Head Swim Coach: Kelly Shipley
Email: swim@smanet.org
Kelly has been coaching all levels of swimming since 2008. Her coaching background includes head girls swim coach for both Longmont High School and Erie High School (with a state championship title 2018). USA swim coach (and level 2 ASCA coach) for the Longmont Redtails as well as private lessons for many years. Kelly has been a competitive swimmer since she was 5 years old, and she is still swimming! She has competed on a year round team most of her life, enjoyed water polo, survived Ironman 2019, participated in Masters Swimming and several marathon swims. Kelly’s favorite aspect of swimming is sharing the love of the sport with others through coaching. She is happily married to her husband of 34 years, Toby and raised three grown children. Her hobbies include swimming, running, yoga, weight training and snuggling with her dog, Marty.
Assistant Swim Coach: Meredith Olson
Email: swim@smanet.org
Meredith is a Colorado native who’s been swimming since the age of 4. She has 4 years of experience coaching a summer swim team with kids ranging from 5 to 18 years of age. She has been a certified Water Safety Instructor for the last 2 years, teaching group and private lessons to all ages. Meredith was a member of Longmont High School’s swim team for 2 years and finished her high school career with Erie once they established their team. During her time with Longmont, she was a part of their State Championship team in 2018, under the coaching of Kelly Shipley. She has spent the last 4 years at California Lutheran University and recently graduated with her Bachelors in Environmental Science. When not coaching, Meredith loves spending time outdoors, whether it’s paddle boarding or going for long walks, and she enjoys listening to crime podcasts, playing with her dog, Jordi, and getting lost in a good crime novel. She is also currently in the process of becoming a certified scuba diver, adding to her passion for all things aquatic.
Head Dive Coach: Lise Kafka
Email: dive@smanet.org
Lise Kafka has been the diving coach at St. Mary’s Academy since 2011. She enjoys working with girls of all abilities, ranging from those that have never done a dive all the way up to coaching a 4-time 4A state champion. The joy of watching her girls complete dives they were not certain they ever could do is one of her favorite parts of being a coach. Her passion for diving started after she did the quintessential shift from being a gymnast to diver when she was in middle school. Lise once held her the 6-dive and 11-dive records at her high school, and was a Collegiate National Qualifier on 3-meter. And once in a while you might even see her join her girls on the boards!
