SCOTTSDALE SWIM CLUB

Coach Nick started swimming rec at the age of 5 with many tears and a lot of thrashing in the pool. Across the course of 13 more years of swimming rec and year round on Terrapins, Coach Nick has found an immense love for the sport.

Coach Nick started his coaching experience at the age of 12, with teaching little kids how to swim. Later on, progressing to assistant coach on Dana Hills and later Woodlands, Coach Nick has been coaching for longer than any kid can spend on a rec swim team. Coaching has only deepened his adoration for the sport and he is excited to share his knowledge, excitement, and love for swimming with Scottsdale.

Outside of the pool, Coach Nick enjoys lifting weights, trying new foods, and of course doing his best to swim more than a hundred at Walnut Creek Masters Swim Team.

The motto that Coach Nick lives by for swimming is, if you're going fast, then you're having fun, and if you're having fun, then you're going fast. This is something that he hopes everyone can learn for swimming to make the world of rec swimming faster and more fun.

Coach Cole had an early start with swimming, beginning swim lessons when he was just a little one! Although he loved the water, it wasn't always easy to get him to swim his heart out. He started rec swim at age 9 and his swimming world really changed when he joined Scottsdale at 10! At Scottsdale he began to love to race, to push himself, as he was so proud to be part of the Scottsdale team! He swam for the squids through 18, each year his love for swimming and our Scottsdale community continued to grow.

Coach Cole also swam for Aquabears, De La Salle HS, and Las Positas College. He also played water polo at both De La Salle and Las Positas. Out of the water Coach Cole enjoys fishing, weight lifting, hiking, and spending time with friends. With an extensive background in competitive swimming, coaching private lessons, teaching splash crew lessons, and as our assistant coach for the past 2 summers, Coach Cole is excited to continue sharing his knowledge and love for swimming with as many Squids as possible. He is excited to continue coaching this year, inspiring swimmers to push themselves, improve technique, drop times, and have fun!

Taylor Madge is a 2024 graduate of Carondelet High School and attends Chapman University in Orange County. She is majoring in Health Science with a double minor in Nutrition and Honors Leadership. Taylor's goal is to be a physical therapist specializing in sports injuries and one day own her own practice.

Last summer was her first as an assistant coach for SSC - she was a Splash Crew instructor for the 3 summers prior to that and loved teaching future squids. Taylor says the best part about rec swimming is it brings so many different groups of people together. There is no other sport where boys and girls from ages 4 to 18 compete in one place, where everyone cheers for everyone and success isn't only measured by a first place finish but by a personal time improvement.

Taylor's mission this summer is to teach stroke proficiency at all levels and to add focus to critical parts of racing like starts and turns. Once you hone those skills, speed will follow. Taylor's favorite part of Scottsdale is the community, she says "It truly feels like a family." She is very excited to be part of the coaching staff and to continue SSC traditions. GO SQUIDS!

Ryan Watson just finished his freshman year at the University of Colorado Boulder, majoring in Economics. He started swimming with Scottsdale at age 7 and those summers are still some of his favorite memories… being at the pool with friends, competing and having fun. He was a County Qualifier every year he was on the team. He also swam four years at De La Salle High School.

For the past two summers, Ryan has been teaching swim lessons with Splash Crew. He is also a certified lifeguard.

He is excited to be back on deck this season as an assistant coach. His goal is to help swimmers get the fundamentals down while having fun and enjoying being part of the team. Ryan’s favorite strokes are butterfly and backstroke.

Go Squids!

Coach Claire graduated from Northgate High School in 2025 and now attends the University of Colorado Boulder. She is majoring in Integrative Physiology while participating in the Pre-Physical Therapy program. She is also a member of the university’s women’s club water polo team, which is nationally ranked. Claire has lived in Concord her entire life and has been part of the swim community for as long as she can remember.

She started swimming at age 3 with the Valley Vista swim team, then moved to Dana Hills at age 10, where she later began her coaching journey. She started as a swimmer coach, volunteering with younger age groups, and quickly discovered how much she loved the energy of working with kids; so she decided to continue coaching.

In 2023, Claire moved to Scottsdale, where she joined the team as both a swimmer and a junior coach. She quickly realized Scottsdale was more than just a recreational team; the spirit and determination were unlike any team she had seen before. She spent two years as a junior coach while also teaching lessons with Splash Crew. After taking last summer off to prepare for college and travel, Claire is back this season and better than ever. Her goals this summer are to make every child feel safe and welcome on the pool deck while helping them develop important swim skills. She’s excited to continue the Scottsdale spirit and bring joy to as many swimmers as possible. SKO SQUIDS!