COACHES – SUMMER 2021
Alexandra Kouzas
Head Coach & Coach Practice Time 1: SR1 and SR 2
Coach Alex grew up in South Africa and swam competitively for 13 years. In 2013, she moved to Canada to continue swimming, while attending the University of British Columbia. Alex’s best stroke has always been Freestyle (sprints), with the 50m Free being her favourite event. She competed at the National and International level for South Africa and, in 2012, qualified for the South African Olympic Trials.
Her proudest swimming moment, however, was after she took a year off swimming in 2015 and then returned and qualified for the 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials. Shortly after the Trials, Alex partially tore her bicep tendon and supraspinatus which meant, unfortunately, that she had to take some time off training. She attempted to make a return to the pool, but soon after decided that it was time to hang up her goggles.
Alex has coached for the Vancouver Vikings Swim Club for six years. Having worked her way up from the MV2 group, all the way through to the P1 group this Summer. Currently, she is the Head Coach for the Vancouver Vikings and also the UBC Masters Swim Club for adults.
Alex graduated from UBC in 2019, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Special Education. She is now finishing up her second degree at UBC in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) to teach elementary school education.
Alex prides herself on being a technical coach, who is able to create a fun and supportive environment for all her swimmers. She is extremely excited to be coming back as both the head coach and group coach this Summer and cannot wait to get to know each of the swimmers in her group!
Alexandra’s email address is coachalex@vancouvervikings.com.
Hugh Dauvergne
Assistant Head Coach - floating between groups as needed
Hugh is very excited to be the assistant head coach this summer! Hugh will be floating between groups assisting Alex and the other coaches where needed.
Hugh spent the last 10 years both swimming and coaching for the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club where he was a provincial medalist and an age group national qualifier. Although Hugh never swam or coached with Vikings before this summer, he is no stranger to the coaching team. In fact, Hugh swam competitively with Coach Alex and Coach Mackenzie, and has won high school provincial medals swimming with Coach Sam.
Currently, Hugh is completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto with a major in History.
Hugh’s coaching style emphasizes fun and technique and he can’t wait to contribute positively to the already amazing Vikings community.
Go Vikings!!
Mackenzie Gunther
Practice Time 2: Coach Senior 2 and Intermediate 1
Mackenzie joined the Vikings in 2011 as a swimmer in the Junior group, and over the next four summers became a provincial medalist and record holder. She then joined VPSC where she swam for the next three years. Mackenzie swam at UBC where she was a member of the UBC Thunderbird Swim team. She just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and will be attending a Master’s program in the fall in Global Affairs.
Mackenzie has been a Vikings Winter Maintenance coach for the past five years and was the MV1 coach in the summer of 2019. She has also coached for the UBC Masters Swim team. Mackenzie is so excited to continue to be a part of the Vikings family this summer and pass on her knowledge and passion of the sport to her swimmers.
Mackenzie G’s email address is coachmgunther@vancouvervikings.com.
Hadley Gunther
Practice Time 3: Coach, INT2
Coach Hadley is thrilled to be returning to coach with the Vikings this summer! Having coached MV2 for the past two seasons she is very excited to be coaching INT2 this summer. Hadley has swam from the Vikings for 9 summer seasons. When she wasn’t swimming, Hadley played water polo competitively throughout high school and competed at the 2017 USA Junior Olympics along with earning a silver medal at the U19 Canadian National Championships in 2018.
Hadley is currently attending the University of Calgary majoring in History with a goal to graduate in 2023 and pursue an after degree in Nursing.
In her spare time Hadley enjoys playing volleyball, making awesome playlists on Spotify and watching Jeopardy!
She can’t wait to meet the INT2s and get the season underway!
Hadley’s email address is coachhadley@vancouvervikings.com.
Sam Watanabe
Practice Time 4: Coach JR1
Sam is looking forward to another great season with the Vikings this year! He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s of science degree studying pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Toronto and is thrilled to be returning to Vancouver for the summer.
Sam has spent many seasons as a swimmer with the Vikings, and was coach for the MV3 group in 2019. He has also spent many hours teaching at learn-to-swim programs as well as coaching his high school swim team.
Sam is quite the outdoorsman, so when he’s not on deck, he likes to spend his time at the beach or exploring the mountains! This year, he will be returning as coach for the JR1 group and can’t wait for the season to get underway.
Brett Caswell
Practice Time 5: Coach, JR2
As a long-time member of the Vancouver Vikings since 2011, Brett has always taken great pleasure returning to the summer season and is beyond excited for the 2021 season.
In his first season as a group coach, Brett hopes to make this summer enjoyable and memorable for the JR2 swim group.
When reflecting upon the quintessential experience of summer swimming, Brett is reminded of water gun fights, scores of potlucks, and swim meets that were as exhausting as they were fun. Although these activities may not be possible this year, Brett is confident that the Vikings spirit will persevere!
Brett’s previous coaching experience comes as a Vikings Junior Leader (volunteer coach), an assistant coach, and as a Vikings Winter Maintenance group coach. He is also completing his certification in Swimming Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program. Brett is currently completing his final year at Kitsilano Secondary School, and will be attending UBC in the fall, pursuing a degree in Science. Away from the pool deck, Brett enjoys reading, cooking, and jogging.
