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Head Coach- Ben Gill
Ben started his career is swimming at the La Crosse YMCA in Wisconsin where he swam for 11 years. After a successful club and high school career, Ben went on to swim four years at St. Cloud State University setting team records and placing in the top four as an individual in the NCC all four years of his career. He received the MVP award as a sophomore and was named team captain for both his junior and senior years. Ben then went on to be an assistant coach for the St. Benedict’s College Swim Team, helping several individuals to top four finishes and team records setting performances at the MIAC Championships. He also had the opportunity to coach at the Stanford Nike Swim Camp, with world renowned coaches Skip Kenney and Lea Maur. He then went on to coach the Sierra Vista Swim Team in Arizona helping the team grow from 20 to about 60 swimmers in one season. While there he helped the team qualify for the State Meet for the first time as well as qualify an individual for Far Westerns Swim Meet. The most recent stop for Ben has been the Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team in Appleton, WI where he found much success as a developmental coach. Working with the 12 & Under group Ben was able to guide the team to three top 3 finishes in two years at the USA State Meets, two top five finishes at the YMCA State Meet as well as numerous individual and relay state champions (YMCA and USA). While under his guidance three 12 & Unders qualified for the YMCA National Meet and over 10 qualified for the USA Zones Meet. With his free time Ben enjoys playing guitar and goofing around with his Bassett Hound Lucy.
SJU Head Site Coach - Jessamyn Foley
Jessamyn came to work at the Y in St Cloud after transferring to St Cloud State University from Vermilion Community College in Ely, MN. Most recently she was the assistant coach for the Apollo Girls High School Swim Team. The team finished a successful season taking 4th out of 12 teams at the section 6A meet. Apollo also sent an individual in two events to the state meet where she placed 17th in the 100 Fly and 14th in the 200 IM. She attended high school in Moorhead, MN where she began competitive swimming on junior varsity in 8th grade and again her freshman year. Then following her freshman year she joined the Moorhead Marlins swim club. She says that “After a late start in competitive swimming, club swimming year round helped to develop my technique and endurance so I could compete on varsity my sophomore, junior, and senior year. It also prepared me for swimming in college”. She was a member of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay that broke the school records in 1995 and still holds the pool record at Moorhead High School in the 400 freestyle relay. She enjoyed being a participant at Minnesota State Short Course and Long Course Championships where she qualified for and swam several events over her years spent with the Marlins. Jessamyn swam at Concordia in Moorhead in 1997. While on the Cobbers Women’s swimming team she attended winter training at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Her favorite events were the 50, 100, 200 freestyle, and the 100 and 200 backstroke. She currently continues to compete at the Masters level with the Y.
While living in Ely she coached youth soccer for the Y in Virginia, MN. She says, “Teaching children and young adults to set goals and work to achieve them is an important. It has real world applications that will strengthen our communities in the future. Also, the sense of belonging to a team builds self confidence
In addition to coaching she also enjoys teaching swim lessons. “Every child deserves a chance to learn how to swim”, she says. She is working on her B.S. in Ecology and Wildlife Biology at SCSU and has an A.S. in Wildlife Management from VCC.
Foley Head Site Coach - Christian Nasset
Christian is in his first year of coachin for STC. He is currently a student at St. Cloud State University pursuing a degree in education. Christian is originally from Fargo, North Dakota and swam competitively for the last 17years for the Fargo/Moorhead YMCA Swim Club, Fargo North High School, and St. Cloud State University. Christian is a 5 time North Dakota state champion, and received All Conference and All State honors 6 years in a row for Fargo North in the 100 Breaststroke and 100 butterfly. He is also a 4 time YMCA national qualifier and 2 time All American in the Breaststroke. Christian holds the Fargo North school records in the 100 Breaststroke and 100 Fly along with numerous pool records across the state of North Dakota His favorite stroke is the Butterfly, his favorite swimmer is Ryan Lochte, and his favorite pool is the Hall of Fame pool in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Assistant Coach - Landon Hartwig
Assistant Coach - Celeste Walz
Celeste is in her fourth year as a coach for the St. Cloud YMCA Swim Club.
Celeste joined the Saint Cloud Area Family YMCA staff after three years as head coach of the Magic Valley YMCA Marlins Swim Team in Twin Falls Idaho. During her three years there, she coached several Snake River champions and one Northwest Age Group Sectional Champion and placed 3rd at the YMCA Regional Championships in division II in 2005. Her team also placed in the top 4 teams in Snake River Swimming for the past 3 years.
In addition, she was the Aquatics Director for the YMCA of Twin Falls, which consisted of a 50 meter Olympic sized pool which served over 100,000 patrons per year.
During that three-year span Walz was the head coach of the 2006 Snake River Zone Team and served as the Snake River LSC Coaches representative.
Celeste's career as a swimmer spanned 10 years and was highlighted by earning 3 All American titles at the University of North Dakota in 2000-2002. Walz has a BA in Marketing from the University of North Dakota. She is a native of Litchfield Minnesota where she swam for the Litchfield High School swim team and the Hutchinson High Tides Swim Club and currently holds high school and club records.
"I have had so many great coaches in my swimming career that have taught me so much about the sport and how to be a better person. I am honored to be able to pass those skills and values along to our swimmers."