RFSC COACHES

MICHAEL BRUDZINSKI  

Head Coach

I have been with RFSC since September of 2008, I was an assistant coach until May of 2011 when I became the Head Coach. Before that I was an assistant coach with OMNI swim club from 2004-2008. I have been involved with swimming since 2002; I swam for Tartan High School in Oakdale MN from 2002-2005, during which time I also swam/coached for OMNI swim club. In 2005, I began my undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and graduated with a degree in Mathematics with a double minor in History and Military Science. During my time at UWRF I swam all four years. I have been a serving member of the Army since 2006, and accepted my Commission as an Officer in July of 2009. I have been with various Engineer units throughout the state, and have deployed to Afghanistan (2012-2013) and Iraq (2016) over my career. I have a beautiful wife, Caitlin, and two adorable daughters, Amelia and Bria, who I am sure you will see on the pool deck on several occasions throughout the season!

KAYE ANDERSON

Coach

My journey with RFSC started in the fall of 2011 when I started swimming competitively. As a swimmer, my favorite events were 100 IM, 100 Breast, and 200 Breast. While I am no longer swimming competitively, I have never strayed too far from the pool deck. In 2017, I got my lifeguard certification and spent a few years working at the Hudson Y. I joined RFSC as a coach in 2019 and enjoyed coaching Novice through Seniors while I was in college at UWRF. Now that I have graduated, my day job is teaching high school English in New Richmond. With this transition, I took a step back from coaching and am now working more with our developmental instructors and youngest swimmers. I find so much joy in this position as I get to work with both our high school and college instructors and our developmental swimmers. It has been fun using my knowledge of curriculum development to adjust our lessons and skill progressions to better prepare our swimmers for competitive swimming.

HANNA THELEN

Coach

I began swimming at my hometown's pool at the age of three. I have always enjoyed being in the water. I swam throughout my youth years for the Sheboygan Falls Aquatic Center and started teaching swimming lessons there at the age of 14. I am currently a student at UW-River Falls, pursuing a degree in agriculture education. Once I knew I was going to River Falls, my next step was to find a pool to work at and the RFSC was perfect for me. I have loved every day I have coached at River Falls Swim Club!

BRYANNA ZILLMER

Coach

I started to swim with Eau Claire Aquatics Club in 2013 and then swam for 4 years at Memorial High School. While I was swimming, my favorite events were the 500 free and the 200 free. I have been teaching swim lessons to all ages and lifeguarding since 2019. I started coaching for River Falls Swim Club in 2021. I'm currently a student at UWRF, majoring in Finance and Accounting, with a minor in Economics. When I'm not in the pool, I'm enjoying the outdoors, playing with my dog, or just hanging out.

EMILY SAWALL

Coach

I grew up in and around the water and taught swim lessons and lifeguarded a good portion of my high school career. I grew enamored with triathlon and thus have been swimming open water and competing in dozens of races since 2012, including 2 full distance Ironman triathlons. As both of my boys are swimmers and my husband is a swim official, we spend a lot of time on and around the pool deck. I have been coaching since 2018, starting in New Richmond and now with River Falls. I love coaching all ages, and have really enjoyed seeing the "lightbulb" moments when things click for the kids. Working with the masters program starting this year has also been really rewarding- showing that swimming really is a lifelong sport and so good for our bodies! When I'm not on deck I am occupied with completing my masters degree and serving as the Director of Foster Homes for a local Great Dane Rescue.

Board of Directors