Our Amazing Coaches

Coach Kelli

Coach Kelli has been coaching the Elizabethton Typhoons Swim Club since 2021 and has initiated and overseen the transition of what was exclusively a summer league program into a year-round swim club. In 2022, Coach Kelli created and implemented the Typhoons Community Involvement swimming lesson program, which has helped teach over 300 children how to swim.

Hired as the Elizabethton High School assistant coach in 2020, the team qualified 2 swimmers to the State Championship meet for the first time in a decade. Coach Kelli was promoted to head coach the following year and has continued to send swimmers to the State meet each year with several students continuing on to swim in college. Coach Kelli was also named Head Coach of the TA Dugger Junior High School swim team in 2022.

Raised in Minnesota, Coach Kelli began swimming competitively as a USS swimmer at the age of 7. She is a two-time age group state champion at the ages of 14 and 16 and accomplished Zone 5 Top 12 in 1990. As a high school senior, she was elected team captain, named All-Conference, placed Minnesota State Top 12 and was selected to the Minnesota All State High School Swim Team. While completing a Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Hawaii Pacific University she became the first member of the school’s women’s swim team where she swam for renowned national swim team coach Albert Minn and was awarded a scholarship in her second semester. She earned NAIA All-American status each of the three years she competed for the University. Upon graduating from the University, she coached alongside Coach Minn at the Aulea Swim Team in Kailua, HI and continued to compete in many open water races. Since becoming a registered US Master’s swimmer in 2002, she has achieved top 10 in more than fifty events.

Coach Broussard’s coaching philosophy: A proud team atmosphere and great foundational skills are crucial to individual and team success.

Coach Sheila

Coach Sheila joined the Typhoons coaching staff in 2024, bringing over 15 years experience with swim clubs that include USA swimming, rec league, high school, and Masters programs. She fondly recalls her first coaching position with the Oahu Club in Hawaii-Kai, HI, where she had the honor to be hired by, and observe the coaching skills of, Olympian Rowdy Gaines. While coaching in Hawaii, she also coached the Kailua Masters team and was a frequent award winner in open water racing, triathlons, and biathlons.

During her 14 seasons as assistant coach at Burnsville high school in MN, the team produced 10 All-Americans, over 20 Academic All-Americans, and two State Championships: the girl’s team in 2002 and the boy’s team in 2007. As head coach at California High School in 2010 and 2011, her swimmers achieved All American status in the girls 200 Medley Relay, Team North Coast Section Distinguished Scholastic Awards, and honored 9 Academic All-Americans. Coach Sheila took over as Head Coach of the San Ramon Aquacats team in San Ramon, CA in 2011, where she led her team of over 200 swimmers, ages 4-18, to two consecutive Most Improved Team awards and a Division B 1st place finish.

Coach Sheila has been swimming competitively since she was 10 years old. She is a 4-time All-Conference high school award recipient, team captain, and proudly recalls her achievement as the first swimmer in her school’s history to qualify for the State Meet (50 free), making finals and finishing 10th. She also recalls holding every school record until her sister came along and broke all but one! Who is her sister? Our own Coach Kelli! Coach Sheila is a former triathlete, qualifying for USA Triathlon Nationals in 1999. She still trains and competes in United States Masters Swimming where she has achieved 22 Top 10 finishes and 5 Relay All-American honors.

Coach Sheila feels swimming is a lifelong activity and hopes to instill in the team’s swimmers all of the positive benefits of participating in this amazing sport: comradery, building a strong work ethic, appreciating the rewards of hard work, making lifelong friendships, and most importantly, having fun while building these wonderful skills.