Coaches
Meet our coaches! They are such a blessing to our team!
Melanie has been coaching our team for seven years now. Prior to coaching the Barracudas, she was part of the coaching staff at the YMCA Camp Thunderbird during high school and college. As a full-time occupational therapist during the day, Melanie spends her afternoons at the pool coaching all age groups at our evening practices and is our go to person for meets. She has three kids on the team Addison (16), Brody (16) and Bryce (12). Melanie still enjoys the sport of swimming herself and is in the pool practicing 1-2 times a week and occasionally participates in triathlons.
Hi! My name is Emily and I am excited to be returning for my fifth year as a coach for Collington! I started swimming at age 6, and was a member of Poseidon Swimming while in high school. I currently swim for Milligan University and where I am a 2x NAIA All-American. I am working towards a degree in finance and accounting. I am excited for a great summer with the Barracudas!
Hey! My name is Grant Shindler. I just finished my first year at Virginia Tech and am excited to spend my summer with the Collington swim team. I will be returning to coach this summer and this will be my 10th year with Collington and 4th year coaching. In my free time, I enjoy golfing and watching professional soccer. I can’t wait for the start of the season, and to see past swimmers and meet our new swimmers! Let's go Barracudas!
Hi Collington families! My name is Caroline Gilley and I am so excited to be coaching and swimming for Collington this summer! A little bit about me: I am a rising Senior at Cosby High school. I have swum for summer leagues since I was six years old and I was an Assistant Coach at Hampton Park last summer. I also work at Poseidon Swim School as an instructor on the weekends. I am currently a year round swimmer for SwimRVA, and I also have swum for Cosby for the last 3 years. In my free time you will either see me at a country concert, shopping, or hiking in the mountains somewhere! I can’t wait to bring my passion for swimming to the Barracudas this summer, and I can’t wait to meet everyone! Let’s have a great season!!