March 2010

Welcome to the Settler’s Landing Swim Team!  Come join us in what should be another exciting season where we build on our RMAL C Division Championship from last season and set out to take the RMAL B Division by storm!  Coaches Clay Smith and Tim Johnson will be returning for another season and the team will welcome a new face, Assistant Coach Nicole Snider to the Sharks coaching staff.  Together, the three bring many years of experience to the table and will provide you with the coaching that is second to none in the RMAL.  Not only will you learn how to swim faster and stronger, but you’ll have fun and you’ll be bursting with Shark Attack pride!

Clay Smith returns to Settler’s Landing for his thirteenth year of coaching.  He is anything but a stranger to the Settler’s Landing community as he began working for the pool in 1990 as a Lifeguard.  Holding a degree in Physical Education from Virginia Commonwealth University, Clay brings a wealth of knowledge on teaching the sport of swimming.  He has been teaching group and private lessons at Settler’s Landing for over 13 years.  In 1996, he took on the challenge of coaching the Settler’s Landing Sharks serving with notable coaches such as Christine Zima Overstreet from 1996-2000 and Beth Moon from 2000-2005.  Clay’s love for our team and community can be seen in the lives of the many generations of Sharks swimmers he has taught or coached through the years.  Outside of Settler’s, Clay has been working in the fitness industry for over 11 years and has his own company, Fitness Solutions.

Tim Johnson returns to the Sharks coaching staff where he enters his 3rd year of coaching.  Much like Clay, Settler’s Landing pool played a major part in Tim’s life.  In fact, Tim was one of the first swimmers to come through Clay Smith’s “Swim School” when he entered a Beginner 1 Swim Lesson taught by Clay in 1990.  Unfortunately, Tim lacked the skills to pass and Clay failed him.  Never one to back down from a challenge, Tim returned the next season for Clay’s Beginner 1 class and passed with flying colors.  His success in the pool continued as he swam for the Sharks from 1991-2001 helping the team secure several division titles.  For much of the 90’s, Tim was a fixture at the pool, where he started working as Gate Guard and moved up to the Snack Bar and eventually became a Lifeguard.  In August 2001, Tim left Settler’s to enroll at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia where he would earn his B.A. in International Studies and Political Science in May 2005.  Currently, Tim serves as the Head Swim Coach and Head Girls Varsity Soccer Coach at Richmond Christian School while also working as a substitute teacher for Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover counties.

Although the Sharks said farewell to Christine Ofslager last season, the team welcomes Nicole Snider to the staff as an Assistant Coach.  Nicole comes to the Sharks from Shady Acres where she served as a coach for the past two seasons.  Nicole is no stranger to swimming or Settler’s Landing.  She began swimming at age 6 as a mini-mite for Shady Acres, swam two years for Poseidon Swimming and concluded her summer league swimming career as a Senior with Shady Acres and the Settler’s Landing Sharks.  Outside of competitive swimming, Nicole is an experienced lifeguard working at several pools in the area including Settler’s Landing where she has experience with swim lessons and has served as a weekend manager.  Currently, Nicole is enrolled at Longwood University where she is pursuing both an undergraduate and Master’s degree in hopes of becoming an Elementary School teacher and participates on the Longwood University swim team.

We hope you like what you see and are excited about joining the Sharks this season!  It is sure to be a memorable season full of great teaching, great competition, and tons of fun.  Don’t spend your summer bored on the couch watching cartoons or playing video games when you could be at Settler’s as a part of the best team in the RMAL!  Join us and make it a great season!  Make the Sharks YOUR team!

Looking forward to another great season,

Clay, Tim, and Nicole