Denise Thompson
Head Coach
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Head Coach Denise Thompson began coaching swimming in the mid
1980s at a high school in western Colorado. She coached the men's
high school swimming and diving team for 3 seasons. Her coaching in
Colorado ended when she moved to Idaho Falls to take the assistant
manager position at the Idaho Falls Aquatic Center. Coach Denise
attended her first USA swimming coaching clinic at the Olympic
training center, Colorado Springs in 1991. After beginning to coach
IFST in 1992, Denise has attended coaching clinics at the Olympic
training centers in Lake Placid, NY, and Colorado Springs, CO; also
clinics in Napa and Los Angeles, CA, Orlando FL, New Orleans, LA.,
and Las Vegas, NV. Coach Denise‟s son, Peter,
began swimming at an early age and swam in his first Spook Splash
meet at the age of 6. Currently he is attending the University of
Rochester in New York. Coach Denise had the privilege of coaching
swimmers at the Youth Friendship Games in Amsterdam, Netherlands in
2005-06. She traveled with the People to People Sports Ambassador
program as a coach for the swimming program. The program sends
approximately 1000 athletes, in seven sports from the United States
to a different country to compete with athletes from around the
world. In 2005, Coach Denise graduated from Idaho State University
with her Master of Education in Physical Education/Athletic
Administration. This background has been a great asset to the Idaho
Falls Swim Team program. She obtained her Bachelor degree from
Western State College, CO where she swam on the
women‟s swim team for 3 years. During her senior
year the women took 2nd place at the NAIA national championship
swim meet in Liberty, Missouri. Coach Denise has been a member of
ASCA (American Swim Coaches Association) since 1993. Attending the
ASCA World Clinics and taking classes offered through ASCA have
given her thorough knowledge and understanding of the world of
competitive swimming. Coach Denise has completed ASCA Level 1-5
classes and has accumulated over 140 units of educational credits.
In 2009, she received her ASCA Level 3 certification by training an
athlete that qualified for Junior National level competition. The
Idaho Falls Swim Team is a member of Snake River Swimming. Coach
Denise has served in many positions within this organization as Age
Group Chairperson, Camp Chairperson, and Coaches Representative.
Snake River Swimming (SRS) participates in the Western Zone of USA
Swimming; Coach Denise has been the zone coach for several SRS zone
teams since 1995. She has also had the privilege of coaching
several SRS All-star teams. Coach Denise has Idaho Falls Swim Team
Piranhas 7 been named SRS coach of the year and ASCA Age Group
Coach of the Year during her 17 years of coaching here in Idaho
Falls The Idaho Falls Swim Team has produced several Age Group
Sectional qualifiers, Senior Sectional qualifiers, Western Zone
qualifiers, and a Junior National qualifier. Several former
Piranhas have gone on to participate in water sports at the college
level either as a club sport or varsity level sport. Coach Denise
enjoys hearing about these alumni and their post Piranha
accomplishments.
Coach Cindy Yarnell
Assistant Coach
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Coach Cindy Yarnell is in her third season coaching for the
Piranhas. She recently moved to Idaho Falls from Clovis, CA where
she was a very actively involved swim parent in the swim club where
her two daughters swam. Cindy swam competitively as a child and was
a member of the Idaho Falls Masters swim team from 1991-1995,
competing up until the delivery of her first child. Cindy is
currently an ASCA Level 1 Certified Coach and is looking forward to
getting to know each of the athletes and going with them on their
journey to becoming better swimmers. During the day, Cindy works as
an administrative assistant at Bonneville High School. Coach Cindy
and her husband have two daughters who are Piranhas, Tori (Alumni)
and Randi.
Coach Brian Brown
Assistant Coach
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Coach Brian Brown has been volunteering with the Piranhas since
2010 and began swimming for a summer team at the age of 17. He then
swam four years at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, specializing in
the breaststroke. Prior to graduating he was an assistant coach at
Cal Poly for a season. Brian has been a head coach for summer
league team in California, an assistant coach at several high
schools in California and Oregon and currently is assisting Skyline
Grizzlies. His prior USA coaching experience was with the Superior
Stingrays in Medford, Oregon. He moved to Idaho Falls with his
daughter in 2007 and is beginning his 23 year as an elementary
teacher. He is excited about being a part of the Piranha Program.
He is ASCA level 3 EE certified.
Robin L Piet
Assistant Coach/Masters Coach
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Coach Robin Piet has been
involved with competitive swimming for over 50 years, starting at
age nine. Growing up, she swam on the same team as Mark Spitz (1972
Olympics, Munich, Germany) and Debbie Meyer (1968 Olympics, Mexico
City). Says Robin, ýNo, I wasnýt as fast as them, but
I did swim on their teamý! In college, at UC Berkeley, the
womenýs swim team (before Title IX) didnýt have a
very tough workout, so Robin and another female swimmer swam with
the varsity boysý team. After college, Robin never stopped
swimming. In her late forties, she discovered a masters swim team
and has been competing with masters ever since. ýI never was
very fast, but I had fun and got as fast as my little body could
getý. In her late fifties, Robin realized that swimming had
given her so much in her life that she owed it to others to help
them to learn to love to swim. Sheýs been a coach ever
since, working with masters since 2011 and coaching the Piranha age
group swimmers since 2012. She is a Level II American Swim Coaches
Association certified coach, as well as a Masters Level II
coach.
Christina Davis
Assistant Coach/Masters Coach
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Christina (Chris is her preferred name) grew up in
Washingtonville New York where she was a cross-country runner and
participated in track-n-field; she qualified for the Junior
Olympics in cross country 3 times. Chris entered the US Air Force
at the age of 17, where she taught Small Arms weapons. She met and
married her husband, Dan, while stationed in Turkey. They have
two children, Joseph 17 and Ashley 14, who are both competitive
swimmers. In 2008, Chris began swimming with the IF Masters. She
has since qualified for SCY Master Nationals in Breaststroke and
Freestyle. Chris is a Level-1 USA Age Group swim coach and ASCA
Level-2 Master swim coach. Chris is currently employed, full-time,
as a math teacher at a local alternative high school teaching
at-risk youth.
