Nashville Aquatic Club

The Nashville Aquatic Club (NAC)
NAC is a year round competitive swim program that has been operating in the Middle Tennessee area since 1975. The team is comprised of six practice groups ranging from the entry-level swimmer to the Senior National qualifier. Nashville Aquatic Club aims to develop the character, skills, and desire necessary for each child to maximize his or her potential. Through swimming, we aim to develop physical fitness, self-discipline, and self-esteem, which will assist children in maximizing their personal, intellectual, and athletic potential.
Facility
The Nashville Aquatic Club maintains offices and mainly functions out of the
Tracy Caulkins Competition Pool at the Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville, TN, USA
Coaching Staff
John Morse - Head Coach
John Morse is in his twenty-fourth year as the head coach of the Nashville Aquatic club. After completing his swimming eligibility at the University of Florida, John Morse started coaching with the Florida Aquatic Club. Following the completion of his education, he accepted the job of senior assistant coach at NAC. He spent time as the head age group coach, and the facility director, and in 1984, was hired as the Head Coach of NAC. NAC has thrived under John Morse's leadership. Since 1984 the team has won more than 25 Southeastern team titles, and established itself as the most consistent program in the area at developing fast swimmers. NAC has finished in the top 10 at nationals, as high as 2nd at the junior championship, and has been overall team champion at Sectionals during this time. John Morse has developed more than 40 Olympic Trial qualifiers, over a dozen national finalists, four World University Games qualifiers, Junior National Champions, National Team members, and swimmers that went on to become NCAA champions and All Americans. This past season, the team won the southeastern Championships for the thirty-fifth time in the history of the club, and was selected as a gold medal team for the seventh consecutive year (every year the award has been given). Coaching honors received by John Morse include the American Swim Coaches Association Bronze Award of Excellence signifying ten years of having a finalist at Nationals, and the Southeastern Swimming LSC coach of the year in 1989, 2001, 2002, and 2004. John Morse was selected to coach the USA national team in 1992, the USA Swimming National Junior Team in 2008, the Olympic development camp in 1994, the Eagle camp in 1995, the Zone distance camp in 1997, and the national select camp in 1998. John Morse also stays involved in the politics of swimming. He has been a delegate to the United States Swimming Aquatic Convention more than 12 different times, and has served on the National Championship Time Standards Committee, and the National Championship site selection committee, and currently serves as a member of the National Club Development Committee for USA Swimming. John Morse is also a member of the Southeastern Swimming board of directors and has served as the senior chairman, technical planning director, outreach director, and swim-a-thon director at different times. He also stays very involved in high school swimming, and was instrumental in bringing the high school state meet to Nashville in 1991. He has worked with the metro parks and Nashville sports council to secure three national championships, 2 junior championships, and 1 Masters National Championships in Nashville. John Morse is a graduate of the University of Florida where he swam on conference and NCAA championship teams.
Charlie Hodgson - Senior Group Coach
Charlie has been coaching since 1969 and was a 1984 Assistant USA Olympic Coach which he earned by placing three of his own club swimmers on the team, Michele Richardson, Matt Gribble, and Jesse Vassallo. All three swimmers started on his club team as young age groupers. At 15, Michele was the youngest athlete on the entire USA Olympic team from all sports and won the Silver medal in the 800 Free with a time of 8:28.82. Three of Charlie’s swimmers have set world records in five events: David Wilkie in the 200 IM in 1974 with a time of 2:06.32 and the 200 Breast in 1976 with a time of 2:15.11 (Olympic Gold medal, 3.1 seconds under the record), Matt Gribble in the 100 Fly in 1983 with a time of 53.44 (also 1983 World Champion) and in the USA 400 Medley Relay in 1983 swimming the fly leg, and Paul Wallace as a member of the USA 400 Free Relay in 1985 with a split of 49.99. In 1985, Charlie was a member of the USA coaching staff for the Pan Pacific Games in Japan. In both 1983 and 1984, he was a finalist for the American Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year award. From 1973 to 1986, Charlie coached the University of Miami in Florida. As assistant coach in 1975 and head coach in 1976, his women's team won the AIAW National Championships in 1975 and 1976 and set the American record in the 200 yard medley relay four years in a row. As assistant coach and later head coach, the men’s team consistently placed in the top 10 at the NCAA’s. From 1975 to 1992, Charlie’s Hurricane Swim Club team placed in the top 10 at US Senior Nationals numerous times, produced many nationally ranked age groupers, developed nearly 100 High School All Americans, won the FGC Junior Olympic Championships 20 times in a row, and at one time held over 50% of the Florida Gold Coast records from 8 & under to Senior. Having moved to the Nashville area in 2001, Charlie coached 12 & under swimmers at Excel Aquatics before joining NAC in late March 2004. An innovator in the sport, in 1974 Charlie created the idea of the men and women wearing panty hose for training after a shaved meet to simulate “putting the hair back on”. The panty hose idea caught the attention of the Mike Douglas Show and Charlie and three Miami women’s swimmers were featured on one of his shows. Soon thereafter the idea of a drag suit was created. In 1975, Charlie radically altered David Wilkie’s breaststroke pull from a narrow tight pull to a wide sweep, and after David set the world record in 1976, coaches around the world changed to the wide pull which is basically still used today. Charlie served as member and Chairman of the AIAW National Committee in 1976 and 1977 and for many years was Chairman of the Florida Gold Coast LSC where he worked hard to make decisions that were good for swimming.
