age Group coach the past two seasons.
One thing Coach Hans has always strived for and succeeded was to make each club or program better than it was before he arrived. He looks forward to continuing that trend here at RHAC.
What is your favorite thing about coaching?
Two things actually, seeing the kids smiling after a great race or meet and the awesome network of people from all over the world that I have befriended through the sport of swimming.
Some Accomplishments:
Developed 3 Olympic athletes
Coached one Paralympian ( 4th place Rio )
Two time Ontario Coach of the Year
Coached One World Record (Para S12)
One Paralympian to Pan American Games
Coached two athletes to Canadian Junior Team
Numerous Ontario Team Members
Several 100 Provincial Medalists
I am a former Serbian national level swimmer, winning many medals at national and international competitions. My specialty was front crawl and butterfly (50m,100m) sprint events. After I graduated from high school, I started studying sport and physical education at university, and there I decided to dedicate my life to sports. I have always had a passion for coaching and enjoy passing on my knowledge and experience to young athletes and students.
In 2003 I started as a young coach at swimming club ‘’Proleter’’, which has a long and rich swimming history starting from 1947 with 5 Olympians at the recent history. Here I began swimming from an early age. The beginning of my teaching / coaching career was as a swimming teacher in a learn to swim program where I quickly learnt the basics of core aquatic skills, and methodology of teaching. By 2005 I became the coach of youngest age group squad where I started to learn fundamentals of competitive swimming. For the following 10 years I remained the lead coach of this group of 40 swimmers. During this time these young swimmers had international success, whilst also developing as athletes and young people ready to give back to the community. From that generations of young swimmers, I coached Nikola Acin double Olympian and Serbian senior record holder on 100m Free, Nikola was participating as a member of Serbian National Olympic Team at Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. As a postgraduate degree student at the University of Michigan in USA Nikola is successfully preparing for Summer Olympic Games in Paris this year.
As a coach I was able to gain valuable experience and knowledge at every level of swimming, from beginners to high performance athletes. I was part of a team we achieved national records, and international championship recognition, including senior European short course and European junior medals.
During this time, I also became Serbian national head coach for youth talent camps, where I had to organize and co-ordinate the program.
In 2015 I moved to Dubai, for new experiences, education and challenges. I worked for the biggest swimming company at the Middle East, Hamilton Aquatics which operates in UAE Dubai, Abu Dhabi, QATAR & SAUDI ARABIA. Working at Hamilton Aquatics gave me the opportunity to work with swimmers from all around the world, in a British's led programme.
My last position before I moved to RHAC in Canada was Head Coach of MSC (my swim club) at My Sports Academy. During my time as head coach, I have enjoyed helping athletes turn short-term success, into long term achievement. I believe that connecting people through sport results in more children leading active and healthy lifestyles, which is something I am personally proud to be part of. I also lead a team of professional coaches at MSC that have helped me to create an environment that allows swimmers at the programme to develop their skills, technique and personal attributes that provide swimmers with a platform for future success.
What is your favorite thing about coaching?
Excitement about the great impact swimming has on young athletes, both in sport and in life. It contributes to making future generations better, enriching their lives with new learnings and skills that will help them through all life's adventures.
Certifications:
University of Novi Sad- Degree of Sport Science in Swimming Coaching
British Swimming ASA Level 1 certificates in coaching swimming
British Swimming ASA Level 2 certificates in coaching swimming
NCCP Swimming Level 1
[email protected]
Bio:
Victoria is a RHAC alumni and holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology from U of T. She trained and raced under the RHAC banner in our HP (then Senior National) group as a top sprinter, middle and long distance swimmer, placed 6th at the Canadian National Championships and was part of a National Champion relay team in 2014.
Her swimming career might have started with RHAC but continued to great success as part of the well recognized U of T Varsity Blues Swim Team. Victoria is no stranger to hard work and disciplined approach to swimming, having trained for over 20 hours a week to achieve great results: silver and gold medalist at the Canadian University Championships, Ontario University Championships and Canadian Olympic Trial Finalist in 2016.
Victoria is a well-rounded individual on and off the swimming deck; her academic and athletic accomplishments (Sharon Guinness Athletic Scholarship, Ontario Award of Distinction and Varsity Blues Silver T-Holder) are testament to the fact that the discipline and hard work required to achieve athletic success are life skills, which can lead to the achievement of academic excellence as well. Victoria has experience coaching athletes from the youngest ages to masters swimming.
Certifications:
NCCP Swimming Level 2 (in training)
NL, Standard First Aid and CPR
KIMIKOTANIISHI
Strength Coach
[email protected]
Bio:
Kimiko grew up as a competitive Volleyball player in Ontario, and maintained touch with her love for being in the water by taking up Life Saving as a teen. In 2012 she discovered her passion for Olympic Weightlifting and competitive CrossFit; most recently she qualified and competed at the 2019 CF Sanctional in Milan Italy (Individual Elite Women). As a Strength and Conditioning Coach of 6 years for competitive athletes of various sporting backgrounds, she looks to share her love for training and to help guide RHAC athletes in becoming the best they can be.
Certifications:
CF-Level 2 Trainer
CF Gymnastics Certification
NCCP Swimming Level 1
Standard First Aid and CPR
JAMESCHEN 
ND Coach
2. Would you rather a 50m swim of any stroke or a 1500m swim?
3. Goggles inside your cap or outside your cap?
4. What is a hobby of yours outside of swimming?
5. What is your favourite part about coaching?
Certifications:
NCCP Swimming Level 1
Standard First Aid and CPR
SEQUOIAGIBSON 
Development Group Coach
Fun facts about coach Sequoia!
1. Who is your favourite swim athlete?
My favourite swimmer is Summer McIntosh! Even before she swam for the Canadian team, summer dominated my age category, and seeing someone my age do so well always motivated me in practices and competitions.
2. Would you rather have a 50m swim of any stroke or a 1500m swim?
I would rather do a 1500m of any stroke, since I am not one for sprinting. I would much rather go long and strong than an all out 50…
3. Goggles inside your cap or outside your cap?
I put my goggles outside my cap for practice (I have to unfog them every time I’m at the wall) but for swim meets always inside my cap. Once your goggles come off in a race, you have to make sure it never happens again - so I always put on a latex cap, then my goggles, then my RHAC cap - extra protection.
4. What is a hobby of yours outside of swimming?
My favourite hobby outside of swimming is playing the violin. I have been playing the violin almost as long as I’ve been swimming, and it's become a really important part of my life.
5. What is your favourite part about coaching?
My favourite part about coaching is watching the swimmers improve. When spending time with the swimmers, it's so rewarding to see them grow not only through their times but in their technique, dedication and attitude toward the sport. As a new competitive coach, I am super excited to see the swimmer's hard work show in their races at competitions.
Certifications:
NCCP Swimming Level 1
Standard First Aid and CPR
