Coaching Staff

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Rod Barratt

Owner
Head Coach​​​​

Rod is an NCCP Level III/IV coach and has been recognized for coaching excellence by Swim BC, the BC Swim Coaches Association, and the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association. Rod has received numerous awards, including the National Domestic Excellence in Coaching Award (2003, 2004) and various Swim BC Coach of the Year awards.

Rod has a rich history in competitive swimming, having coached in Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. He has developed swimmers to Provincial and National levels and coordinated successful programs, including the Elementary School Swim Program. Rod is currently the president of the BC Swim Coaches Association and has served on various boards and committees throughout his career.

Rod believes in the importance of swimming for character development and is an active outdoor enthusiast in climbing and sea kayaking.

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Mark Lancaster

Owner
General Manager

Mark holds an NCCP Level III/IV certification and is a graduate of the National Coaching Institute of Victoria. Mark oversees development programs at Saanich Commonwealth Place, the University of Victoria, Gordon Head, and Sooke Recreation Centres, and manages the University of Victoria Summer Swim Camps.

Mark has an extensive background in competitive swimming. He has served as a coach for the Cranbrook Triton Swim Club, VASC, and Coho Swim Club. Since 2002, he has been a part of Pacific Coast Swimming, nurturing swimmers to reach Provincial and Club National standings. Additionally, he organizes the Victoria Open Water competitions.

​​​​​​​Mark's swimmers have achieved Regional, Provincial, and National Age-Group rankings, with many going on to national and international success.

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Grace MacDonald

Head Development Coach
Vikes Assistant Coach

Grace Macdonald is a former swimmer for Pacific Coast Swimming and has been coaching with the club since 2014. She began her journey in the Lightning Fast program and worked her way through the club during her years as a swimmer. Currently, Grace serves as the head development coach for the club as an NCCP 201 Certified coach. 
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Grace is currently studying at the University of Victoria and plans to continue coaching after completing her degree. You'll probably hear her before you see her, but if you spot Grace around the pool, feel free to say hello and introduce yourself.

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Ian Mattock

Provincial Coach
Club Registrar​​​​​​​

Ian is a dedicated and experienced coach with PCS for over 10 years. He started swimming in Summer club before joining PCS and the UVic Vikes.

Ian has coached swimmers all the way to Age-Group National Records, and has been recognized as Swim BC Age-Group Coach of the year in 2015 and Para Coach of the year in 2023.

Ian holds a BSc in Economics and is a Level 2 coach. In his spare time he likes trail run and talk about swimming.   




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David Creel

National Coach
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Dave has been a dedicated coach at PCS for over 10 years, where he has been leading the National 1 group. As an athlete, he competed at numerous World Championhips in the 5k, 10k and 25k Open Water events. Dave brings the same level of excellence to his coaching, and guided many swimmers swimmers to become national champions themselves.

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Alexx Greenfield

​​​​​​​Senior Coach
Vikes Assistant Coach

Alexx Greenfield is returning for her second season with Pacific Coast Swimming, bringing over a decade of competitive swimming experience. An NCCP Level 1 coach, Alexx is now in her eighth season of coaching. She has worked with a diverse range of swimmers, from young learn-to-swim participants to masters athletes, with a focus on athletes aged 10-15. Alexx values the opportunity to work alongside experienced coaches and draws inspiration from the exceptional coaches she had throughout her swimming career. She aims to instill a passion and love for swimming in each athlete she coaches.

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Ricky Millns

Senior Coach
School Program Lead

Ricky Millns is a 5th year swimmer with the University of Victoria Vikes, where he's set multiple program records and earned many awards and medals. Heading into his last year of swimming, he is now beginning the transition from the pool to the pool deck. Ricky comes from Campbell River, BC, where he was the Head Coach of the Campbell River Salmon Kings Summer Swim Team for the past 6 years.

As a lifelong swimmer, and son to a career coach, Ricky is very passionate about swimming and sport. Coming from a swimming family, typical dinner table conversations in the Millns household revolve around swimming. Ricky's top priority as a coach is developing good people first, and good swimmers next. He's known for weaving life lessons and swimming together, as he believes that swimming is the greatest teacher of important skills for life.

