
Coach Natalia grew up in Port Jefferson Station, New York and graduated from Comsewogue High School. Before attending and swimming for SUNY New Paltz, she was a competitive swimmer for Three Village Swim Club (TVSC) located on the eastern side of Long Island, New York. Natalia swam for TVSC for ten years. Coach Natalia is also a musician and has been playing the piano and singing since she was five years old! She began her first semester at New Paltz in the fall of 2017 and has been here ever since, studying and swimming. Natalia was nominated as swim team captain back in 2019 and still currently holds the role. She was inducted into the Lambda Pi Eta and Chi Alpha Sigma national honor societies and finished her degree cum laude in the fall of 2021. She earned a BS in Digital Media Production with a double minor in Journalism and Film Studies! During the week, Coach Natalia is a teacher’s assistant at Little Explorer’s day-school in New Paltz as well as a coach with the Kingston YMCA Hurricanes. She is currently a graduate student at CUNY Queen’s College where she is working towards her master’s degree in early childhood education.

Hayle is finishing out her senior year of high school. She will be attending college in the fall majoring in Political Science under the Pre-Law program with a minor in Psychology. Hayle has been swimming with the Rapids for 6 years, and this will be her second year coaching. She has been swimming for the past 14 years with the Kingston Hurricanes and the past 6 years on the KHS Varsity Swim Team. Outside of the pool, Hayle is on the KHS Varsity Golf Team, a member of French Honor Society and enrolled in some classes at SUNY Ulster. Hayle is excited to help swimmers learn the sport and to find a passion for it.
Coach Caroline has been swimming for 11 years and is a senior at Kingston High School. This fall, she will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study engineering and compete on the swim team. She swam on the KHS varsity team for 6 years and was named a captain her senior year. Caroline swam for several local club teams over the years and currently trains with Hawks Swimming Association in New Paltz. She has qualified for Adirondack Golds, Speedo Sectionals, and Section 9 Championship finals. She is also a member of National Honor Society and KHS band. This summer will be her second season coaching for the Rapids. She is excited to continue coaching and hopes to help young swimmers find the same passion for the sport she loves.

Coach Jack has been swimming for 10 years and is currently in his senior year at Rondout Valley High school. He began swimming for Harbor Seals swim club and CYO/O.L.P.H swim team in Brooklyn NY at the age of 7 and joined Rosendale Rapids at the age of 12. He also swam with Phoenix Aquatic Club and is currently swimming with Kingston YMCA Hurricanes and the Rondout Valley HS varsity swim team. Additionally, Jack is also on HS varsity track and soccer team and plays soccer for Rondout Rovers club. He is very excited to be coaching this year and hopes to make the practices fun and enjoyable.

Coach Emily graduated from Kingston High School in 2022 and is currently a freshman swimming at the State University of Geneseo. Emily started swimming at the age of 10 where she joined the Kingston Hurricanes and stayed there up until she graduated high school. She also swam for the KHS Varsity swim team starting in 7th grade and joined the Rosendale Rapids 6 years ago. Emily made sectionals 5 out of her 6 years on the team. In that time she had placed first in the 500 free at sectionals in 2021. Her senior year, she placed 2nd at Sectionals while also making the New York State cut in the 200 free and setting the KHS record in that event. Emily has been teaching swim lessons since she was 14 at the YMCA and has also taught swim lessons as a swim counselor at a local summer camp for 2 years. She is excited to be a coach this year and to share her love of swimming with the team.

Coach Katherine is entering her senior year at Kingston High School and has been swimming for 10 years. She currently swims for Hawks Swimming Association and the Kingston Varsity Swim Team. She has qualified for Section 9 finals, YMCA states, and Adirondack Golds Championships. Katherine also participates in KHS band and National Honor Society. It is her 6th year swimming for the Rapids and she is thrilled to lifeguard and help coach this year. She hopes to share her love of swimming with the team and make the summer safe and fun.

Grace has been swimming for 7 years. She began swimming with the Rapids at the age of 9. Grace swims with the YMCA Hurricanes and qualified for YMCA States the last two years. She also swam for the Kingston High School Varsity Team during 8th and 9th grade. Grace is entering her sophomore year at Rondout Valley High School where she also plays lacrosse. Grace loves working with children. She has been teaching swimming lessons through the YMCA since she was 14 and also teaches private lessons to several families in the community. Grace enjoys making swim fun and is excited to work with our swimmers this summer!