Dave Gibson
Head Coach; Gold Group
dgibson@brophyprep.org
Telephone: 602-264-5291 ext. 6458

Dave Gibson comes to us from Charlotte, North Carolina where he was the Head Coach/CEO of the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club for three and a half years. During his time there, MAC grew from 560 swimmers to 650 swimmers, became a USA Swimming Gold Medal team, and finished second in the USA Swimming Virtual Club Championships this past short course season. Dave has 32 years of coaching experience at the Age Group, YMCA, High School, and Collegiate levels. He has coached two Olympians, one American Record holder, USA Swimming National Champions, National Age Group Record holders, National Top 16 swimmers, over 50 High School All-Americans, and over 70 USA Swimming Scholastic All-Americans. Dave has been on the staff of USA Teams for the Olympic Festivals, Goodwill Games, Short Course World Championships, National Junior Team and World Cup competitions. In 2002, he was inducted into the Indiana Swimming Hall of Fame/Wall of Fame.

Dave is married to Jennifer, the Head Age Group coach at BEST; their son, Harrison, swims at BEST and will be attending Brophy College Preparatory beginning in the spring 2007.

Kevin Rytel
Assistant Coach; Silver & White Group
krytel@brophyprep.org
Telephone: 602-264-5291 ext. 6468

Kevin Rytel comes to us from the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club in Charlotte, NC, where he was the Head Age Group Coach/Assistant Senior Coach for over a year. Kevin has 14 years of coaching experience, which includes facilitating the age group program at the Firestone Akron Swim Team in Akron, OH from 2002-2005, and coaching the Shaker Sharks Swim Team in Shaker Heights, OH from 2001-2002. Kevin was also a coach/counselor for the Stanford National Swim Camp in Palo Alto, CA for five consecutive summers. He has served numerous times as a Lake Erie Zone Coach and Ohio Quad Team Coach. Kevin was selected as a 2004 Lake Erie Age Group Coach of the Year.

Kevin attended the University of Akron where he majored in secondary education/mathematics. 

Takahisa Ide
Assistant Coach; Gold Group
tako@brophyprep.org

Takahisa came to BEST as an assistant coach for the Gold team.
He is from Osaka, Japan, where he attended Sakuranomia High School and graduated in 1993, majoring in Physical Education. He went on to college level studies at Tenri University as a Physical Education (Psychology) major. He graduated in 1997.

After working as a Sales Representative for Nissan between 1997 and 1999, Takahisa began coursework at the Phoenix College of ESL (English as a Second Language) where he continues studies in addition to his coaching responsibilities today.

Elizabeth Hastings
Assistant Coach; Bronze & Blue Group
ehastings@brophyprep.org

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Elizabeth Hastings as our new coach of the Bronze and Blue Groups! Elizabeth hails from Cleveland, Ohio where she was the Head Coach of the South West Aquatic Team, which she helped found in 1998.  During her tenure with SWAT, she produced several swimmers with NAG “AAAA” and Junior National cuts, Zone Team and Quad Team participants, and a Lake Erie Swimming Record. Elizabeth was also the head coach of Strongsville High School Swimming and Diving for 9 years, where she witnessed NISCA All-American awards, Ohio Top 20 times, and Plain Dealer Newspaper Top Ten Times by her talented high school swimmers.

Elizabeth attended Purdue University in Indiana, earning her Bachelors of Science in both Ecology and Biology Teaching in 1996. She taught science at Fairview Park High School and Middle School from 1996-97, and was also the President of the Purdue University Crew Team her Junior and Senior years as an undergraduate.

Elizabeth is a tri-athlete and will be competing in the upcoming Arizona Ironman!

Mark Rankin
Masters Coach
mrankin@brophyprep.org

Mark Rankin has been our Head Masters Coach at BEST since 2007, having been the Assistant Masters Coach from 1999 – 2001, and the Assistant Age Group and Senior Coach from 2001 – 2004.  Mark began his swimming career in Portland, Oregon where he was a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club and a Top-16 National Age Group Swimmer as a 10-and-under, 11-12, and 13-14.  He swam and played waterpolo for David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon from 1981 – 85, securing four High School State Swimming championships and three High School State Waterpolo championships.  Mark was also a Senior National Qualifier in swimming, and attended the University of Arizona on a full swimming scholarship from 1985 – 1990, achieving team co-captain status his senior year.