Ricky will be around the pool a lot this year. When he's not coaching, he'll be training himself as he prepares for his final year with the Vikes, and completing his BA in Anthropology at UVIC. If you haven't already met him, be sure to say hello.

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Anika Blane

Provincial Coach

Coach Anika is entering her third year of coaching at Pacific Coast Swimming. Before moving to Victoria to attend UVic, she swam competitively on the mainland for over a decade. Anika brings her athlete experience and eight years of coaching expertise to the Provincial 1 group. She is an NCCP Level 1 certified coach and studies psychology at UVic, drawing inspiration from her degree and senior coaches. Anika loves seeing how small, consistent improvements lead to long-term success in both swimming and life. Outside of coaching, she enjoys swimming, water polo, cycling, and gymnastics.


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Jill Yoneda

Lightning Fast Coordinator
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Jill began her swimming career at the age of 7, competing for Victoria’s local club, then named Vic-O. After completing her Bachelor of Science at the University of Western Ontario, she continued to swim but soon found a new passion as a member of the Canadian Freediving Team, going on to set 3 Canadian Records. Her best stats were holding her breath for 5 min 35 sec, swimming a total of 150 m non stop in the pool (6 lengths) and diving down 200 feet in the ocean under her own power, all while holding her breath.

Alongside coaching, Jill works full-time in Cardiology successfully integrating her love of helping people with teaching and coaching.

More recently, in her own swimming career, Jill has accomplished several remarkable extreme ocean marathon swims. She has crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Canada and the United States in 10.5 hours and completed a 26-hour non-stop double crossing of Georgia Strait. She is now setting her sights on a 100-kilometer non-stop swim between Victoria and Vancouver, estimated to take 50-60 hours. Jill uses her swims as a platform to raise money and bring awareness for Canuck Place, BC children’s hospice and palliative care.

​​​​​​​ Jill is passionate about perseverance and overcoming obstacles after undergoing some 22 surgeries in her lifetime. She hopes to inspire younger swimmers by sharing her journey and you can often find her doing talks around local schools. She is excited to grow as a coach with PCS and as the new Lightening Fast Coordinator.​​​​​​

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Erica Smith
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Development Coach

Erica Smith grew up in North Vancouver, BC and graduated with a BScH Psychology degree from Queen's University in 2024. She is entering her last semester of the University of Victoria's Elementary Post-Degree Program to become a qualified elementary school teacher. Erica swam competitively with the Chena Swim Club for eight years, and has maintained involvement with athletics ever since as she now competes with UVic's varsity cross-country and track team. As an NCCP Swimming 101 certified coach, she has experience coaching Chena's pre-competitive swim team and is excited to continue inspiring the next generation as a PCS coach. 

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Elijah Agostinelli-Stull

Provincial Coach

Coach Elijah is excited to be starting his first year with Pacific Coast Swimming! Born and raised in Victoria, BC, Elijah recently graduated with a BA in Psychology and competed as a varsity swimmer with the University of Victoria. With three years of coaching experience and an NCCP Level 1 certification, he’s looking forward to building on his skills while learning from the PCS senior coaching team.

What Elijah loves most about coaching is watching swimmers’ dedication in the pool translate into confidence and success in other parts of their lives.

When he’s not on deck, you can usually find Elijah in the water swimming or surfing, or tinkering with his vintage Toyota truck

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Saylor Sicotte
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Development Coach


Saylor has been involved in the swimming world since she was six. Growing up in Alberta, she swam with, and helped coach a small, competitive hometown team until she was 15. After taking a break from swimming, she explored other sports like basketball and running. Eventually, Saylor returned to the pool, becoming a lifeguard and swim instructor; a role she still enjoys whenever she goes back to her hometown. Now living in Victoria for university, Saylor is in her third year of the Recreation and Health Education program at Uvic. Wanting to stay connected to the swimming world, Saylor joined PCS after her first year in Victoria.





