SWIM COACHING STAFF

Caleb Hernday - Co-Head Coach / Age Group 1 / Junior 1 Coach

Caleb leads the Age Group 1 and Junior 1 Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

Email:  [email protected]

Caleb is entering his twelfth year of coaching and his seventh with Schroeder.  He coaches the AG1 (11-12) and JR1 (13-14) groups at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. During his seven years, he has coached athletes to 23 state records, over 50 team records, 1 National Age Group Record, 3 athletes ranked #1 in the country and 1 Olympic Trials Qualifier.

Prior to Schroeder, Caleb coached for one year for the Tosa Swordfish and four with Lake Country Phoenix.  At LAKE, he coached all age groups from the Super 8s to the Senior Platinum.  He also was the assistant coach for the Arrowhead Girls for four years and the Arrowhead Boys for two years.  For one year he was the Head Coach for St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy High School team.

Caleb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has lived in Wisconsin for most of his life. 

Phil Davies - Co-Head Coach / Senior Ramirez Aquatic Center Coach

Phil leads the Age Group Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.

Phone: (914) 384-2924

Email:  [email protected]

Phil is currently in his 13th year coaching and his 11th with the Schroeder Swim Team.  He works primarily with AG1 and AG2 groups (9-12 year olds) at the Ramirez Aquatic Center site and also helps with the Nicolet Knights and South Milwaukee Sharks programs.  He also currently coaches the St. Augustine Prep girls team and was the coach at Marquette High School for ten years.  He has been a Wisconsin Zone coach three times.

Phil grew up outside New York City, swimming for the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, NY through high school.  He then attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he swam for 4 years.  At Madison, Phil competed in multiple Nationals, NCAA championships and the 2008 Olympic Trials.  A former school record holder in the 100 freestyle and 200/800 free relays, Phil completed his collegiate career in 2010 and started coaching for Badger Aquatic Club, where he worked for two years before moving to Milwaukee for graduate school and starting at Schroeder.

Phil has two big goals when coaching younger swimmers - to provide them with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful as they advance through our program, and to create a love for the sport.

Outside the pool Phil enjoys playing music, attending live shows and volunteering at the Wisconsin Humane Society.

Chandler Lewis - Co-Head Coach / SR1/2 Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center 

Chandler Leads The Senior Programs At The Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 262-327-0900

Chandler Lewis is in his sixth year of coaching with the Schroeder YMCA Swim Team. He holds a master’s degree in Psychology with a focus in Sport Psychology from California Southern University and a bachelor’s degree in Human Health & Performance with a minor in Coaching from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. At Whitewater, he was team captain, a WIAC Champion, three-time First Team All-Conference selection, and graduated ranked among the top three in program history in multiple events.

As a coach, Chandler has guided athletes to the U.S. Olympic Trials, USA Swimming Senior and Junior Nationals, YMCA National Championships, and numerous state and national records. His athletes include YMCA National Champions, USA Junior National Champions, and U.S. Open/USA National and World Championship Trials finalists. His leadership also helped Schroeder YMCA capture the combined team championship at the 2021 YMCA Swim Festival, three consecutive team runner-up finishes from 2023–2025, and the Women’s Team Championship in 2025. In recognition of his success, he was selected to coach at the USA Swimming National Junior Team Select Camp (2022) and the Central Zone Team Select Camp (2023).

Outside of the pool, Chandler is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and oversees athlete strength programming while training clients at the Wisconsin Athletic Club in Wauwatosa. He is also worsk as a Mental Perfromance Coach for Championship Mind, a mental performance training platform developed with Coach Ben Bartell. Through this work, Chandler helps athletes build mental performance tools such as confidence, composure, and focus that allow them to consistently perform at their best in both sport and life.

Tracy Kellner - Age Group 2 Coach

Tracy leads the Age Group 2 Team at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

Email:  [email protected]

Tracy Kellner, age 52, has coached at Schroeder in various roles since 1996. She started swimming at age 9 and swam locally as a youth. Tracy went on to swim four years at the University of Iowa where she earned her degree in Civil Engineering. Swimming is a big passion for Tracy and she is delighted to teach and coach young athletes in this great sport. Currently Tracy is the lead coach for Age Group 2 at Schroeder.