Mark has two children, Mia and Luke Rankin, with his wife, Maureen.  Maureen is our Rising Stars/Starfish coach and a member of the BSC Masters program.

Jennifer Gibson
Head Age Group Coach, Red, Rising Stars/Starfish Groups; Brophy High School Swim Team Assistant Coach.
jgibson@brophyprep.org
Telephone: 602-264-5291 ext. 6474

Jennifer Gibson is our Head Age Group Coach here at BEST, bringing her vitality and expertise to the Red, Rising Stars and Starfish groups.  Jennifer has been coaching club swimming since 1983, starting with the Southeast YMCA in Fort Wayne, IN from 1983-1987 (where she met husband Dave Gibson, our Head Coach), then Fort Wayne Aquatics from 1988-2003, and lastly Mecklenburg Aquatic Club in Charlotte, NC from 2003-2007 before gracing us with her coaching skills here at BEST.

Jennifer has coached 25 National Top 16 Age Groupers, including 2 National Age Group Record Holders.  She was recognized as Indiana Age Group Coach of the Year on 3 separate occasions, Indiana Coach of the Year on 1 occasion, and Indiana Zone Coach on 5 occasions, and was the Indiana Camp Coordinator for 10 years during which time she organized and ran 22 camps.  On the high school front, Jennifer coached Snider High School in Fort Wayne, IN for 16 years.  Her girl’s team finished in the Top 10 at the Indiana High School State Meet 14 of the 16 years she coached.

She has been an active member of the Manager’s Trip for USA Swimming National Team Program since 1993.  She has traveled with USA Swimming National Teams on six international trips including National Junior Team (twice), World University Games, Short-Course World Championships and Pan-Pacific Championships.  She also organized and acted as the head coach for athlete exchange trips with Fort Wayne’s German Sister City in Gera, Germany from 1996-2002.

Jennifer is a proud board member of the American Swim Coaches Association, presently serving her 3rd-year term.  She attended Ball State in Muncie, Indiana where she graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice and minors in Counseling and Educational Psychology.

Dave and Jennifer’s son, Harrison, is a sophomore at Brophy College Prep.  He swims for his father in the Gold group at BEST.  Her coaching strengths include working with parents, focusing on fundamentals with novice through young senior swimmers, and motivation.  Her motto is “to bring out the best in everyone she works with.”  In addition, she loves meeting people (world-wide), traveling, and reading.  Jennifer looks forward to the challenges of developing BEST into a progressive USA Swimming Gold Medal program.  

Maureen Rankin
Assistant Coach; Rising Stars/Starfish Group
morankin@brophyprep.org

Maureen Rankin has been an age group coach at BEST since 2002 and currently co-coaches our Rising Stars/Starfish groups with Jennifer Gibson.  Mo has coached age group and high school swimming on and off for the past 20 years. She is originally from Syosset, NY, was raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and started her USS swimming career at the age of 10 - earning her first Top 16 time that very same year. Mo is a past junior national, senior national, Olympic trial and NCAA I qualifier and finalist, not to mention a four-year Oregon High School swimming champion and nine-time All-American swimmer. She received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Arizona where she majored in English Literature. 

Mo has also been a proud member of BSC Masters since 1999 and is married to Master’s head coach Mark Rankin, with whom she has two children, Mia and Luke.

Ellen McCoy
Assistant Coach; Rising Stars/Starfish Group
emccoy@brophyprep.org

Ellen works with our newest swimmers in stroke development.  Although new to coaching, Ellen has taught swimming to children of all ages for many years. Making the step from teaching swimming to coaching swimming was an easy and fun one for her.  She is a graduate of the University of Louisville and has been in the Phoenix area for six years.

Sarah Tolar
Recreational Swim Team

BEST welcomes Sarah Tolar as our Summer Rec. Team coach. Sarah swam for the University of Arizona from 1998 – 2002, where she was a 24 time All-American, two time individual NCAA Champion, and school record-holder. On the National level, Sarah represented the US in the 2001 World University Games in Beijing as well as the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney. Sarah was also an Olympic Trials Participant in 1996 and an Olympic Finalist in 2000, in addition to being a first alternate to the 2000 US Olympic Team.

Sarah currently teaches English at Dobson High School in Mesa, AZ in addition to coaching the Dobson High School Girls’ Swim Team.

Sarah received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona in 2002. She also received a Masters of Education from the University of Phoenix in 2006.