Dan Flack
Director of Competitive Swimming
Head Coach / Aquatics Director
Coach Flack is recognized by the American Swimming Coaches Association as a Level V coach, the highest level attainable. Level five is composed of the top 2-5% of coaches in the USA. In his fifth year as the Director of both the Baylor School and club programs, Coach Flack has enjoyed remarkablie success.
In his five years with Baylor, Coach Flack accomplished the following:
Baylor Swim Club
2009-2010
Coached Spencer Rowe and Arden Pitman to qualify for the US Swimming National Youth Team and represented the United States in competitions in Vancouver, Canada and Barcelona Spain.
Ashley Vance to qualify for the NCSA National All Star team that represented the United States at the Irish National Championships in Dublin, Ireland
Kristen Vredeveld broke three Southeastern Swimming records for 13-14 girls in the 50 free for both yards and meters and the 100 free for yards.
Baylor Swim Club had for new United States Swimming Senior National Qualifiers
Baylor Swim Club was a Silver medal club of excellence ranking in the country
Baylor Swim Club had 5 US Swimming Scholastic All Americans, 19 different members over the last 4 years
Baylor School- High School Swimming
2009-2010
Baylor School won the Tennessee state championship in girls and combined standings
Baylor Girls won every event at the state meet except for two
Baylor girls ranked 2nd in the NISCA national dual meet championship rankings while the boys ranked 4th
Baylor broke two school records
Baylor had 8 girls and 5 boys earn All American status
2008-2009
Baylor Girls were Swimming World Magazine’s National Champions
Baylor Boys were Swimming World Magazine” National Independent School Champions for the 2nd year in a row
Baylor won all three Tennessee State tiltes
Baylor won both boys & girls championships at the 2009 Eastern Prep Meet heal in Philadelphia
Baylor won the NISCA combined national dual meet championship, and won their national division in both boys and girls, the boys the second year in a row
Baylor girls broke two national records in both the 200 medley & freestyle relays
Baylor boys & girls broke 11 national records for the 25 meter course
Baylor broke 17 school records
Baylor boys & girls teams were both awarded Silver Medal status Academically in the NISCA Academic All American program
Baylor had 7 girls and 8 boys earn All American status
The outcome has resulted in a consistently nationally recognized program both in the pool, administratively and academically.
Prior to Baylor, Flack led the championship Raleigh Swimming Association from 2002 - 2006. RSA was selected as United States Swimming Gold Medal Club Excellence for 2005-2008. Coach Flack trained two qualifiers for the 2004 Olympic Trials, trained five different swimmers who are qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials and has had numerous national champions and finalists at both the junior and senior level. Coach Flack has trained a dozen high-school aged swimmers to top 100 in the world rankings. In 2004, RSA won the men's, women's and combined team championship at the NCSA Junior Nationals and repeated as men's champs in 2005. Flack was recognized as the NCSA National Coach of the Year in 2004.
Prior to his position at Raleigh, Flack was the head coach and program director for the Bengal Tiger Aquatic Club in Baton Rouge, where he coached Pan American Games Silver medal winner Jarrod Marrs, and was awarded Louisiana Coach of the year honors in 1999 and 2000. He also served on the 1999 Women's NCAA Women's Champion University of Georgia coaching staff under Head Coach Jack Bauerle, as well as the assistant coach at Germantown Academy in Philadelphia under Dick Shoulberg. Both Baurele & Shoulberg have been US Olympic coaches.
Flack earned his B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dan has two children, Julia and Sam.
Brian Gill
Head Age Group Coach / Swim School Director
Coach Brian Gill enters his fifth year as
the Head Age Group Coach of the Baylor Swim
Club.
During his five years at Baylor, Coach
Gill has produced Southeastern Swimming champions, three Southeastern Middle School
Championships, created growth in the age group
program, and developed the swimming lesson
program.