In 1989, Charlie started writing swimming software for Hy-Tek and released Business Manager in 1989, Workout Manager in 1990, Track & Field Meet Manager in 1993, and Track & Field Team Manager in 1994. In 1998, he took over the Swimming Meet Manager and created the windows version of Hy-Tek which is used to run most meets in North America. Workout Manager is used by over 1000 coaches around the world to create and analyze workouts and to upload workouts to scoreboard pace clocks. Charlie swam at Dartmouth College where he received a BA in 1969 and a BE in 1970.
Bryan Welter - Sportsplex Head Age Group Coach
Bryan Welter came to NAC in 2006 after coaching at the Bengal Tiger Aquatic Club for two years. Prior to his work at BTAC, Bryan Welter was the Head Age Group Coach for the North Central Florida YMCA for seven years in Gainesville, Fl. He has also coached at the 300 Swim and Tennis Club, Oak Hall School, Naples High School, and Buchholz High School. Bryan Welter attended and swam for West Virginia Wesleyan College before moving to Gainesville, Fl in 1995. Shortly thereafter, Bryan Welter received his General Studies Associate of Arts from Santa Fe Community College. He is a 2004 graduate of the College of Health & Human Performance at the University of Florida. Bryan swam competitively at the age of 4 at the Greater Lee County YMCA, and proceeded to swim for Swim Florida and Collier County YMCA during his 14 years as a competitive swimmer. Some of his accomplishments as a coach include: 8 + YMCA Short Course National qualifying swims; 40 + YMCA Long Course National qualifying swims; 50 + National Top 16 Reportable qualifying swims; National 1st overall 10 & Under Boys 100 Butterfly LC 2005
LHSAA Division 1 Women’s State Runner-up (2005); FHSAA Class 3A Women’s State Championship (2002); FHSAA Class 3A Women’s State Runner-up (2000); Worked with 10 + High School Academic All-Americans; Worked with 40 + High School Athletic All-Americans; A.S.C.A. level 3 coach; Selected Assistant coach - Louisiana Swimming Southern Zone All-Star Team (2006); Selected Assistant coach -Florida Swimming Southern Zone All-Star Team (2000, 2002 & 2004); Selected Head Coach -Florida Swimming Southern Zone All-Star Team (2003); Florida Dairy Farmers -Girls High School Coach of the Year - All Classes (2003); Gainesville Sun All Area Coach of the year (2000, 2002 & 2003).
Jack Hazen - Sportsplex Age Group Coach
Jack Hazen has been with NAC for the past several years as an Age Group Coach at the Centennial Sportsplex site. Jack Hazen brings over 30 years coaching experience to the program. Jack Hazen received his BA from the University of Georgia, and a Masters in Education from Vanderbilt University. In addition to his association with NAC, Jack Hazen has been a metro area teacher for the past 30 years and is currently at Granbery Elementary School.
Adam Stark - Sportsplex Age Group Coach
Adam Stark joined the NAC Coaching Staff in the Fall of 2006 as an assistant with the NAC Green & White Groups at Centennial Sportsplex. In 2007, Adam Stark worked with the startup program at the Maryland Farms YMCA and will now direct the Red Group at Centennial Sportsplex. Prior to working with NAC, Adam Stark has been an instructor at Bubbles and Roll swim lesson program since 2001. Adam Stark has worked with swimmers of all ages and abilities, special needs children, as well as teaching adults how to swim. In the Winter of 2006, Adam Stark was an assistant coach with NAC's Winter maintenance program at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Bellevue, Tennessee.
Jim Chapman - Williamson County Age Group Coach
Jim Chapman started with Nashville Aquatic Club in the Fall of 2006 as an age group coach with the White & Green Groups at Brentwood YMCA and now directs the Green & White Group programs at the Maryland Farms YMCA. Jim Chapman is currently the Head Coach of the Varsity Swim Team at Brentwood Academy and the Head Coach of the Maryland Farms YMCA Summer League Swim Team. He has also previously served as Head Coach of the Rutherford Aquatic Group Swim Team, assistant coach with the Brentwood Barracudas Summer Team, and assistant coach with XCEL Aquatics, as well as coaching High School Boys Basketball, Baseball, and Girls fast pitch Softball. Jim Chapman is a graduate of Wright State University. In addition to coaching, Jim Chapman has also been a backup singer for country music star Loretta Lynn, and toured three years with country music group . He has been a background singer at the Grand Ole Opry and appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Jim Chapman was also an illustrator for the "Shaoey the Dot" and "Our Amazing World" series of childrens' books.
Brad Kale - Senior Group Coach
Craig Shinn - Sportsplex Age Group Coach

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