Recreational Swim and Dive Teams
Recreational Swim Team
Recreational Swim Team provides your child an introduction to a swim team environment where they will practice their swimming skills, build self-esteem, make new friends, get physically fit, and gain competitive experience. Swimmers will be working on all four competitive strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Ages five and up and all fitness levels are welcome. Swimmers are required to have a baseline understanding of all four competitive strokes and the ability to swim consecutive laps in a competition pool (25 yards). It is highly recommended that swimmers have completed Learn to Swim lessons through the Sharks level. Practices will be in groups based on swimmer’s age and the coaches are happy to work with all skill levels.
Summer rec swim team includes optional (but highly encouraged) Saturday morning meets! These meets are approximately two hours long with a variety of home and away meets. Meets are a fun way to show off swim skills and will be good practice for the City Championship End of Summer Party.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Spring: Saturdays, 45-minute workouts for six weeks in March and April
- May Rec: Monday-Thursday, 45-minute workouts for four weeks in May
- Summer Rec: Monday-Thursday, 50-minute workouts for eight weeks in June and July
- March Saturday Registration: Winter Registration
- May Weekday Registration: Spring Registration
- Summer Registration: Summer Registration
- Recreational Swim Team designed to be faster paced and have a larger number of participants than swimming lessons. The recreational program is not intended to take the place of a learn to swim lesson but rather build on those skills already learned in classes, refine the strokes, and apply them to a competitive environment.
- Recreational Swim Team provides your child an introduction to a swim team environment where they will practice their swimming skills, build self-esteem, make new friends, get physically fit, and gain swim team experience.
- Swimmers are the most successful on the recreational swim team when they have completed all the swim classes through the sharks level or other swim program equivalent. Swimmers who have learned the four competitive strokes and are able to swim laps for a full 50-minute workout are ready for the recreational swim program.
- Ages 5-17
- Swim meets are on Saturday mornings at 7:15 a.m. during the summer.
- Locations rotate and can be found on the last page of the parent manual.
Recreational Dive Team
Recreational Dive Team introduces fundamental diving skills such as forwards and backwards dives, proper approaches, forward and backward summersaults and much more. Previous participation in a diving class is recommended. Participants must be at least 6 years old by the start of the program and should be able to swim in deep water (up to 14 ft.) safely.
Summer rec dive team includes optional (but highly encouraged) intersquad and away meets! These meets are approximately 90 minutes long with a variety of home and away meets. Meets are a fun way to show off dive skills and will be good practice for the City Championship End of Summer Party.
Summer 2026 Recreational Swim Coaches
Cactus Aquatic & Fitness Center
Head Rec Coach (AM): Peyton Schmidke
Hi, my name is Peyton Schmidtke, and I will be the Head Rec Coach for the mornings at Cactus! This will be my second summer coaching rec swim and my first as a head coach. I have been the 10 and under assistant coach for Scottsdale Aquatic Club for almost a year. From a very young age, I have been extremely involved in swimming! I swam for SAC for almost 10 years and I also swam on my high school team. I love being a recreation team coach and I can’t wait to have a great summer with you!
Head Rec Coach (PM): Lauren Lopez
Hello! My name is Lauren Lopez, and I will be the Head Rec Coach in the evenings this summer at Cactus. I will be a sophomore at NAU this fall. This is my third summer as a head coach for the city of Scottsdale. I have been working for the city for four summers now. I was a swimmer for Phoenix Swim Club and for my high school team. My favorite stroke is breaststroke. I can’t wait to make it a great summer!
Chaparral Aquatic Center
Head Coach: Marian Giles
Hello, I’m Marian Giles and I will be the Head Rec Swim Coach at Chaparral this summer. This is my fourth summer working for the city of Scottsdale as a lifeguard and swim instructor. I am so excited to return to coach the Chaparral Rec Team for the second summer in a row. I swam for Phoenix Swim Club for several years and was then a part of my high school’s state swim team. I just completed her freshman year at Arizona State University where I am studying nursing. In my free time, I enjoy singing and reading classical literature.
