​​​​​​​Coaches

​​​​​​​Your experienced team of swim coaches are here to support your needs. We are committed to offering a fun competitive environment for all swimmers, of all ages.  If your questions are related to workouts, meets, events, goal setting and other swimming related needs please contact one of the coaches. We would be more than happy to assist you.    On behalf of all the Hyack Swim Coaches, we look forward to serving your swim needs.

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​​​​​​​Andrew Lennstrom        

                                                 Head Coach, Director of Swimming

                                                           Email: lennstrom@hyack.com

Andrew Lennstrom or  " Lenny", as everyone knows him, is returning to Hyack for his 23rd season and first as Director of Swimming. 
His swimming career started in Thunder Bay with the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts before heading out west to Swim for Simon Fraser University. 
After a few seasons of coaching with summer clubs and other local swim teams after University, he finally joined Hyack in the 1999/2000 season. 
​​​​​​​He has been the assistant Head Coach since 2001 and has enjoyed tremendous success at the Age group level  He has coached  swimmers to Hundreds of Provincial medals and numerous National titles. 
Over the last 10 years his swimmers have broken nearly 60 Provincial Records  along with  22 national Age Group Records.  He was selected as a coach for  the Canada Games Team in 2022 as well as awarded BC Male Coach of the Year for the 2021/22 season. He has always found himself fortunate to work with a great group of swimmers and is looking forward to the challenge of performing on the National and International Stage. 
Although we are still going through the challenges created by Covid  and a pool closure, he feels we have a lot of great swimming to look forward to as we look to build on the successes of last season. 
 "It is great to look back on the positives of last year but honestly I think we have so much more to look forward to and am excited to see, not just how this season develops, but the next several years". 

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Frici Laszlo ​​​​​​​   ​​​​​​​

                                                               CCAC Head Coach

                                                           Email: frici@hyack.com

Frici has been a professional swim coach since 1984. During his coaching career he has produced numerous Age Group and Provincial Champions and trained provincial record holder swimmers. He was born in Budapest, Hungary where he attended the Hungarian University for Physical Education and graduated with a Master's Degree. As a young athlete, Frici was a four-time Hungarian Senior Nationals Champion, Hungarian Age Group Nationals Champion, and member of the Hungarian National Team from 1974-1980. From 1989-2005 he was the head coach of Sopron Swim Club in Hungary. After coming to Canada, he completed his NCCP's Level 3 Certificate.
 
Frici started his Canadian career in Manitoba with the Selkirk Dolphins as Head Coach and later with the Manitoba Marlins as Assistant Head Coach. Since 2008 Frici has been the CCAC Head Coach for Hyack. He believes that with the habit of regular and passionate work, improvement and success will not stay long behind. He is motivating, compassionate, and demanding, bringing his extensive background to Hyack.
 
Over the years, Frici has received multiple awards:
- 2014: Age Group Coach of the Year 13 & Under Award from the British Columbia Swim Coaches Association (BCSCA) 
- 2016, 2017: Age Group Coach of the Year 11 & Under Award from BCSCA
- 2017, 2020: Development Staff of the Year for all Hyack coaches. This recognition was based on Hyack's outstanding performance at the BC AA Championships.
- 2019: Junior & Youth Development Staff of the Year (with all Hyack coaches) at the 2019 BC Swimming Awards
- 2019: Frici's swimmers (current and former) were part of the Hyack 12 & Under boys relay team that set the new Canadian and Provincial Age Group Record
- 2020: Member of Hyack coaching staff BC 2020 Winter Age Group Champions Team, and Development Staff of the Year (with Hyack coaches) at the 2020 BC Swimming Awards


  Regina Saenz            

                                                               13+ Provincial, Regional

                                                Email: reginasaenz0911@gmail.com

I have loved swimming since I was little, joining the Hyack Swim Club at age 6 and developing a deep passion for the sport.
I worked my way up to the high-performance (HP) level at a young age, inspired by many role models along the way. Over the years, I participated in numerous national, international, and provincial meets.
At age 14, I qualified for trials in the 1500 Freestyle, and at 15, I moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, to continue my swimming journey.
After high school, I decided to stop swimming due to family and health issues, but my love for the sport never faded. In 2022, I began coaching in Saskatchewan, sharing my knowledge and passion with the next generation of swimmers.
Now, I am an assistant coach for the SFU varsity swim team and continue coaching at Hyack, specifically working with the Regionals and 13-and-over groups.
I love to instill passion, determination, resilience, and fun in my swimmers, encouraging them to strive for their best while enjoying the sport.
I am also certified in NCCP and Safe Sport.


