Coaches & Directors

Linck Bergen

Head Coach

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THSC welcomes Linck Bergen as our Head Coach.  Linck coached a successful year at THSC with 1 swimmer qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Trials, 4 swimmers qualifying for Nationals, and 6 swimmers qualifying for Junior Nationals.  For the 5 years prior, Linck was the Head Age Group Coach for Thunderbolt Swimming and helped lead the way to the success of THSC.  We are excited to continue on with the commitment to excellence that our club has been striving for.

• Head Coach, THSC, Beaverton, OR 2004-Present
• Head Age Group Coach, THSC, Beaverton, OR 1999-2004
• Head Age Group Coach, Napa Valley Swim Team, Napa, CA 1993-1996
• Head Coach, Cape Swim Team, Cape Girardeau, MO 1991-1993
• Head Swim Coach/Aquatic’s Director, Blairwood Racquet Club, Louisville, KY 1990-1991
• Head Age Group Coach, Etobicoke Swim Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1986-1988

• Santa Ana College, General Education 1982-1984
• University of California, Santa Barbara, Liberal Studies 1986-1987
• California State University, Sonoma, Biology 1995-1996
• American swim coaches association level 4

• Coached four #1 Nationally Ranked swims
• Coached in excess of fifty Nationally Ranked Top 16 swims and more than two-hundred National Top 16 Reportable Times
• Winner of four consecutive Region XII/Northwest Section Age Group Championships
• Winner of twelve consecutive Oregon Swimming, Age Group Championships (2000-2004).
• Coached several Oregon Swimming, Inc. Records (in excess of 30).
• Winner of four consecutive Ontario, Canada Provincial Age Group Championships.
• Assistant Coach on four consecutive National (Canadian) Team Championships (1987-1988).
• Coached two National (Canadian) Age Group Record Holders
• Coached two (Canadian) Olympic Trial Qualifiers.
• Assisted in Coaching six Olympians (2004):
  • Inge DeBruijn (NED) 50 FR, 100 FR, 100 FL, 400 FR Relay, 400 Medley Relay
  • Chantal Grout (NED) 100 FL, 400 FR Relay
  • Kaori Hamada (JPN) 50 FR, 400 FR Relay
  • Igor Martchenko (RUS) 100 FL, 400 Medley Relay
  • Junko Onishi (JPN) 100 FL, 400 Medley Relay
  • Dennis Pimankov (RUS) 400 FR Relay
    
• Assisted in Coaching Inge DeBruijn, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, World Record Holder: 50 FR, 100 FR, 100 FL.
• Assisted in coaching nine US Olympic Trial Qualifiers (2000 & 2004).

Ben Swinehart

Head Age Group Coach

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Ben brings 8 years of coaching experience to the Thunderbolts.  His philosophy is to create a healthy and safe environment in which athletes feel comfortable taking risks and accepting personal challenges.  Ben is personally motivated to share his passion for swimming and love of knowledge with all athletes.

A native Oregonian, Ben grew up swimming on summer recreational teams in Keizer , Oregon .  After graduating from High school in 1996, he attended Whitworth College where he earned his BA in History Education in 2000.

As a swimmer, he set school and club records at every team he joined, including 5 school records and 4 conference records while attending Whitworth College . Ben was a 4 year All-American and Team Captain of the Whitworth College swim team his Junior and Senior year.

Ben Started his coaching Career at Lincoln High School , where he taught Social Studies. After catching the “coaching bug”, he worked as Head Age Group Coach of the Puyallup Aquatic Club and then Head Site Coach when the team merged to become the South Sound Titans.  In 2003, Ben moved to Orlando , FL. to work as Age Group Coach and Asst. Varsity Coach of Highlander Aquatics at the Lake Highland Preparatory School .  In June of 2005, Ben made his return to Oregon when he joined the Thunderbolts.

Aside from coaching, Ben loves to play outdoors; surfing, biking, disc golf, and rock climbing. He and his wife Lindsey have a dog “Charlie-Bill”.

Some of Bens Coaching accomplishments:

• ASCA Level 4 Certified Coach
• Voted 2006 Oregon Swim Coaches Association “Age Group Coach of the Year”
• Coached 77 LSC Champions (31 Florida , 46 Oregon )
• Coached more than 10 athletes to over 33 Individual NAG Top 16 Rankings
• Coached 15 Relays with NAG Top 16 rankings
• Coached an Individual and Relay to 1st place NAG rankings
• Won 5 Oregon State team titles

Ruth Stocks

Age Group Coach

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Ruth graduated in 1988 with a BA in Physical Therapy and worked as a Physical Therapist in Minneapolis, MN before moving to Oregon in 1996.

She began teaching swimming during high school and continued to teach through college. After moving to Oregon, Ruth coached CYO swimming for 6 years with Valley Swim Team. She also volunteered as a swimming Official from 2000 through 2008 working her way from a Stroke and Turn Official to Starter and finally Referee. Ruth began coaching THSC’s Team Thunder and JAG group in November 2006.

ASCA Certified Level 2

Email: Ruth @ Thunderboltswimming.org

Franz Resseguie

Assistant Coach

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Accomplishments:

USA Swimming "National Team Coach" 2006-2008.  This honor recognizes Franz’s contribution to the National Team’s primary objective of achieving competitive success at the Olympic Games.

2006, 2007 & 2008 recipient of the "Coach of Excellence Award," the American Swim Coaches Association Award that recognizes achievement on the National Level.

• 2007 National Select Camp Coach
• 2003 & 2005 Arizona Zone Coach
• 1999 Arizona All-Star Coach

Paige Lee

Assistant Coach

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