Vincennes Swim Team

Andrew's parents started him swimming at the age of 4 at the suggestion of a doctor as a way to control his excess energy (it worked) for a USS team in Glendale Heights, IL (NW Suburban Chicago).  Andrew lettered all four years at William Fremd High School and held the school record in the 100 Breastroke two different times.  He also placed in the Illinois High School state meet his Junior (9th in 100 breastroke) and Senior years (4th in 100 breastroke; 10th in 200 IM).  He didn't stop swimming until the age 22 after 4 successful years at Western Kentucky University.  While in college, Andrew held the school record in the 200 Breastroke and was team captain his senior year.

After college, Andrew coached Vette City Swimming, a USS team in Bowling Green, KY, and Elk Grove Park District in Elk Grove, IL.  He later moved away from the sport and began a career in logistics.  Andrew's career in logistics has included 3 companies--Michaels Stores Inc., TJ Maxx, and currently Toyota where he works as a Logistics Specialist.

Andrew has two sons, Evan (6) and Blake (2).  Andrew also has family ties to VST with his niece (Carolyn Powell) and nephew (Owen Powell) swimming for the team and his brother-in-law (Matt Powell) as an assistant coach and his sister (Michelle Powell) as a huge support and the loudest cheerer for her children that he has ever heard.

Andrew clearly has a passion for swimming and has expressed that he is thrilled to be back in the sport working with VST and is looking forward to leading the team to the next level of performance.

Coach Jake's love and passion for swimming started in 8^th grade when his aunt talked him into trying the swim team, and he's have been hooked ever since.  After swimming for Southridge Middle School his 8th grade year, he swam all four years he attended Southridge High School. In May 2000 he graduated, and that fall he walked onto the Vincennes University Swim team where he received a scholarship the following semesters.  After swimming for Vincennes University for two years, he took a short break from swimming to marry wife, Kelly in 2003.  Later that year he got the itch to get back into the sport and saw an ad in the local paper looking for a swim coach for the SARG Swim team.  Living in Huntingburg at the time, he applied for the job and coached there for over a year.  When his daughter, Kennedy, was born in 2005, Coach Jake took a break from coaching.

In Fall 2007 Coach Jake heard that the Vincennes Age Group team needed an assistant swim coach, and the rest is history!  Coach says he greatly enjoys working with the kids of VST, the board members, and the parents, and he looks forward to many more successful seasons. GO VST!!!

Coach Lindsay Owens started swimming for the Vincennes YMCA Swim Team (VINY) at age 6 under then Coach Sandy Bohmeier. She continued to swim for the VINY Sharks until age 13 under Coaches Charlie Wright, Jenny Tuttle-Brown and Krista Parish. She then transferred to the Terre Haute Torpedoes swim club where she swam under Coaches Jeff Thompson (Current Terre Haute South and Torpedoes head coach), John Newhouse (Head Torpedoes Age Group Coach), and Donnie Brush (current Indiana University Assistant Head Coach of Coordinating of Training and S-A Development). Before entering Vincennes Lincoln High School, she transferred back to the Vincennes club to swim under Coach TJ Day (Boilermaker Aquatics) and later Josh Saylor. During her high school years, Lindsay swam under Coach Richard Rutherford and went on to swim one season for the Vincennes University swim team.

Before coming to VST in December 2008, Lindsay previously coached beginning swimmers for the VINY Swim Team. She is a 2004 graduate of Lincoln High School, 2006 graduate of Vincennes University (A.S – Journalism concentration) and a 2009 graduate of Indiana University (B.A. Journalism). She is currently pursuing degrees in Special Education and social sciences. Through the week, she works as a substitute teacher for the Vincennes Community and Vigo County School Corporations. On the weekends, she works as a docent at Grouseland, the home of Governor William Henry Harrison and sells fresh produce and plants at Farmer’s Markets in Vincennes and Lawrenceville.

As a young boy, Richard learned to swim in stripper pits in Warrick County, when his father would put a life jacket on him, toss him into the water and "anchor" him by tying the life jacket to his boat.  This led to pushing the boat; which eventually led to Richard joining a summer swim team at the age of nine.  At South Spencer High School, he did a majority of his training on his own and with a friend who would open up the High School pool before school.  When he graduated from South Spencer he held all the individual school records.  He was a walk on at Western Kentucky University his first year and then was blessed with a scholarship his final four years (red shirted with a shoulder injury) of schooling.  He majored in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Kindergarten.

Richard and his family live in Vincennes, Indiana.  Richard and Lindsay have been married for 16 years.  They have three daughters (Maggie 13, Becca 11, Allie 8).  Richard was a 5^th grade teacher at Vigo Elementary for 13 years; Principal at Washington Elementary for one year and is currently in his third year as the Principal of Franklin Elementary in Vincennes.  He coached the Lincoln High School swim team from 1993 to 2007 with a record of 146 wins and 56 losses with the boys and 84 wins and 109 losses for the girls.  Richard will now be back at the helm coaching the Alices for the 2009-2010 season.