Tucson J Stingrays Coaching Staff
Head Coach and Aquatics Director Evan Holt leads a staff of former college racers, most of them from the University of Arizona. Every group has a lead coach, and every coach works with every group at some point in the season.
Evan Holt
Coach Evan serves as the Aquatics Director and Head Coach of the Tucson JCC Stingrays, where he leads the development of swimmers from their first introduction to competitive swimming through the senior levels of the sport.
A freestyle specialist, Evan competed at the Division I level for both the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona. During his collegiate career he was a finalist at both the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conference Championships, scoring points and contributing to NCAA qualifying relay teams.
Before his collegiate career, Evan was a five-time MSHSAA State Champion and two-time Region VIII Sectional Champion. As a club swimmer, he competed nationally at meets such as Junior Nationals and traveled extensively to compete at high-level competitions across the country.
Coach Evan has been coaching swimmers in a variety of roles for over four years and is passionate about helping swimmers develop both in and out of the water. His coaching philosophy is centered around establishing strong technical foundations and creating a positive and supportive training environment where swimmers are challenged to pursue ongoing improvement.
Under Coach Evan's leadership, the Stingrays program has continued to grow in both participation and competitive success. Over the past year, the team increased its number of Regionals qualifiers by 50%, State Championship qualifiers by 150%, and returned swimmers to the SWAGR Championship for the first time in several years.
Coach Evan believes that fast swimmers are happy swimmers and is committed to building a strong Stingray culture where athletes support one another, take pride in their improvement, and develop a lifelong love for the sport
Ryan Perham
Coach Ryan is a dedicated swim coach and former Division I athlete with over 20 years of experience in competitive swimming and water polo. He competed for the University of Arizona, specializing in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. During his collegiate career, Ryan earned CSCAA All-American honors and contributed to setting a school record in the 200 freestyle relay, which placed 12th at the NCAA Division I Championships. He also helped secure a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay at the Pac-12 Championships. After his competitive years, Ryan transitioned into coaching, working with swimmers of all ages and skill levels, including those with special education needs. He now coaches on the JCC Stingray Aquatics team and does private swimming lessons.
Assistant Coaches
Coach Noah is a senior at the University of Arizona working towards a B.A. in Law. Noah swam for JSC and his high school team in Scottsdale, Arizona, specializing in butterfly.
Through his time in the sport, Noah developed a love for coaching swim; teaching lessons and coaching at the Scottsdale JCC for five years before coming to the Tucson J! He is ecstatic to be coaching the young Stingrays!
Coach Ellia has been swimming for 8 years. Most of that time she spent swimming for JSC, specializing in sprint breaststroke and freestyle. She has also spent the last three years coaching for JSC;s summer program., Coach Ellia is currently a freshman at the University of Arizona. She loves coaching and hopes to inspire young swimmers the way she was inspired by her coaches from the beginning. She is so excited to be taking the next step in her coaching career with the Stingrays!
Coach Maddy has been a competitive swimmer for 14 years, competing at the collegiate level for the University of Arizona for all four years. Throughout her college career Maddy earned the CSCAA Second Team All-American honors, as well as helping Arizona get to a 3rd place finish in the 200 Medley Relay at the Pac-12 Conference. Now as a retired swimmer, Maddy has turned to coaching at the JCC, she loves coaching kids of all ages, and hosting breaststroke specific stroke clinics
Is your athlete the next Stingray?
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