Eldorado Aquatic & Fitness Center
Head Coach: Fiona Del Valle
Hi! I’m Fiona and I'm Eldorado’s head rec swim coach this summer. I was previously an assistant rec coach last year, so I'm excited for this position and to have the opportunity to be the head coach this year! I’ve been with this pool for a total of four years, in which two of those years I was a junior guard. I’ve swam on Eldorado’s rec swim team since I was 10 years old, and I stopped swimming at age 15 when I became a lifeguard. I was on club swim for about two years at PCDS, so I've definitely had my experience in the water. In my time here at Eldorado, I've also taught every swim lesson level all the way from Sea Babies to Rec Team, and I'll say teaching swim lessons is my favorite program to do here as a lifeguard! I love teaching kids and seeing them progress while also having fun in the water! Another fun fact about me is I graduated from high school last June at age 16, and I'll be graduating from college a year early as well in 2029! I’m excited for what this summer has in store, and I can’t wait to coach!
McDowell Mountain Ranch Park & Aquatic Center
Head Coach (AM): Emma Nakagawa
Hi my name is Emma Nakagawa and I will be the head recreational swim coach in the mornings at McDowell Mountain Ranch! I recently graduated from Desert Mountain High school and I will be attending Grand Canyon University’s honors college to purse a degree in nursing this fall. I joined McDowell Mountain Ranch’s recreational swim team when I was 5 years old and have pursed swimming ever since. I am a four-year varsity letterman on my swim and dive team, I still swim competitively for Scottsdale Aquatic Club, and I was also a competitive Synchronized Swimmer for six years. I am looking forward to working with all the new swimmers and families this summer!
Head Coach (PM): Talia Copoloff
Hi! My name is Talia and I will be the head recreational swim coach in the evenings at McDowell Mountain Ranch. This will be my fourth summer coaching evening rec and my fifth summer working at MMR. I’ve gotten the opportunity to coach every age group over the past four years. I was a competitive swimmer for Scottsdale Aquatic Club and Lifetime for six years before switching to rowing my junior year of high school. I’m currently a Division I Rower at the University of Kansas. I love sports and I feel passionately that sports can and SHOULD be a fun environment. I’m so excited to work with my next group of swimmers this summer!
Summer 2026 Recreational Dive Coaches
Cactus Aquatic & Fitness Center
Ryder Hamann
Hi, my name is Ryder Hamann. This will be my third year coaching Rec Dive for the city of Scottsdale. I have been diving competitively for seven years. I enjoy helping athletes build confidence, improve their skills, and have fun while learning the sport of diving. I’m looking forward to this summer!
Nora Kosec
Hi, I’m Nora and this will be my second year coaching recreational dive for the city of Scottsdale. I have been diving competitively for 12 years! I love the sport of diving and I love teaching it. I am really looking forward to this summer!
Eldorado Aquatic & Fitness Center
Zoe Pivin
Hi! My name is Zoe and I will be one of the Rec Dive Coaches at Eldorado this summer! I actually started out in the Eldorado diving program myself and participated in the diving classes for two years before becoming a lifeguard. Outside of diving, I was also a gymnast for 15 years which helped build my love for athletics and learning new skills. I’m excited to help everyone grow in their confidence on the board and have fun and a successful summer!
Izzy Finley
Hi! My name is Izzy, and I’m one of the Rec Dive Coaches at Eldorado this summer! I just finished my junior year of high school and am excited for another great season at the pool. While I was never a competitive diver myself, I have several summers of Rec Swim experience and have completed multiple dive trainings through City of Scottsdale Aquatics. Over my three summers working here, I’ve learned how to become a dive coach and love helping kids grow their confidence and skills on the board. Outside of lifeguarding and coaching, I’m a huge theatre kid and enjoy all things beauty, media, music, and spending time with my friends. I’m looking forward to a fun and exciting summer with everyone!
McDowell Mountain Ranch Park & Aquatic Center
Reef Splittorff
Hey there, my name is Reef and I will be teaching recreational dive at McDowell Mountain Ranch for the second summer. This summer is my third year of teaching as a certified swim instructor and lifeguard. I am grateful to teach diving lessons on behalf of Scottsdale, as it has become a hobby of mine during summer! Recreational dive is an awesome group of kids with fun stories to share making the environment welcoming for everyone, as that is what I strive to make during each lesson. I look forward to this summer and what it has in store for recreational dive, hope to see you there!
Abe Gladden
Hi! My name is Abe. I am the Recreational Dive coach for McDowell Mountain Ranch! I have been a dive teacher for three seasons and the Rec Dive Coach for two with the city of Scottsdale! I love having fun in dive and I am looking forward to having a great time again this summer. See you on the boards!
Partners & Vendors
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Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Scottsdale Aquatics
15525 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy.Scottsdale, AZ 85260