Head Coach, Gyongyver Sovago

Contact Information

E-Mail: sovagomedia@earthlink.net

Phone: 626-232-9888

Biography

My American coaching career began in 1983 with the Tandem Swim Club in Culver City. While at Tandem, my swimmers qualified for the Junior Olympics and the Zone. In 1993 I was invited to coach the Tsunami Swim Team. During the past 15 years I have developed All-American swimmers, CIF champions, a U.S. Open qualifier, Junior Olympic finalists and swimmers who place among the Top 16 in Southern California. I have a degree in Sports Sciences from the Sports Institute of Bucharest. I pursued my dream to attend an American University and, in 1987, I graduated from UCLA. While at UCLA, I spent a year studying abroad in Paris, France.

As a child and teenager I was a competitive swimmer in Romania. For 6 years I was a member of the National Team and held several national records and championship titles. My signature event was the 100 freestyle. My mission as a coach is to reach out to the person as a whole while developing them into competitive athletes. My competitive background and professional training allows me to be the best I can be each day on the deck with my Tsunami swimmers.

Assistant Coach, Heather Pearson

Biography

My love for the water began at age five when I learned to swim at my local YMCA. Swimming soon became a daily activity, and throughout my childhood I swam and competed year-round as a member of my local swim team.

I graduated from San Marino High School and San Diego State University. After a long break from swimming to concentrate on school and starting a family, I returned to the pool as an adult. My love for the water was renewed, and I became a competitive swimmer once again, competing as a member of United States Masters Swimming. As a USMS swimmer, I compete around the United States specializing in distance freestyle events. To this day, I continue to swim and compete in both pool and open water races.

I believe that good technique is the basis for fast swimming. As a coach, my goal is to first teach correct technique then to emphasize conditioning, always with an eye toward improving technique. Hopefully my love for swimming will rub off on the Tsunami swimmers I coach.