The Boulder Valley youth synchronized swimming team, Boulder Aquateens, announced the hiring of new head coach
Traci Lunsford, of Thornton, for the 2006-07 season. Lunsford, with support from 5-6 assistant coaches, hopes to build on the recent successes of this established and nationally ranked age-group team which is made up of swimmers from the greater Boulder region. Attracting new young swimmers to the sport of synchronized swimming is also a major goal for the coming year.
Lunsford, attracted to the competitive nature of this growing team, will draw upon her broad base of coaching and swimming experience for the new role as head coach of the Aquateens. As a swimmer herself, Lunsford earned a varsity letter with The Ohio State University (OSU) Varsity Synchronized Swimming team from 1984-87, and won three National Collegiate Championships 1985-1987.
Since 1983, Lunsford has coached synchronized swimming in a variety of environments from national and international-level team competition to synchronized swimming clinics for introductory synchronized swimmers. Lunsford's education, a BS in Family Relations and Human Development and MA in Psychology and Sociology of Sport from OSU, also enriches her ability to teach young swimmers this creative and often misunderstood sport.
Coming on board as an assistant coach in January 2006, Lunsford quickly assumed a vital and challenging role in preparing the Boulder Aquateens swimmers for a tough competitive season. In the end, 16 local swimmers qualified for the National Age-Group Championships, Seattle, Washington, in June with several swimmers placing in the top 8.
Lunsford will follow in the footsteps of recent successful head coaches including Amy Buss of Lafayette and former National Synchronized Swim Team Member Alanna O'Leary. Both Lunsford and the team at large are grateful that O'Leary will continue her work with the Boulder Aquateens by playing a large part in routine choreography.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Boulder Aquateens please call
Margo MacDonnell at 303-449-1708 or visit
www.boulderaquateens.org.
A season-opening parent meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 20, at the East Boulder Recreation Center from 3-5 pm.