Nikita Slivinski         

                                                                     OW Black, HS & LMR 

                                                         Email: nikita.slivinski@gmail.com

Heading into his fourth season of coaching, Nikita has had the opportunity to coach athletes of all different age ranges and skill sets. Nikita started as a swimmer with Hyack Swim Club and developed into a coaching role during the 2021-2022 season. Since then, Nikita has made it his goal to encourage a passion for the sport of swimming with every athlete he interacts with, whether he’s coached them for three years or a few months. As the bridge between development and competitive groups, Nikita strives to aid all swimmers in their transition into competitive swimming and equip them with skill sets that they can carry throughout their swimming careers. Nikita is NCCP 101 certified.


 Marissa Parado 

                                                  Grassroots, OW White, STI 

                                                 Email: Marissap04@shaw.ca

Marissa has been a member of hyack for about 8 years, swimming competitively for 6 years and now coaching for a little over 2 years. Still passionate about the sport but unwanting to compete is when her coaching journey had started. Marissa is continuing to learn as much as possibly can to develop her coaching skills so she can do her absolute best to help each and every swimmer achieve their goals.
She is now working with Hyack coaches with a variety of groups and has helped at stroke camps. Marissa is currently in her grade 12 year and is looking forward to spending another year with her hyack family. Marissa is certified in WSI and NCCP 101.


Avery Tamagi          

                                                       Grassroots, OW White

                                                  Email: avetamagi@gmail.com

Avery has been a member of Hyack since she was 7 years old, starting in Grassroots 1, all the
way up to HP. Unfortunately, she had to stop swimming competitively due to a health issue, but now wants to pass down her passion for the sport to younger swimmers. She aspires to mentor and support swimmers to excel in the sport, allowing them to achieve their goals. Avery is currently a first year, going into second year student at SFU and is studying biomedical physiology. Avery is certified in Standard First Aid & CPR/AED level C, NL and is a certified swimming fundamental coach.


 Aiden Matadeen   

                                                      OW Black, LMR, High School

                                                   Email: aomatadeen@gmail.com

Aidan has been a part of Hyack since he was ten years old.
He swam for eight years beginning in the Olympic Way White group and working his way up to HP. Aidan began coaching three years ago and strives to excel everywhere he can.
Aidan’s goal is to instill the same love for the sport he found when he swam and to help his swimmers not only succeed in the pool but everywhere in their lives.
Aidan is a second-year student at SFU studying molecular biology and biochemistry. Aidan is certified as an SI instructor and has his NCCP 101.


​​​​​​​Demone Tissara    

                                                   Senior Varsity and Masters Coach      

                                                            Email: tissira@me.com



 Bryan Iliscupidez     

                                                              Coquitlam Masters

                                    Email:  bryani.hyack@gmail.com

Bryan grew up in Alberta where he did most of his swimming from age group to university. An interest in viewing the sport from another perspective led to the beginning of his coaching career. Originally coaching at Red Deer Catalina with the youth groups for 2 years, this sparked an interest in returning to the sport by joining the local Masters Swim club. Eventually, life led Bryan to Vancouver where he would join English Bay Swim Club as swimmer and eventually a coach.  

Bryan has a Fundamentals Coach certification, previously coaching age group in Alberta for 2 years, masters swimming for 6 years with English Bay Swim Club, and 2 years with Canadian Dolphins Masters. Also, within the sport Bryan had served 4 years on the board of Masters Swimming BC as Registrar, and 4 years as Co-Director of the English Bay Executive board.

Bryan believes in the benefits of Masters swimming for both mental and physical health. Endurance, intensity & hard work are key factors to improving efficiency and speed in the water, but prioritizing technical growth will create overall longevity in the sport. Focusing on a goal, whether it be completing more metres than previous seasons, reaching a goal time for a competition or even learning the enjoyment of the sport, let us work together and have fun doing it.


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