The Woodlands Swim Team : Coaches & Directors

Tim Bauer - email Tim Bauer - Head Coach Coach Tim directs all phases of the TWST program and is the on-deck coach for the senior group. Tim has been coaching TWST swimmers for 17 years, 12 of these years as the Head Coach. During his coaching tenure, he has accomplished the following: Selected 2008 National Junior Team Assistant Men’s Coach (Melbourne, Australia) Named 2006 Head Coach of the National Select Camp Named 2005 Gulf Senior Coach of the year Voted three time Texas Age Group Coach of the Year Developed numerous Olympian and Olympic trial qualifiers, Senior National Finalists and Junior National Champions Achieved American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 5 – the highest level – for both senior and age groups. His coaching style is one of positive stroke technique and believes in balancing hard work with fun, while achieving goals. Coach Tim challenges his swimmers during practice…having them finish something they thought was impossible! Swimming has been a part of Tim’s life for as long as he can remember. He swam for 12 years with Glendale Arizona Gauchos with his dad as his first swim coach. He then swam for the University of Western Illinois and competed in the Olympic Trials in 1984. He’s married to a former TWST swimmer, Maxine, and has a daughter, Madison, who may be the next Olympic champ. In his spare time, Tim enjoys a competitive game of golf, recently putting his skills to use with a hole-in-one in the TWST’s 2007 annual golf outing.

Shana Trabona - email Shana Trabona - Head Age Group Coach Coach Shana oversees all of the 14 and under Age Groups for the team. She’s the on-deck coach for the 9-16 year old swimmers in addition to managing attendance and grading for early release junior high students. Shana has been coaching TWST swimmers for 18 years, 14 years as Head Age Group coach. Prior to TWST, Shana coached for ATEX here in the Gulf Region, and Bengal Aquatics in Baton Rouge. Her coaching tenure spans over 28 years, with these accomplishments: Voted State of Texas Age Group Coach of the Year three times, most recently in 2007 Named Gulf Region Coach of the Year twice, most recently in 2007 Developed numerous age groupers to Gulf, TAGS and National Records. Shana began her swimming career when she was 11, swimming for a brief stint at DADs in Houston, and then for a few years in Louisiana until she took a break to concentrate on horseback riding…. (she even became a professional Barrel Racer!). It wasn’t long before she got back in the water and fell in love with the sport in high school. There she held the Louisiana High School swimming records in the 50 free and 200 IM, and qualified for Junior Nationals in fly, back and free. She continued swimming in college at LSU and was on the NCAA qualifying relay. Shana and her husband, Tommy, have 3 sons who are all active in swimming. Trent coaches with TWST, and was an Olympic trial qualifier in the 100 fly. Trohn was a Junior National qualifier in 6 events and holds the 100/200 breaststroke records at Delta State in Mississippi. Trey swims with TWST and high school. When not coaching, Shana enjoys scrap booking, sweets, hunting for a great bargain, and is delighted to share the details of the time she was bitten by a copperhead!

Valerie Fenter Nichols - email Valerie Fenter Nichols - Age Group Coach Coach Valerie has been a TWST coach since 2004. She began coaching swimmers eleven to thirteen but soon realized a strong connection with younger swimmers. She truly has a gift for developing young swimmers’ skills and is currently coaching the eight and under age groups. In addition, she is one of the key instructors for the TWST pre-swim program. Coach Valerie has lived in The Woodlands since she was a toddler and was swimming as long. She swam her first race at age three and began swimming with TWST when she was five years old, with much success. By eleven she was a junior national competitor and by fourteen a senior national competitor. She was All American in high school setting records in the 100 breaststroke in 2001, and was team captain for TWST that same year. Valerie is married to Dax Nichols, a former TWST swimmer. Valerie is very close to her family, and when not coaching enjoys hanging out with her siblings and tubing at the lake. She loves a great crawfish boil, especially when she can share it with family and friends.

Brad Radford - email Brad Radford - Age Group Coach Coach Brad assists as on-deck coach for the 9-15 year old swimmers. Brad began his coaching career in 2001 where he spent one year at Delta State University and two years as head coach for a club team in Mississippi. For the past several years, he’s been coaching with TWST. Brad enjoys coaching and believes that every swimmer given the chance can do great things! Brad grew up in The Woodlands as a TWST swimmer from 1989 – 1997. He attended Delta State University where he was an NCAA finalist his senior year in the 200 fly. Brad is married to Coach Kristi (also a former TWST swimmer) and they have two daughters, Kayley and Mackenzie. Brad is passionate about baseball, and when not coaching his swimmers or hanging out with his girls, Brad is likely to be watching an Astro’s game as a huge fan.

