Meet the team
Head Coach – Leon Politano, B.Ed and M.Ed.
Leon has a passion for coaching masters swimmers and firmly supports the Masters Swimming Association of British Columbia’s mission statement – fun, friendship and fitness for life. He likes to challenge swimmers to get out of their comfort zone so they can become the best swimmers they can be. His wife, Colleen, says he comes home after every practice happier than a 6-year-old after T-Ball, although these days his exercise is mostly on the C2 ERG, spin bike, or in the garden.
Leon was an elementary school teacher for 33 years and has been involved in swimming for the past 55 years in a variety of roles. He has been coaching the Westshore Masters since the club began in November of 2007.
As a teacher, he created a classroom environment that was safe and nurturing in which learning could happen. As our coach, he brings this same value to every practice. He believes that the three key components of swimming well are #1 technique, #2 technique, and #3 technique. He measures success in swimming by the quality of the strokes, not with a stopwatch.
Swim Coach Certification:
- American Swimming Coaches Association coach – Level 4
- National Coaching Certification Program – Level 2
- US Masters Swimming coach – Level 2
- Special Olympics coach – Level 2
- World Swimming Coaches Association “Professional Swim Coaches Course.”
- Level 5 senior official for Swim BC
Swim Coach Experience:
- Masters coach
- Special Olympics coach
- Age group coach
- Elementary school swim team coach
- a Masters swimmer
Our Board:
President – Devon Edney
Vice President – Catherine Anderson
Registrar – Nicole Dawson
Treasurer – Kristen Mathe
Website and Social Media – Susan Simmons