We are excited to welcome Coach Cora as our new head coach. Cora swam for many years in her home country of Colombia and has been coaching for more than 15 years. She worked as an assistant coach with Chilean National Team and also helped coach the National Team in Aruba. She has a strong background in Physical Therapy and is working on a Masters Degree to further support her physical therapy knowledge. Welcome to Austin, Coach Cora.
Coach Anne was introduced to Synchro when her college roommate swam for their school's club team. Anne would run the lights for their annual show and do some synchronized dives with her teammates at intermission. When her daughter joined the Angelfish, Anne used the knowledge she gained from dancing and from competing in and coaching gymnastics and diving to help out with land skills. She helped train athletes for Grade Level land skills and National Team Trials land skills, and watched countless hours of figures practice. So, when Coach Cheryl asked if she would be willing to become a judge, she said yes. Then, when the Angelfish began to grow in 2018, the team needed more coaches, so Anne helped coach the intermediate team. It was so much fun, that she decided to continue coaching and has been the lead coach of our Junior Team since 2020.
Cheryl began her synchro career at the age of 8 in Houston, as a member of the Shamrock Hilton Corkettes. When she was 16, in addition to competing, she coached the Corkettes 10 & under team. While at the University of Texas, she formed a competitive synchronized swimming team and they competed at the US Collegiate National Championships, placing in finals.
While her official title was Head Coach of the Austin Angelfish Synchronized Swim Club for many years, to Angelfish families Cheryl Cook is far more: a den mother, cheerleader, drill sergeant and mentor who leads with strength, empathy, and an uncommon knack for helping those around her maximize their potential. As she completes her 30th year as team leader of the Angelfish (30,000+ volunteer hours), her enthusiasm for the sport through mentoring and teaching shows no signs of slowing. Cheryl is handing the head coaching duties off this season, but you'll see her at the pool coaching our 12 and under and intermediate teams.
Coach Cheryl began synchro as an adult and joined the Austin Angelfish Masters team in 1992. She became an Angelfish coach over 24 years ago and has donated countless thousands of hours of her time. Cheryl continues to compete at the US Masters Artistic Swimming Championships. In addition to coaching the team, Coach Cheryl taught the beginner class at the Town Lake YMCA for over 24 years!
Katrena is an Angelfish graduate and has returned to share her knowledge with our younger swimmers. During her eight years as an Angelfish, Katrena competed at countless Zone championships, Jr National Championships and National Jr Olympics, Katrena is excited to be able to continue participating in synchro and giving back to the team! Katrena is now coaching our 12U/Intermediate Team.