Coach Gill also spent three summers as the head coach
of CASL's Signal Mountain Swim Team, a team
that boasts more than 250 swimmers. The Green
Giants have come away with the Swimming and Combined
titles at the CASL Swimming Championships
in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Before coming to Baylor, Coach Gill served
as the Head Age Group Coach for the Raleigh
Swimming Association in North Carolina. While
working under Baylor Head Coach Dan Flack,
he helped expand the RSA program from 120
swimmers to 280 swimmers in four years.
Coach Gill began his career as RSA’s Head
Age Group Coach in 2001. In his second year
with the club, Coach Gill received a Vocational
Excellence award from the Cary Kildaire Rotary
Club recognizing his work with children in
coaching. Coach Gill focuses on developing
proper stroke technique while striving to
instill a love and enthusiasm for the sport
of swimming. He boasts a coaching philosophy
that every swimmer in the swimming program
is important, regardless of swimming level.
The RSA Age Group Program thrived under Coach
Gill as he produced State and Sectional Champions
in 2003 and 2005. Coach Gill also achieved
American Swimming Coaches Association Level
III status in 2005. In addition to his Age
Group coaching responsibilities, Brian also
oversaw several developmental clinics.
A competitive swimmer since the age of seven,
Coach Gill swam for Lochmere Swim Club for
10 years and was a member of RSA and the
Cardinal Gibbons High School swim teams.
He furthered his involvement in competitive
swimming at age 16, coaching summer league
swimming at Glenn Ridge Swim Team. He then
became the Head coach for Lochmere Swim Team
in Cary, NC, where he managed 400 swimmers
and five assistant coaches. In his four years
at as head coach, the Lochmere Monsters captured
four Cary City titles, three single loss
seasons, one undefeated season, and the 2003
TSA Summer League championship.
Coach Gill and his wife Leah live on the
Baylor School Campus, with their dog Houston and cat Jacob.
Laura Pitman
Assistant Aquatics Director / Assistant Coach
Coach Laura Pitman grew up swimming in the
Chattanooga area. Pitman swam for Mercersburg
Academy in Mercersburg, PA during her high
school years.
At the University of Tennessee she was an
All-American. She has been coaching with
the Baylor Swim Club for the past nine years. Pitman
has experience coaching at many levels: summer
league, high school and age group/ senior.
In 2006 she coached the Southeastern Middle
School Champions as well as the 11-12 girls
Southeastern Age Group Champions at Baylor.
Laura currently is the assistant coach with
The Baylor Lower school team and helps with
other groups as needed. Laura is responsible
for the daily operations of the club.
Laura currently is the assistant coach with The Baylor Middle school team, which was the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Southeastern Middle School champiions, and helps with other groups as needed.
Coach Pitman lives on the Baylor campus with
her husband Wes, and her child Arden, who also swims on the Baylor Swim Club. Her oldest daughter Sloane, is a former Baylor Swim Club athlete who is now a collegiate swimmer at the Unviersity of Tennessee.
Tom Smith Assistant Senior / Varsity Coach
Coach Tom Smith begins his eighth year coaching with the Baylor Swim Club and Varsity program. Tom spent twelve highly successful seasons coaching in the CASL with both Signal Mountain and Colonial Shores before coming to Baylor. While coaching the Green Giants, Tom led the team to five consecutive city meet titles and one undefeated season.
Coach Tom has enjoyed a great deal of success with Baylor Swim Club. While at Baylor, Tom has produced multiple Southeastern champions, several national Top 16 qualifiers, two Jr. National qualifiers, and one Senior National qualifier.
As an assistant with the varsity program, Tom has coached numerous All-Americans and State Champions. During his tenure with the varsity team, Baylor has won five combined state championships and one Eastern Prep championship.
Coach Tom Smith is currently an ASCA Level 4 certified coach.
Coach Smith graduated form the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1999 with a degree in Exercise Science.
He and his wife, Emily, currently reside in Harrison with their dog, Boomer, and cats, Sammi and Oscar.
Melissa Roop
Assistant Coach- Lead Developmental
Program
Coach
In her forty-ninth year of swimming and coaching,
Mrs. Roop has coached many of the swimmers
in this area and their parents. Her swimming
years include eleven years in the Chattanooga
Swim League, nine years of AAU and YMCA year
round swimming, and two years as an original
Lady VOL at UTK. Her coaching experience
started with the Chattanooga YMCA, followed
by the summer league CYF and Ft. Oglethorpe
teams, the UTC competitive swim program,
summer league teams in South Carolina, Greater
Chattanooga Aquatic Club, and Baylor Swim
Club.