Another passion for Tracy is triathlon, where she has been Age Group National Champion (2018) as well as World Champion (2015) in her age group. When the weather turns cold, Tracy also enjoys playing ice hockey - the fast paced sport is extremely fun!

Tracy lives in Mequon with her husband Todd (also a great competitive swimmer!) and they have 3 adult kids - Douglas, Julius and Alison as well as two wonderful dogs, Raven and Ginger.

Gabe Hilliard - Lions / Super 8 / Age Group 3 Coach

Gabe leads the Lions, Super 8 and Age Group 3 Teams at the Ramirez Aquatic Center.

Email:  [email protected]

Gabe has been part of Schroeder for very long time. He started in age group swimming and continued through high school. He has a lot of experience in the swimming world with instructing swim lessons, coaching at Brown Deer High School and University School of Milwaukee where he was awarded coach of the year. Coach Gabe is currently coaching the Lions, AG3, and Masters groups at the RAC location. He loves long walks on the beach and trying new restaurants.

Mark Gwidt - Super Stars / Schroeder Stars / Super 8 / Age Group 3 Coach

Mark leads the Super Stars, Schroeder Stars, Super 8 and Age Group 3 Teams at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

Email:  [email protected]

Mark, 52, is in his 25th year of coaching overall. Starting in 1996 with the Schroeder Swim Team as a Assistant Age Group and Masters Coach. In 2001 Coach Mark moved to Ozaukee Aquatics where he has spent the past 21 years. During his time he has coached numerous Age Group State Champions, High Point winners, Relay Champions, Zone Qualifiers and Zone Champions. He has also been named Age Group Coach of The Year 3 times. Mark is also the Head Coach of The Homestead Boys High School swim team for the past 21 years. He also coached the Homestead Girls team from 2001-2016. During his coaching time at Homestead, he has coached his teams to 20+ Conference Championships, numerous Individual Conference Champions and WIAA State Champions. Mark is super excited to be back at Schroeder Coaching!

Mark also has a swimming background in the state of Wisconsin and Illinois. He started swimming in Arlington Heights, Illinois where he was a solid age group swimmer. Mark moved to the Schroeder swim team from 1981-1990. During that time Mark was a State Champion in Club and High School. He still holds some Schroeder team records. He went on to swim at The University of Iowa and was a 1988 Olympic Trials Qualifier.

Mark has been married to the love of his life, Kristen, since 1999. They have 3 kids Catherine, Brigid and Charlie. They have lived in Cedarburg since 2003. Mark loves any baseball, all Wisconsin sports, long walks, concerts, projects in the house and spending time with family.

Sarah Wenszell - Junior 2 Coach

Sarah leads the Junior 2 Team at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

Email:  [email protected]

Sarah joined Schroeder at the age of 7. Sarah swam for Schroeder until she was 18, then she focused on her acedemics. Sarah attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she obtained her Bachelor Degree in Athletic Training. Sarah will later on go back to school to become a Physician Assistant (PA). While attending UWM Sarah still had a passion for swimming. She often went to the pool to support her brothers and sisters. It was at that moment that she realized how much she enjoyed swimming and being part of the culture.

Sarah started coaching for Schroeder the spring of 2013. Sarah started developing as a coach under the supervision of Matt Miller and Wendy Frank. After a year of coaching, Sarah knew she was ready to be the head coach of a group. Sarah enjoys working with 9-14 year olds, so Junior 2 was the perfect fit for her. Sarah has two fundamental goals she loves to follow when teaching her swimmers. One is to always have good technique. Good technique will always out perform endurance and keep you in the sport injury free. Her second goal that she lives by every day, is to show her swimmers how to have fun in the pool and grow their passion for the sport. Sarah is going on her 9th year of coaching Junior 2 and loves it just as much as the first day she walked out on deck as the head coach. Sarah is excited for the future and can't wait to see her swimmers, and the next generation ready to take on the water.