Eager for the summer season to start, Brett can’t wait to improve the technique, morale, and speed of the JR2 swimmers!
Maya Kennedy
Practice Time 6: Coach, MV
Maya is ecstatic to be joining the Vikings team for her first summer as a group coach and sixth season overall! Having been an assistant coach for two years and a group coach through two Winter Maintenance sessions, she is looking forward to working with the Mini Vikings this summer and developing young swimmers into athletes.
Having started as an anxious swimmer who was terrified of diving and developing into a two-time Provincial Championship finalist, Maya strives to foster resilience, leadership, and a lifelong passion for fitness in her swimmers.
A current grade 12 student at Kitsilano Secondary, Maya will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall to study economics and life sciences. She enjoys picnics at the beach, road trips with good coffee, and (of course) being at the pool. GO VIKS!!!
COACHES – WINTER 2024
Mira Jamal
Winter Maintenance Head Coach, P1, P2, P3, P5
Mira is thrilled to step into the role of Head Coach for the winter maintenance season!
Her journey with the Vikings began in 2014, where she competed as a summer swimmer until 2018. In 2019, Mira transitioned to winter swimming and spent two years with the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club. After finishing her competitive swimming career, she continued her passion for the sport by coaching the Mini Makos program at the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club.
Since joining the Vikings in 2014, Mira has embraced various roles, starting as a swimmer and progressing through junior leader, assistant coach, group coach, and now head coach.
Outside of the pool, Mira is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at UBC. When she’s not coaching, she enjoys spending time with friends, baking new recipes, exploring local cafes, or studying on campus.
Mira is excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm to her new role and looks forward to a fantastic winter season!
Zoey Johnston
P1, P2 & P5
Zoey is thrilled to be returning to the Vikings this fall and winter after an amazing summer season!
Zoey grew up on Salt Spring Island where she swam for the Salt Spring Stingrays for 13 years before transitioning into a coaching role. She coached with her home club for 4 years before deciding to switch it up last season and join the Vancouver Vikings as Assistant Head Coach!
Zoey is in her fourth year as an undergraduate studying Environmental and Sustainable Geography at UBC, after which she plans to pursue a career in education. When Zoey isn’t studying or coaching on the pool deck, you will find her hiking, backpacking, or skiing in the North Shore mountains. Zoey is extremely excited to coach over the winter and looks forward to seeing everyone back on the pool deck soon!
Stephanie Schneider
P4, P6
Hello! I’m Stephanie and I’m super excited for my first season coaching with the vikings. This is my 5th year coaching, and I’ve worked for Summer and Winter teams with many different levels.
I swam for 12 years, starting with the Haney Neptunes then transferring to Winter swimming with the Ridge Meadows Titans for my last 5 years of competing. My favourite events were 100 fly, 200 free and 400 free. Fun fact, when I was swimming in BCSSA I collected 6 provincial medals!
I am going into my second year of kinesiology at UBC, with my end goal being physiotherapy! When I’m not studying or coaching, I love to hike, swim, and paddleboard!
Minou Ono
P6
Minou is so excited to continue with the Vikings as a coach after being an assistant coach last summer!
Minou grew up in California and started swimming competitively there when she was 6. She was on a team there until 2023 when she moved to Vancouver. She has been coaching a summer swim team for the last three years and is so happy to get to coach at Vikings! She also swam for the Vikings during the summer. Her favorite strokes are butterfly and freestyle.
Outside of the pool, she loves to crochet and spend time with her two cats.
Mia Barrault
P4
Mia is very excited to return as a winter maintenance coach this fall!
Mia began swimming in Whitehorse, Yukon at the age of 6. She competed with the Whitehorse Glacier Bears for 12 years. With years of training, Mia qualified for provincials, nationals and Olympic trials in breaststroke events.
Mia is currently studying Kinesiology and swimming at the University of British Columbia. Swimming is her passion, which she loves to share with others.
Outside of the pool, Mia loves paddle boarding, reading and golfing!”
Ryder Ilich
P3
Ryder is super stoked to be coaching with the vikings again this Winter!
He's been swimming with the vikings since 2016 and has represented the club and medalled at BCSSA provincials every year since. As captain of the WPGA varsity team, Ryder has also brought home some hardware for the wolves at BC aquatics provs since he first dived off the blocks in grade 3. His favourite events are 50 - 100 free and fly, but as long as the goggles stay on he's just happy to be racing!
Outside of the pool, he loves skiing and spending time in the gym. He is looking forward to some fast fun this winter maintenance.
Derek Lim
Assistant Coach
Derek started his swimming career with the Vancouver Vikings in 2014, and has swam with the club for 11 consecutive seasons. He has been a junior leader with the Vikings for three years, and then started assistant coaching this summer season. Derek also coaches his high school swim team at Eric Hamber. He then started winter swimming, where he’s been training with Vancouver Pacific Swim Club for 3 years. Derek’s favorite stroke is Breastroke, but he also likes racing Backstroke!
Outside of swimming, Derek enjoys hanging out with friends, and trying new foods. Derek is thrilled to help the Vikings swim fast and have fun!
