Ontario Artistic Swimming is pleased to announce the 2018 Provincial Team Coaching Staff who will be leading our teams this summer:
Yingli Hou, Junior Head Coach
Stephanie Breitigam, Junior Assistant Coach
Brooke Whitney, 13-15 Head Coach
Nicola Chaddock, 13-15 Assistant Coach
Julia Maclean, 11-12 Head Coach
Rhiannon Major, 11-12 Assistant Coach
Ontario Artistic Swimming is thrilled to have these dedicated coaches working with our 2018 Provincial Teams. Please continue reading below for brief bios of our 2018 Coaching Staff:
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Junior Head Coach: Yingli Hou
Yingli has over 20 years of coaching experience, including leading Granite Club’s Junior Team to the podium at 4 consecutive National Championships from 2010-to 2013. Yingli was also the Head Coach of the 2011 Ontario Canada Winter Games Team that captured a bronze medal in team, bronze in solo, and silver in duet, and she will be leading Ontario’s 2019 Canada Winter Games Team in Red Deer, Alberta this coming February. As an athlete, Yingli was a member of the 2000 and 2004 Chinese Olympic Artistic Swimming Teams. Yingli currently coaches at Waterloo Regional Synchro.
In addition to her coaching education, Yingli has become certified as a Pilates Instructor, allowing her to further enhance the training of her athletes. Yingli has been part of Ontario Artistic Swimming High Performance programming including being a guest coach at the 2013-14 Talent Acceleration Pilot Program and the 2014-15 and 2016-17 T2T HPAD Program.
Junior Assistant Coach: Stephanie Breitigam
Stephanie Breitigam is currently the 11-12 High Perfomance coach, and in addition coaches a junior solo and facilitates the strength training program for all HP athletes at Olympium Artistic Swimming Club. She has four year’s experience working with Ontario Artistic Swimming’s Provincial Teams as an apprentice, assistant, and head coach of the 10&Under program, as well as assistant coach of the 13-15 team in 2017 which won gold in team, solo, and duet at the SYNC Invitational in Edmonton. Stephanie was part of the 2014 Team Ontario Development Grant Program, and in 2013 developed and implemented a camp and seasonal program for a synchro club on the island of Curacao. Stephanie has a passion for sport and believes in its ability to build character, confidence, and a sense of accomplishment, and continues to compete herself at the masters level. Her coaching philosophy is to empower each athlete to achieve their full potential as an individual and as part of a team, promoting the values of respect, accountability and self-confidence.
13-15 Head Coach: Brooke Whitney
Brooke Whitney is a Competition Development NCCP Certified Coach, and currently works with GO Capital Synchro as the Lead Provincial coach, in addition to coaching the 13-15 National program. Brooke has worked with Ontario Artistic Swimming’s T2T and L2T programs as a guest expert coach since 2016. In 2013-14, she participated in Team Ontario’s Coach Development & Performance Excellence Program. Brooke has been involved in Ontario’s Provincial Teams program as an Assistant Coach in 2014 (10&Under) and 2016 (13-15). In the summer of 2016, she coached the Ontario-Quebec combined Combo that took home silver at UANA in Puerto Rico. In 2017, Brooke was the Head Coach of the 11-12 Provincial Team which won gold in Team, Duet and Solo at the SYNC Invitational in Edmonton.
13-15 Assistant Coach: Nicola Chaddock
Nicola currently coaches with Toronto Synchro and has recently completed her Competition Development NCCP certification. She began coaching in her home town of London and started coaching with Toronto Synchro in 2014. Nicola is currently coaching Toronto Synchro’s 13-15 FINA team which is a full team of first-time National stream athletes. Nicola believes in positive leadership and reinforcement as a coach and leads every practice with those beliefs.
11-12 Head Coach: Julia Maclean
Julia Maclean is a former Canadian National Team member, who began coaching in 2009. Since retiring as an athlete, Julia has been committed to coaching, and helping to create the next generation of great Ontario athletes. Julia has been hired for the last nine summers to work with various Ontario Provincial Teams, including the 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016 11-12 Provincial Teams, as well as the 2013 Junior Provincial Team and 2017 13-15 Provincial Team. Julia held the position of co-chair of the Synchro Canada Athlete Council for many years, and continues to compete in artistic swimming in National and International Masters events. Julia works as an assistant coach at the Regional Training Centre of Ontario, and also coaches at the Variety Village Synchro Club. Julia has the honour of having an award named after her because of her many accomplishments. The “Julia Maclean Trophy” is awarded every year at the Leslie Taylor Provincial Meet to a swimmer who displays the characteristics Julia has shown throughout her career. She was recognized in 2014 as “Coach of the Year” by Ontario Artistic Swimming and hopes to someday coach our Canadian National Team.
11-12 Assistant Coach: Rhiannon Major
Rhiannon is currently the 11-12 FINA Team Lead and Club Manager for Chaco Synchro. She began coaching in 2013 after retiring as an athlete due to a knee injury. Rhiannon was hired as the Apprentice Coach for the 2016 11-12 Provincial Team and travelled to the UANA Championships in Puerto Rico where the team captured a silver medal. Rhiannon is in her last year of studies as an RMT and uses her knowledge of the human body to design specific training programs that have helped Chaco’s 11-12 FINA Team become one of the top teams in the country. Rhiannon’s goal in coaching is to develop all-around athletes that not only excel in artistic swimming but also take those skills into life.