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Associate Staff

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Ron Jacks

Owner
Coach Emeritus

Ron served as the PCS Director of Swimming and is among its original coaches. Holding NCCP Level IV and NCI Master Coach certifications, Ron's coaching prowess has been acknowledged by Swim BC, the BC Swim Coaches Association, the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association, and Swim Canada. His accolades include National Open Water Coach of the Year for three consecutive years, Paralympic Coach in the 2004 Athens Games, and Canadian Open Water Head Coach at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships and 2006 Pan Pacific Championships. His achievements also encompass National Domestic Excellence in Coaching Awards, Petro-Canada National Coaching Excellence Awards, and an International CSCTA Team Award. Ron has been named BC Coach of the Year multiple times for both SWAD/Para and the 16 & under age group. Notably, he has coached medalists in able-bodied, disabled, and open water swimming categories internationally. As one of Canada's top swimmers in the 1960s, Ron claimed numerous medals at National Championships and set several Canadian records. He trained at the Vancouver 'Y' swim club under Ted Simpson, and later at Indiana University under James "Doc" Counsilman. After competing in three Olympics and winning medals at the Commonwealth and Pan-Am Games, Ron was inducted into multiple Halls of Fame. Post-retirement in 1972, he transitioned to coaching, leading the Arbutus Swim Club and founding the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club.

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Peter Vizsolyi

Technical Advisor
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Peter, a medical doctor with a specialization in Sports Medicine, has led the University of Victoria Vikes swim program as Head Coach from 1983 to 2024. With academic roles at UVic and UBC, he became an NCI Master Coach in 1986. As Chair of Swimming for the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games, Peter was instrumental in organizing the events and advocating for the Saanich Commonwealth Place. He co-founded Island Swimming in 1988, serving as Technical Director there and at the Island National Swim Center until 2002, and has been with the University of Victoria - Pacific Coast Swimming Association since. A Vice-President of the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association since 2000, Peter also contributes to various SNC Committees. His own competitive background as a national finalist, under the tutelage of Canada's top coaches, has informed his coaching philosophy. His accolades include recognition from CIAU/CIS, the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association, and SNC, including being named CIAU Co-Coach of the Year twice. As the 2003 FISU World University Games Canadian Head Coach, he has also represented Canada internationally. Peter's coaching has guided twenty-one international athletes from the Vikes to over 200 national and international medals, including Commonwealth, Pan-Am, Pan-Pac, and Olympic honors.

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Ryan Clouston

UVic Vikes Head Coach
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Ryan Clouston enters his second year as the head coach of the Vikes swimming program in 2025-26 following 14 seasons as the Vikes' assistant coach.

Over the past decade, Clouston has been instrumental in the program's growth and, in 2020, took on the primary responsibility for the Vikes' day-to-day programming. Together with former head coach Peter Vizsolyi, the Vikes have won 55 medals at the U SPORTS championships, and have finished as high as fourth place as a team on both the men's and women's sides since Clouston joined the coaching staff in 2010.

Beginning his swim career at the age of 10, the Winnipeg, Man. native continued to swim competitively until the age of 18 when he joined the Vikes swim team. Clouston's varsity swimming career spanned five years at UVic, and he posted his best finish at the 2008 CIS (now U SPORTS) Championships, where he finished 7th in the 400 IM. Following his career as a student-athlete, Clouston retired from competitive swimming.

Clouston has worked closely with Ron Jacks of Pacific Coast Swimming as an assistant coach and is a qualified NCCP Fundamentals coach. In 2013, Clouston received a grant from the Canadian Swimming Coaches & Teachers Association (CSCTA) that enabled him to coach at various international open-water swim competitions during the summer.

Clouston has also coached Canada's open water team for the past two years at the World Aquatics Championships, most recently coaching Team Canada at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Clouston holds a Bachelor of Physics and Master of Ocean Science, both from the University of Victoria.





Integrated Sports Science Team

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Rena Sinstadt

Yoga Instructor


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John Cunningham

Sports Nutritionist


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Annika McGivern

Sport and Exercise Psychology Coach


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Berk Arabaci

Strength Coach