Jennie Shamburger - email Jennie Shamburger - Age Group Coach and Team Administrator Coach Jennie joins TWST this season as an age group coach and Team Administrator. Formerly with Premier Aquatics (also known as ATEX, KOAST and Klein Aquatics), Jennie has coached all levels from National to beginner, and developed a learn-to-swim program. With over 10 years coaching experience here in the Gulf Region, she has recognized these accomplishments: Named to the ASCA 2008 Fellows Class Coached Gulf Zones Team for the past five years; head coach of the 2007 Zones Team Participated as a Gulf Allstars Team Coach Won first place in the Doc Counsilman Creative Coaching competition at the ASCA World Clinic in 2007 Developed numerous age groupers to Gulf, TAGS and Top 16 Records Jennie has been involved in this sport for as long as she can remember. She began swimming when she was 10 years old, and started coaching during her senior year, while swimming with her high school and summer league teams in Baton Rouge, LA. There she went on to attend Louisiana Tech and majored in Pre-Med and Theater. She returned to coaching when her family moved here from Lafayette, LA as her children began to show an interest in swimming. For 15 years as a summer league coach, she has been integral in the growth of the local Shenandoah Sharks swim team, from 39 swimmers to their current 240+ swimmer roster. Jennie is currently documenting her ASCA Level III certifications and continues to attend coaching conferences and lectures. She enjoys bringing what she learns back to her swimmers and strives to make it adventurous for them. Jennie makes a point to take a real interest in each of her swimmers, not only with their swim goals, but also with everyday life interests. She believes in helping them realize that everything is possible. When not coaching, Jennie enjoys classic movies like the Wizard of Oz and the original Willy Wonka. She also loves karaoke, which stems from her prior five years doing commercial voice-overs for television and radio. Jennie and Jim, her husband, live in Shenandoah with their four children, all of whom were/are swimmers (summer league, USA, high school and collegiate level).

Courtney Livaudais - email Courtney Livaudais - Age Group Coach Coach Courtney joins the TWST coaching staff this year as an on-deck coach for a group of 9 – 14 year old swimmers. Her coaching experience spans many years and includes Learn-to-swim, Age Group swimming, and High School swimming programs. Coach Courtney brings experience and enthusiasm with her love of the sport, both in the water and on deck. Courtney spent her youth swimming for New Orleans Aquatics and Elmwood Sharks, where she was a Louisiana state qualifier and finisher multiple times. She went on to attend Spring Hill College and was an NAIA national qualifier in the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 500 freestyle. She transferred to the University of New Orleans and swam under the direction of Ashley Tappin, where unfortunately an injury caused her college swimming career to be cut short. Courtney graduated from the University of New Orleans in 2005 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Biology. When not coaching, Courtney enjoys hanging out with her family and playing with her dog Chivas.

Mike Nordmann - email Mike Nordmann - Age Group Coach Coach Mike assists with the 8 & under age groups focusing on stroke and development. With almost 14 years of coaching experience, Mike was formerly with CSP Tideriders in St Louis, MO. Mike also coaches and competes with The Woodlands Masters Swim Team. Mike began swimming with a summer league team when he was 8 and began year round when he was 13, swimming for the CSP Tideriders and then the Rockwood Swim Club in St. Louis. He continued through high school where he qualified for Junior Nationals in the 200 freestyle, 100 and 200 backstroke and Senior Nationals in the 200 backstroke. While swimming for the University of Utah, Mike was All-Conference in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Mike is married to Amy Sullivan Nordmann (who is a 3-time NCAA National Champion in volleyball and also swims with Woodlands Masters Swim Team). They have four young daughters, Lucie, Lillie, Mary and Zoe, three of whom currently swim with TWST. When not swimming, Mike enjoys listening to music and watching movies.

