Chuck Clark
Head Coach
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Coach Chuck is the 2nd Head Coach in the
history of the Rapids, taking over the position in 2009.
Coach Chuck has been with the Rapids since 2000 when he joined as
an Assistant Coach. Chuck has also been the Head Coach for
both the boys and girls at Bunnell High School and the
Head Coach for the Stratford YMCA where he was privilaged to
coach many Y National Swimmers. The Rapids have become more
than a team to Chuck, they have become an extended familiy.
Coach Chuck lives in Trumbull, teaches in Milford and is married to
Sharyn and has three wonderful children Lauren, Connor and
Alyssa. Coach Chuck is a level 3 ASCA certified
coach.
Dan Zeek
Senior Coach
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Dan comes to the Rapids from the SONOCO swim team
where he coached numerous swimmers to junior and senior national
qualifiers. Prior to coaching with SONOCO Dan was the Head
Coach for the Weston Swim Team where he was named Age Group Coach
of the year in 2005. While with Weston, Dan was the Head
High School
Coach for both men and
women; his women won the state title under his guidance. Dan
has also been part of 14 Zone Teams including as head
coach.
Terry Hellauer
Senior Assistant Coach
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Terry Hellauer began her coaching career in 1998 with the
Shelton Seals, now the Rapids. She joined her first swim team at
age 8 with the Farms Country Club in Wallingford, CT. She also swam
competitively with Cheshire YMCA, Northern Branch YMCA, Hamden High
School and Skidmore College where she was a captain. As an adult,
Terry swam for the Milford YMCA Masters Team and is a 2-time relay
veteran of St. Vincents Swim Across the Sound.
A graduate of Skidmore College with a BS in nursing, Terry is a
Registered Nurse. She is married to Brian Hellauer and they have 3
children, Abby, Matthew and Molly all of whom are competitive
swimmers.
Lisa Samelwich
Head Novice Coach
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I started competitively
swimming when I was 10 years old. I swam for my YMCA
team and competed for Foran High School all four years.
I was a two-time MVP Award winner and four year state
qualifier. I swam for the Aqua Jets throughout high
school as well. In college I swam on Southern
Connecticut State University’s varsity team for four years.
I swam distance freestyle 200, 500, 1000 and 1650.
I was on the NE-10 Academic Honor Roll for two years
and received the Coach’s Award my senior year. I
graduated from Southern in 2009 with two Bachelor’s degrees
in History and Early Childhood Education for which I hold my
teaching certification. Prior to coaching for the
Rapids, I was the Head Coach for the Bridgeport-Stratford YMCA
(BSY) Swim Team from 2008-2011. I coached many
swimmers to qualify for the age group and senior level
championships as well as YMCA New England qualifiers and even a
champion. I currently love to train and compete in
local races including 5ks and muddy obstacle courses as well as
events to raise money for cancer including Swim Across America.
Sue McNeil
Assistant Coach
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Sue has been involved
in competitive swimming, either as a swimmer or a coach, for nearly
35 years. She swam as an age-grouper and in high school
before heading off to college at UMASS Amherst; where she swam 4
years for the varsity team, acting as team captain for 2 years. Sue
is currently an active Masters swimmer, training in
Weston
,
CT
with Trifitness,
LLC. Her current focus is open water swimming. Sue
successfully completed the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, a 4.4 mile
swim across the Chesapeake Bay in 2006 and 2007, and looks
forward to participating in the event again. She competed in
several open water races this summer in
Connecticut
, including the Madison
Mile, the Compo Beach Point-to-Point Swim, and the Swim Across the
Sound.
Stacie Ziegler
Assistant Coach
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I swam competively for 12 years
for the Stratford and Ffld YMCA. I swam for Stratford High
School and still own many of the school records.I was an
all state swimmer for 4 years in High
school. I recieved a swim scholarship for the
University of Iowa. In college I competed at the NCAA
and US Opens. During and after college I coached
for the FFLD ymca for about 7 years until I had my third child and
then later coached for three years for BSY before coming to the
Rapids, which I am enjoying very much!. I've taught swimming
for over 25 years. I have a BS in Therapeutic Recreation with an
emphasis in Aquatics for people with disabilities. I work for
Christian Heritage School in Trumbull as a PE teacher. My
best accomplishment is raising my 3 awesome kids, two of which are
swimming for the Rapids. My daughter Nancie is ten yrs old
and Emily is seven. My son Peter is 11yrs old and has been on
the deck with me almost all his life.
Allison Wells
Assistant Coach
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I got my start in competitive swimming when I
was seven years old with the Rapids (at the time the team was the
Shelton Seals). I was on the
team through high school and went on to swim in college at the
State University of New York at New Paltz. During my time there I specialized in
the 50 and 100 freestyle, and also swam the 100 back and 100 fly.
At the SUNY Athletic
Conference Championships, I finished in the top 8 seven times in
individual events collectively, and helped our 200 and 400
freestyle relays and 400 medley relay achieve NCAA 'B' cuts
multiple times. I also
helped our relays break school records all four years that I
attended. Sophomore year I made the SUNY Athletic Conference
All-Academic team. My
freshman year I was voted the team's Hardest Worker, received the
Most Dedicated award my junior and senior years, and was made a
Team Captain my senior year by my teammates. I graduated in 2011 with a degree in
sociology and psychology and began coaching for the Rapids in
September of that year. I am
currently in graduate school to get my master's degree in School
Counseling at Western CT State University.