Mrs. Roop graduated from UTC with a Chemistry
degree. She taught five years before retiring
to raise Josh, Laura, and Greg (All of whom
swam for Baylor Swim Club or its predecessor
Greater Chattanooga Aquatic Club). Her husband,
Gary, is the pastor at Brainerd Hills Presbyterian
Church where he has served for twenty-four
years.
Although Mrs. Roop has coached Southeastern
champions and City Meet record holders, her
greatest love is teaching the basics to young
swimmers and watching their joy in learning
a new skill. Her philosophy is simple-"If
it is worth doing, it is worth doing right."
Mark List Assistant Coach- Lead Site Coach at the Hamilton YMCA, Lead AG Practice Group Coach
Mark began his swim career over 45 years ago. Mark has experience as a summer league, age group, high school, college, and Masters swimmer. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA where he was a 4 year All-American and the top high school backstroker in the nation his junior and Senior years. From there, Mark swam at the University of North Carolina. At UNC, he was a 2-year All-American in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke. Mark continues his swimming as a Master swimmer. He has been ranked in the top 10 in his age group in the country 23 times. In 2002, he was the top ranked backstroker in his age group.
Mark began his coaching career over 30 years ago. During this time, he has coached summer league, age group, and high school swimmers. He also has many years experience teaching swimming. This will be Coach Mark's fifth year working with the Baylor Swim Club, and his third as the primary coach of our AG practice group. This year he is also taking on a new role as the site leader of the Hamilton YMCA Developmental group.
Dale Tillman Masters Coach
Dale Tillman grew up swimming in New Jersey, and she competed in the Pac-10 Conference while attending the University of California at Berkeley. Dale also attended the University of Miami and has a degree in electrical engineering. In the nearly four decades Dale has been involved in the sport of competitive swimming she has had the privilege of working under the direction of former Olympic Swim Coaches Jack Nelson and Frank Elm. In addition to the Baylor Masters, Ms. Tillman coaches the Notre Dame High School Swim Team, which consistently finishes in the top ten at the State Championships and has produced several All-American swimmers.
Dale is an accomplished triathlete and a member of the Krystal Racing Team. She is a former USA Triathlon All-American, the 2006 USA Triathlon National Sprint Champion (Athena Class), former Venezuelan National Triathlon Champion, and a 3-time Southeast Regional Xterra Champion and National Qualifier. She is a past President of the Chattanooga Area Swim League, serves on the board of directors for the Cumberland Youth Foundation, and Scenic City Velo, and is a fitness instructor at the downtown YMCA.
Dale's primary objective with the Master's Group is to help each adult athlete achieve their personal goals, whether it is setting a personal best in a masters swim meet, having a faster swim in a triathlon, or to just simply maintain physical fitness. “I am so excited to be part of the Baylor Swim Club. From the youngest swimmer to the oldest swimmer, incredible things are happening everyday at the Baylor pool. You can feel the ‘greatness’ in the air from the moment you step onto the pool deck.”
Dale lives in East Ridge and has 2 teenage children. Her daughter, Hayley-Rae, is a member of the Baylor Swim Club. Her son, Troy, is a former Baylor swimmer and now swims for the University of Tennessee.
Jeannine Carpenter Assistant Coach
Coach Jeannine Carpenter began coaching summer league in 1991 in Cary, NC. Since that time, Coach Jeannine has been the head coach of 5 different summer league teams, the head age group coach of 2 year-round swim clubs, and has experience coaching paralympic, high school and masters swimming. Currently, she is a Travel Team Coach for the USA National Paralympic Swim Team. Throughout her coaching career, Coach Jeannine was also busily pursuing her college and graduate education. She received her BA and MA degrees from N.C. State University in English Language and Linguistics. In 2009, she completed her PhD at Duke University in English.
