Kate Phifer has been coaching Salem swimmers for nearly a decade. Starting
with Salem Aquatic Club, and then the Bearcats, she has made her mark in
coaching world. Kate coaches the senior level swimmers and the beginning
level swimmers for Bearcat Swim Club.
Her accomplishments include consistent top 8 finishes in State meets and for
the first time this past season, broke into the top 10 teams at the Senior
Sectional level. Kate has also produced her first Olympic Trial qualifier
for the 2008 games, along with several Junior National level athletes, top
16 qualifiers and several Oregon state records.
In 2005 she won Oregon's Age Group Coach of the Year and 2 years later, was
the only woman nominated for Senior Coach of the Year. Spring of 2008 she
was chosen by USA Swimming to coach the USA Swimming Western Zone camp.
Kate Phifer swam on a full scholarship for the University of Nevada, Reno, and
graduated with an English degree. She qualified for Junior Nationals several
times, won Junior Nationals at the age of 16 in the 200IM and qualified for Senior
Nationals several times as well. The culmination of her swimming career was
qualifying for the NCAA championships her senior year in the 100 and 200 back.
To this day her passion, dedication and motivation for swimming and making her
swimmers the best that they can be are forefront in her life.
Favorite quote..."the lesson you teach today is not confined to the walls of your
classroom. Once it is implanted in the heart and mind of a child, it can change the world."
Al is currently coaching the AG2 and Sr. Prep levels for the Bearcat SC, after 27 years of coaching at a variety of levels. Currently, he is the Head Coach for Willamette's men's & women's teams, having been in that capacity for the last 6 years. His involvement with Wilammette also shows 17 years as assistant to the three previous head coaches, dating back to 1978. On the college level, he was twice named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, for women and men, and helped upwards of 70 swimmers achieve All-American status. Included in his time with WIllamette, the teams have achieved a couple of top 10 National standings, including the highest placing ever by a Willamette's women's team, of 3rd in 1997. During that time, he also was head coach of Salem Aquatic Club, serving in that role for 24 years, leading the team to several top 5 state team rankings. He has also coached many swimmers to state and regional championships, qualifying many for junior national level competition. In addition to being named Oregon's Age Group Coch of the year in 1993, he has been a finalist for additional honors many times. Al has also served as Oregon swimming's Meet Scheduler, as President of the Columbia Basin Swim League, and involved with the Technical Planning Committee of Oregon Swimming. Definitely, one of the highlights of Al's career was being an assistant coach to the Paralympic Games staff in Seoul, Korea in 1988.
Kei began his coaching career in 2005 as a swim lessons instructor at the Willamette
Swim School for two summers. He started coaching group 1 and group 2 in 2007 and currently
he works with group 3.
His swimming career began when he was 7 years old at his home town in Moscow, ID. As a
member of the Moscow Swim Team, his achievements include: Age Group Regional qualifier for 3
consecutive years, Inland Empire Swimming Zone Team qualifier at age 10, Senior Sectional
qualifier, Top 3 finishes at State and Districts for 4 consecutive years in Idaho High School
Swimming.
After swimming for 11 years in Moscow, Al recruited Kei to swim for Willamette University. His
accomplishments in college include: Top 3 finishes at Northwest Conference Championships for 4
consecutive years, team MVP for 3 consecutive years, J.H. Booth Award recipient, which goes to
the senior male athlete who most exemplified and demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship
and athleticism. Kei graduated from Willamette with a degree in Mathematics in 2007.