Jeff Pearson
Head Coach
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Jeff Pearson took over the Marlins in December of 1995. Since
that time, the team’s progress has been exceptional,
transforming a team of 50 recreational swimmers into arguably the
best swimming team in the Sacramento area with over 500 registered
swimmers each year. During his tenure, Jeff has produced world
ranked swimmers, Junior National and National champions. Most of
Jeff’s senior swimmers go on to swim at the NCAA level on
scholarships.
Jeff’s coaching career began in 1986 and he is currently
certified by the American Swim Coaches’ Association at level
5 (the top 5% of swimming coaches in the U.S.). For the years 2000,
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 he was honored as Sierra
Nevada Swimming’s Senior Coach of the Year. He was also named
the National Club Swimming Association Coach of the Year for 2002
and awarded the American Swim Coaches association Award of
Excellence in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Jeff was named to the
National Team Coaching Staff and was a coach for Team USA at the
FINA World Youth Games in Monterrey, Mexico.
Jeff began coaching in 1986 with Masters and Recreational summer
teams in the Bay Area and Sacramento Area. During 1994 and 1995,
Jeff was the head age group coach at Swim Sacramento as well as the
head coach of the Rancho Arroyo Masters team until he took over the
coaching reigns with the Sierra Marlins in 1995.
Jeff is very active in the swimming community and is currently
serving as the Senior Chair for Sierra Nevada Swimming and the
Chairman of the California and Nevada Sectional Committee. He has
also been a speaker at the
ASCA
World Coaches Clinic.
Jeff attended college at the University of Nebraska (1989 –
1991) and the University of California – Davis (1991 –
1994), where he received a bachelors of science in Exercise
Physiology. He grew up and attended high school in Pleasanton
California and swam for the Pleasanton Swim Team.
As a swimmer, Jeff had an outstanding career. He was a three time
high school All American and four time collegiate All American. He
was a member of the USA National Swimming Team in 1992 and 1993 and
won two national titles in open water long distance
swimming.
Away from the pool, Jeff enjoys skiing and mountain biking.
Darin Mai
Pre-senior/ Junior/ Masters Coach
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Darin began coaching with
the Marlins in the Fall of 2004. Prior to coaching with the
Marlins, Darin was the Assistant Coach for the University of Utah
Men’s and Women’s Swim Team. While in Utah, Darin
was also the Director and Head Coach of the Nike Swim Camps and the
Head Coach of the Salt Lake City Country Club Summer Swim
Team.
While
attending graduate school at the University of Texas, he
assisted the Men’s Swim Team and was a part of the coaching
staff for Texas Aquatic Masters. Before heading off to Texas
Darin coached at the University of California, Davis as an
Assistant Coach for the Men’s Swim Team and as an Assistant
Coach at Sacramento City College for both Men’s and
Women’s Swimming and Women’s Water Polo.
Darin
is certified by the American Swimming Coaches Association Level
4. He has a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics with a minor
in Exercise Physiology from the University of California, Davis and
a Masters of Education in Kinesiology with an emphasis in sports
nutrition from the University of Texas, Austin. He is also a
certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National
Strength and Conditioning Association.
While away
from the pool deck Darin and his wife, Kristin, enjoy being
outdoors skiing (water and snow), riding their bikes and playing
with their dog, Porter.
Brad Robbins
Varsity Group/ Senior Assistant Coach
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Brad began coaching swimming at the recreational level in
Sacramento in 1994 for the Park Terrace Penguins. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in
psychology at Occidental College, Brad joined the Marlin coaching
staff for the first time in 2003, as the coach of the developmental
clinic program.
In addition to coaching for the Marlins, Brad also worked as an
assistant coach for Jesuit and St. Francis High Schools. From
there, he moved on to graduate school, where he earned a
Master’s degree, also in psychology, from San Diego State
University. While in San Diego, Brad
continued to coach USS swimmers, working for Pacific Swim. After
San Diego, Brad continued his academic work, studying sport
psychology for 1 year at Michigan State University, and sport
management for 1 year at the Ohio State University. While in Ohio, Brad was given the opportunity to
work with the men’s swim team as the graduate assistant
coach. Brad also spent one summer at
the University of Texas, working as a coach and counselor for the
Texas Longhorn swim camp.
When not at the pool, Brad enjoys playing other sports, like
tennis, basketball, and bike riding.
Aimee Lehr
Black/ Red Group Coach
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Aimee is the Black/Red coach for the Sierra Marlins. Previous to taking over this position, Aimee had led the Fall and Spring clinics for the
Marlins. Involved in coaching for over
20 years, she has worked with a variety of different swim levels
from beginners to nationally ranked athletes.
A native of the Bay Area, Aimee graduated from Stanford University
with a degree in Psychology. At
Stanford, she was also a member of the Women’s Varsity Swim
Team.
Before moving to Shingle Springs, Aimee was the Aquatics Director
of the Stanford Faculty Swim and Tennis Club as well as the head
coach of Stanford Covington Racing Aquatics, a team she helped
begin with her husband Rad. Very
interested in the technical details of the strokes, she enjoys
working with swimmers on their technique and this is a cornerstone
of her coaching philosophy.
Aimee enjoys spending time with her family, husband Rad, daughter
Taylor (12), and sons Justin (8) & Kyle (6). All three Lehr children are members of the Sierra
Marlins
Erica Robbins
Clinic Coach
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Erica
started her swimming career at the age of 5 on a recreational team
and then went year round at the age of 10 where she swam on Arden
Hills for six years. As a junior in
high school, Erica made the transition to the Sierra Marlins where
she swam in Jeff’s Senior group for the remainder of her high
school career. Erica then went on to
swim for Grossmont College where she was State Champion in the 200
IM. After attending Grossmont, Erica
transferred to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to continue
her swimming career. After one short
semester, Erica returned back to Sacramento and in May 2010 she
earned her degree in Communications from Cal State University
Sacramento. In the spring of 2005,
Erica began her coaching career at Rio Del Oro with the Masters
Swim Team. Erica has been head coach
for the Park Terrace Penguins for the past 4 years has also coached
Jesuit High School for 2 years. Away
from the pool, Erica enjoys hanging out with friends and
family.
James Ramirez
Coach James Ramirez - White Group
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James began swimming
while attending American River College. While there, James was an
ASCA All-American in the 200 fly and multiple relay events. After
finishing there, while going to school at Sac St., James joined the
Sierra Marlins in 2004 swimming with Jeff Pearson. While with the
Marlins, James became a National Qualifier in the 200 butterfly and
finaled at multiple Grand Prix events. In 2009, James also claimed
1st place at the USA Masters Nationals in the
200-fly.
James began his coaching
career at Granite Bay High School in 2005 and coached there until
he left to obtain his masters in Kinesiology at Cal Poly-San Luis
Obispo. While at Cal Poly, James served as an assistant under Tom
Milich (former coach of Janet Evans) with the Men's & Women's
Swim Team and returned to the marlins in the Summer of 2010. Aside
from swimming, James also enjoys anything outdoors, playing soccer
and cooking.