Coach Jeannine Carpenter is very excited to be joining the Baylor Swimming Coaching Staff and the Baylor School faculty in 2009. In addition to coaching, Dr. Carpenter will be teaching English in the Upper School.
Murphy McCracken Swimming Lesson Instructor
Murphy is a Junior at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in the field of Painting and Drawing. Prior to moving to Chattanooga, Murphy grew up in Memphis, TN jumping in the pool at age eight and learning her love of the pool. From then on she swam competitively for twelve years competing in USA Swimming Southeasterns and High School State Championships.
At age sixteen she became lifeguard and CPR certified lifeguarding at local country clubs in West Tennessee. Just a year later she began coaching and teaching beginner to advanced swimmers anywhere from ages three to eighteen. Murphy's extracurricular activities include playing piano, lying in her hammock, and enjoying the beautiful atmosphere that Chattanooga has to offer. After four years of teaching she is excited to be joining the Baylor coaching staff and eager to get her feet wet with the many experiences and opportunities that await.
Kaitlin Sawyer is a senior at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Spanish. When she graduates she wants to do field work with a focus on protection and restoration of either large marine ecosystems or rivers and streams.
She grew up swimming in Lebanon TN. Swimming since the age of two she began to swim competitively with a swim club at the age of nine and swam at Lebanon High School for two years. Swimming lessons started with her mom, Cindy Baker, at their pool and has gone down through the family with her brother, sister, and then Kaitlin for total of 22 years. Being around the pool has been a love of the entire family, so Kaitlin thought it was time to become more active. She has recently become lifeguard certified and is very excited to become involved in the swimming program at Baylor.
From swimming, teaching, coaching, helping run swim meets, to even being SCUBA certified Kaitlin loves to try it all. When she is away from the water she enjoys being outdoors, playing soccer, camping, hiking, and going on bike rides.
Erin Wehde Assistant Coach- Junior / MS/HS Prep
Erin is a recent graduate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga who earned her degree in Sports Administration with a minor in Business Administration. Born and raised in Healdsburg, California, she came to Chattanooga for the Health and Human Performance program at UTC. Her fall semester freshman year, Erin was a part of the UTC Club Rowing team. She is also currently working as a Marketing Coordinator with Mocs Sports Properties, the third party media rights holder for Chattanooga Athletics.
At age four, Erin started swimming competitively and learned to love the water. From then on, she swam for the next seven years, competing in meets all around the Bay Area in Northern California. She was sidelined in high school due to shoulder injuries which ended her competitive swimming career but not her love for the sport. Erin taught swim lessons to a variety of ages at a health club back in her hometown for two summers. She wishes to pursue a career with USA Swimming or the United States Olympic Committee.
This past summer, Erin became certified as a lifeguard and water safety instructor. She hopes to obtain an official status as a USA Swimming certified coach by the end of the 2011 year. Erin is excited to start working with the Baylor coaching staff and see the opportunities and experiences that await for her.
Adam Brock Assistant Coach / Swimming Lesson Instructor
For as long as he can remember, Adam has been involved in athletics. Having begun life as a soccer player, he was converted to swimming at the tender age of 8, and its predominance in his life continues today. Adam has accumulated nearly two decades of experience in and around the pool deck, and he has had the privilege to work with some of the nation’s finest athletes and coaches during that span of time.
While at the McCallie School, he was a member of the 2001 and 2002 Tennessee State High School Champion swim teams and was selected as an All-American swimmer in 2001. After high school, Adam’s desire to lead and help develop young athletes found expression through an assistant coaching position at Franklin County (Tennessee) Middle and High School Swim Teams. There he coached swimmers aged 11-18 whose performance levels ranged from novice to state finalist.
Adam has also sought to broaden his horizons by branching out into the broader fields of personal training and corporate fitness, the latter of which he still practices. Also, he is a student at the University of Tennessee—Chattanooga, where he is closing in on a B.A. in Spanish.
Above all, Adam’s goal as a coach is to foster both a positive attitude and perseverance in his athletes by working with them to develop and hone their swimming abilities.
