Kelly Kaye
Provincial Coach
Kelly was head coach of the Squamish Pirates for before joining Chena in 2004 and has been crucial in the development and success of Chena, coaching the majority of swimmers that currently make up the Provincial and Youth National Group. As any swimmer or parent that has had the privilege of having Kelly as a coach can attest to, she instills a sense of pride, loyalty, and discipline in her athletes that is quite special.
Swimming under Pierre Lafontaine as an age grouper, Kelly broke a number of Provincial and National records in breaststroke, swam on the Youth National Team for 2 years, swimming in both Sweden and Holland for Team Canada. At the age of 18, she left swimming to compete in snowboarding, qualified for the National Team, and spent the next 3 years traveling the world, competing in the freestyle events. After an injury, she studied at UBC and graduated with a degree in biochemistry, while swimming with the varsity swim team. She subsequently broke the national masters record for 200 Breaststroke.
“Sports provide an individual with life skills that will carry on much further than their sporting career. I believe that lessons such as dedication, a strong work ethic, respect for others, self-awareness, time management, self-confidence, and how to embrace the competitive spirit, will carry on for a lifetime. I also believe that swimming is such a beautiful sport and that the skills that are being taught in the pool will help them succeed both short term and long term as an all round athlete.”
“I believe that we have swimmers in this club that could be swimming for a position on the next Olympic team and that the training for that should start now. This year is of utmost importance when it comes to being successful in the Olympic year. This type of swimming does not happen in one season, it will take all three seasons to get these athletes prepared. I am very excited to bring our top swimmers up to this level of competition and know that I am a strong enough coach to do so”.
