Blue Ridge Barracudas Swim Team -- Coaches

Coaches

Carlos Palacian

Carlos is the head coach of the girl's swim teams at both Ballard High School and Holy Names Academy. When he is not coaching swimming he is a trainer for the YMCA of Greater Seattle and a stay at home dad. Carlos grew up in Madrid, Spain, where he was a competitive swimmer. He moved to Washington 20 years ago. He attended Washington State University where he rowed, and after college, Carlos settled in the Seattle area. Carlos and his wife Lisa have two boys, a four and a half year old named Paco, and a two year old named Mariano.

Jen Curran

A Gonzaga graduate with a Masters in Education from Seattle University, Jen has been teaching at Holy Names Academy for 11 years as Social Studies & Theology Teacher. She has been a swim coach at Holy Names for 8 of those years. Jen is very close to her family who all live in Seattle. She enjoys running, cycling, swimming, tennis, hiking & golf in free time!

Kaitlyn Kirby

A lifetime Seattle resident, Kaitlin will be graduated from the University of Washington this June and plans to attend SPU in the fall to earn her Masters in Teaching. Kaitlin was a local swimmer since 1993 for Salmon Bay Aquatics and currently plays water polo for the Huskies. The Husky water polo team will be attending Nationals this month - Go Huskies! While at Kings High School she swam for Ballard and played water polo for Roosevelt. Kaitlin is an assistant coach with the Holy Names Academy Swim Team.

John McDonagh

John McDonagh is currently a junior at Gonzaga University. John swam for four years at Blanchet High School in Seattle. After swimming on the Blue Ridge team for the past nine years, John is excited to be back as a part of the team in his second year of coaching.