Kristi Radford - email Kristi Radford - Age Group Coach Coach Kristi works with the Pre-TWST swim lesson program focusing on stroke and development. She has also coached The Woodlands Marlins Summer Swim Team of nearly 300 swimmers where this past season she was Assistant Head Coach and will return for the 2009 season as Head Coach. Prior to this, she helped coach the Delta State Aquatic Team and the Vicksburg Swim Team, both in Mississippi. Kristi grew up in The Woodlands as a TWST swimmer. She attended The Woodlands High School where she was on the varsity Swimming and Water Polo teams. During this time Kristi was a multi-year letterman and Honorary All State recipient. Coach Kristi is known for having a bit of a competitive fire in her and as a result holds the title of first player on TWHS Water Polo team to be ejected from a game! In 1999, Kristi attended Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi where she was a Distance and IM swimmer. There she was voted Co-Captain her junior year, lettered multiple years, was an Academic All-American, and an All-Conference recipient. She was also on the Deans List to round off her accomplishments. Kristi is married to Coach Brad of TWST and they have two daughters, Kayley and Mackenzie. When not spending time with her family she enjoys scrapbooking, and cheering for the Astros with Coach Brad (but only when they are winning).

Trent Trabona - email Trent Trabona - Age Group Coach Coach Trent joins the TWST coaching staff as an on-deck coach for 9 – 14 year old swimmers. Trent’s coaching career has taken him full circle. He began coaching with Blue Tide here in the Gulf. He then moved West to coach with the world renowned Mission Viejo Nadadors, a 1000+ swim team in Southern California. He’s back again with Coach Tim -- his former TWST coach as well as a former Nadador coach. Trent has coached all levels from developmental to senior swimmers and during this time… developed many swimmers (10 and under, 11/12, 13/14) to qualify for their age group championship meet (T.A.G.S.) helped lead Blue Tide to a state title chosen to coach the 2006 Gulf Allstars team nominated to represent Gulf Swimming as the 15 and over Boys Zone Coach in Atlanta was Head Coach for 2007 Southern Cal Swimming All-Star Blue Team and produced a winning team part of the North American Challenge Cup Coaching Staff, 2007 and 2008 Coach Trent’s philosophy is to develop swimmers to be their best both in the water and in life. Supporting this is his motto “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary”. Trent grew up swimming for Coach Tim and TWST. He was chosen as team captain in 2000. That same year, he qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 100 Butterfly and was ranked among the top 100 in the world. Following high school, Trent went on to swim for Texas A&M and then Delta State University, where he was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American. Trent enjoys watching football and admits he’s a fanatic fan. When an LSU or Texan game is playing, it is not unusual to find him screaming in excitement (or outrage) at the TV. He loves pick-up football and basketball games, playing poker, and cooking… especially as he tries to recreate his dad’s “awesome Cajun dishes”.

Ryan Podraza - email Ryan Podraza - Age Group Coach Coach Ryan assists as on-deck coach for the 10 and under swimmers. Ryan began his coaching career with a local summer league team, where he spent 6 summers coaching the Shenandoah Sharks. He also coached for 1½ years at PACK, a year-round swim club, and one season for the John Cooper School where he led the men’s team to a first place conference victory in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. Ryan believes a good coach genuinely cares about every swimmer. He embraces this by always trying to be a good listener, a good communicator and a great motivator! Ryan began his own swimming career in summer league where he swam many years with the Willow Forest Wipeouts. He also swam for Tomball High School. Ryan graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2008 with a degree in Kinesiology and a minor in general business. He is currently enrolled in an alternative teaching certification program and hopes to soon apply his knowledge in a teaching environment. Besides studying and taking exams, Ryan enjoys playing guitar, listening to music and watching movies.

Chris Pease - email Chris Pease - Age Group Coach Coach Chris assists as on-deck coach with age group swimmers. In addition to swim coaching experience at the YMCA, he has been the Caney Creek High School head coach for the past two seasons. During this time he has more than tripled the size of the swim team, and successfully brought a solid team to Regionals. Coach Chris began swimming in High School himself, first in Florida, and then in Connecticut. During his senior year he helped lead his team to an undefeated season, the district championship and state runner up. He went on to swim in college but his swim career was cut short as a result of a rugby injury. Chris believes that coaching should be positive and upbeat which is evident by his often-used sense of humor. His goal is for each swimmer to be successful beyond the pool. Chris graduated with a degree in elementary education from Bridgewater State, Massachusetts (minutes from New England Patriot’s field). He currently teaches math to special education students at Caney Creek High School and has been teaching in the district for the past seven years. Away from the pool deck, Chris enjoys spending time with his family's kids and March Madness is his favorite time of the year.