Our Team

Matt joined our team in 2018.

Before joining Liz van Welie Aquatics, he was the head coach at Waikato’s Hillcrest Swimming Club. During his time as a coach he has developed swimmers at national and international levels.

In 2017 he was named Waikato’s Coach of the Year and was part of Swimming New Zealand’s coaching team at the Oceania Championships in Papua New Guinea in June.

Tai joined our coaching team in Term 4 2022 and comes with a massive amount of coaching experience.

Tai was previously a head coach Evolution Aquatics, coaching swimmers similar to Laing Squad right through to national representative swimmers.

Tai is a soft spoken, kind person who easily keeps swimmers engaged.

Leah started with us early 2023.

She has just finished her Year 13 at High School last year, and is a ex-competitive swimmer.

Leah is a soft spoken but firm teacher and is really excited about teaching.  Leah will be covering all levels of swimming and her goal is to see a child’s confidence and development thrive.

Wendy started working at Liz van Welie Aquatics in 2013. In her years of working for us she has taught across the board right from babies through to our highest level of learn to swim, as well as spending her mornings in the office.

Parents are constantly requesting to be part of Wendy’s classes.  She displays empathy where required, and really loves to see a child achieve new skills. She is constantly positive and a real breath of fresh air.

Cassie began working for Liz van Welie Aquatics in 2015. Her expertise runs across the field of learning after having been a competitive swimmer for many years. She has taught baby classes right through to our highest level of Learn to Swim.

Cassie is a very quiet, positive, loving teacher and can coerce the most anxious swimmer into the pool. She is a stickler for detail so ensures that your child will be swimming with the best technique consistently.

Ana has been teaching with us since 2021 and is practical, efficient, and fun.

She is a mum of two girls, who both swim with us. Ana is very caring and loves nurturing swimmers towards their goals.  Having her own children, she understands the importance of swimming as an important lifesaving skill.

Emily comes to us with many years’ experience as an early childhood teacher. Emily is started with us in July 2021 and is outgoing, fun and a pleasure to be around.

Emily has had all three of her children come through our swim school from parent/baby classes right through to them going into independent levels of learn to swim. She has a great amount of knowledge of our programme from a parent perspective and is excited to take the next challenge of teaching classes.

Sheldon is originally from Australia and has worked in many settings with children in Australia before moving to New Zealand.

Sheldon is attentive and is passionate about children learning vital water safety skills.  She is a quiet, kind, loving instructor who enjoys seeing swimmers get the most out of lessons. Sheldon has been working with us since late 2020, and loves watching her swimmers gain confidence in their skills in the water.

Courtney began teaching with us in early 2022, she was previously a swim teacher at another swim school and has great experience in teaching children how to swim.

Courtney is warm and friendly and loves teaching swimmers to be safe and confident in the water.

Nathan began teaching with us in early 2022 and may be a familiar face, as he swims in our Devoy swim squad.

Nathan loves sport and being outdoors and partakes across many different sporting fields, including squad swimming, water polo, mountain biking and hockey.  He is also the assistant coach for intermediate grade Hockey and referees intermediate grade matches during the hockey season.

Nathan has a love for passing on his knowledge and skills to others and has a lovely gentle kind nature.

Alex began teaching with us in early 2023 and is a vibrant, mature girl who is able to take good control of a class quickly.

She is a very enthusiastic teacher and is really excited to teach your child. Alex has come up through the Liz van Welie Aquatics swim programme, is a keen waterpolo player and is heavily involved in the BOP Army Cadet Unit.

Alex’s goal is to install a believe in your child that they can become a competent and confident swimmer.

Emma has been teaching with us since October 2021.

Emma is friendly and kind, and a huge smile.  She loves instilling confidence in all her swimmers.

Emma is an active water polo player and loves being in the water.

Noelle may be a familiar face as she currently swims in our squad setting – she began teaching with us in mid 2022. She strongly believes that all children should learn how to swim so they can be safe in and around water especially as New Zealand is surrounded by it.

Noelle and her family spend a lot of time in the water; kayaking, paddle boarding, and other water-related activities, she cannot wait to pass on her knowledge in a fun and friendly manner to help your swimmer learn and grow new skills.

Jade began teaching with us mid 2022.

Jade is a confident and fun young lady who loves working with children and being in the water, she has been through our Learn to Swim programme and has her PADI open water dive certification which she acquired in 2020.

She loves spending time with her family, going fishing, having adventures and doing dive trips.

Anna began working with us in early 2023 and is an absolute gem.

She has previously been a competitive swimmer and plays and coaches water polo.  Anna is a friendly and enthusiastic and really enjoys working with children.

We are sure that your child will feel at ease with Anna in the pool.

Mary joined our team in 2020 and has become a key part of our admin team. She comes to us with a solid customer service and technical/online background.

Mary was a very keen swimmer herself and raced in school sports.

She loves connecting with parents each week and seeing the kids gain enjoyment and confidence with their swimming lessons.