Our Coaches
Cudas’ coaches are experienced competitors with great technical skills who love working with kids and are trained in water safety and coaching ethics. They are committed to delivering programs that will inspire our athletes to achieve personal excellence through programs that focus on physical and mental skills along with fun and friendship.
Meet our talented coaching team:
The Barracudas are excited to have Alex Woinoski lead the team of coaches for our 2023 summer season after joining the club last year.
Alex started competitive swimming at the age of 3 with the Poco Marlins. Through his youth, breaking club and meet records has earned him numerous medals at the BCSSA Provincials. At the age of 13, he joined SFA under coach Claude-Yves Bertrand. He has won medals at Swim-BC Provincials and attended Swim-BC youth development camps. Alex competed at various Swim Canada competitions going on to win medals at Canadian age group championships including gold at the 2016 age group open water championships. After graduation from high school, he competed in the NCAA for four years with Simon Fraser University. There, he is completing a Physics degree with a minor in nuclear science!
Alex loves all forms of competition and is passionate about coaching and helping swimmers learn great technique and to embrace all the joys of racing.
Tides Out)
Meet Darlene Przybylowski, another fantastic addition to our Coaches Team!
“Hello Burnaby Barracudas! I am excited to introduce myself as this year’s Intermediate Coach. My swimming journey began in 2007, where I swam competitively for nine years with the Pacific Sea Wolves Swim Club. My love for the sport and club led into coaching for PSW for a total of seven seasons after my swim career. Currently, I am a student at Douglas College studying Sport Science. For over 15 years, my second home has been Winter swimming, but this will be my first season coaching Summer swimming. I truly couldn’t be more excited to coach and experience the world of Summer swimming with everyone at the Barracudas Swim Club. My hope this summer is to coach everyone to their fullest potential within the four months we have, while also ensuring every swimmer has fun-filled experiences from practices to swim meets to other team events. I am ready for my first summer swimming season, I hope everyone else is ready too!”
We’re super pleased to have on our Junior Coaching team! She will also be leading our Masters program.
“Hi I’m Cami, I’m super excited to coach for barracudas this summer. I’ve been competitive swimming since 2014 and am currently swimming for the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser Aquatics (my home club) in the summer months. I compete at national level meets such as Usports and Canadian Senior National Championships. I’ve been coaching for 6 years with Hollyburn Hurricanes, SFA, and Pacific Coast swimming.
Swimming is a very important part of my life and I really enjoy being able to give back to the sport through coaching. I’m studying Chemistry for the Medical Sciences and am very passionate about finding a career that incorporates my love for children and chemistry. I can’t wait to make unforgettable memories with the Barracudas!!”
(Burnaby Mantas, SFA & City of Burnaby)
Coach TJ Tseng rejoins us this season leading the Junior coaches!
“Hey Cudas! Super excited to work with the junior groups again this summer! I started swimming competitively with the Mantas for a couple years and then with SFA until I graduated high school and now I’m pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. Swimming has been a huge part of my life and I’m looking forward to seeing some fast racing and good times this summer!”
(Barracudas, Pacific Storm)
Hi, my name is Martina and I will be coaching swimming and water polo this season. I have been with the Cudas as an athlete and coach for a total of 11 years. Being a part of the Barracudas has allowed me to make lifelong friends and memories. I am looking forward to coaching and sharing my passion with the next generation. See you on the pool deck!
(Blue Lane Swim Academy, Los Cabos Mexico & Sport club La Huerta, Los Cabos)
Israel Arce is a welcome addition to the Cudas’ Coaching Team this year!
“Hello hello! I am Isra, excited to work with the Cudas team this summer season 2023. I was coaching and swimming for over 6 years in San Jose del Cabo, México. In which I have been part of many pool and open water competitions. During those years, I spent most of my time learning through experience and knowledge from my coaches and teammates. Eventually, I started teaching by myself. Having the opportunity to work with babies and adults on their swimming strokes. Making Swimming more than a hobby, a lifestyle for me. Recently moved to Vancouver to keep learning and sharing my knowledge with and from whoever is in the pool with me.”
(Blue Lane Swim Academy, Los Cabos Mexico & Sport club La Huerta, Los Cabos)
Our Senior B group coach, Alex Shen brings positive energy & passion to the Cudas’ team!
“Hi I’m Alex, I’m in my 4th year at UBC studying food science, hoping to become a sports dietitian in the upcoming years. I started swimming with Mantas back in 2013 and in 2015 I moved on to winter swimming with Hyack. I stopped swimming competitively after I got into university, but I still swim casually by myself. I currently coach the Senior B group, I love this group, all the children here have a lot of energy and potential. My goal this year is to bring the best out of the swimmers, because I know my group is capable of competition. And also to encourage swimming and lastly to have fun. Swimming is all about having fun and working hard at the same time 😁”
Hi Cudas! My name is Ethan Benoit. I started playing water polo at the age of 8 with the Haney Neptunes, where some of my fondest memories were made. I then moved on to Fraser valley water polo to play high performance where I learned so much from all my coaches. I’m super happy to be here to pass on my knowledge and experience to help the kids and the program grow and create awesome summer memories for all the kids! See you on the pool deck!
(Barracudas)
Bio coming soon…