David Hill
David coaches the Hilltop Fighters, Heat Wave and Sea Serpents training groups for the Spartans of La Canada. He is also the Head Coach for the La Canada High School boys’ swim team. David has been coaching competitive swimmers in the La Canada area for more than a decade and is a pillar of the long-standing tradition of aquatic excellence in the La Canada community. Through his many years of coaching, David has coached athletes at all levels: from Olympic Trials qualifiers and NISCA All Americans ranked nationally in the sport to youth swimmers getting into the water for the first time. David was named the San Gabriel All-Area Boys Swimming Coach of the Year (2018, 2019) and has led the La Canada High School boys’ swim team to multiple Rio Hondo League championship wins and a CIF-SS D2 championship title (2019). David has consistently promoted excellence in the La Canada swimming community’s youth and has provided a structure for athletes to thrive. A La Canada resident and La Canada High School alumni, David looks forward to continuing to foster the deep tradition of high-quality aquatic athletes in our community. In his spare time, David enjoys music, spending time with his girlfriend, Thanya, bowling, playing games with friends, and spending time in the kitchen.

 


 
Mariya Petrova
Mariya coaches many of our training groups at Spartans of La Canada. She is also the Assistant Coach for both the La Canada High School boys and girls swim teams - and she is a Certified Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor with the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. Mariya also provides private swimming lessons and personal training for athletes at all levels in Southern California. She has a highly motivated, results-oriented coaching approach whose optimism and ebullient nature on deck brings out the best in young swimmers by focusing on attention to detail and swim technique. Prior to her time in the United States, she began swimming at age 6; and by age 12, she swam and studied at the sports school in the School of Olympic Reserve in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, where she completed the “master of sports” (the top-earned title for sportsmen). At age 17, she began swimming with the University team at Dnipro, Ukraine. In 2013, she went on to coach multiple age group swimmers at SportLife DeLux in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2016, she immigrated to the United States and began providing private lessons. In 2017, she trained with the Rose Bowl Masters team and won first place in the championship meet for her 50-meter breaststroke. When Mariya is not on deck coaching, she enjoys tennis, surfing, skiing, triathlons, traveling and spending time with her husband. “I love what I do. Coaching is my calling.”    -- Mariya      

 

Mario Marshall

Coach Mario Marshall competes with Spartan Masters and works with our masters swimmers. He is a 16x U.S. Masters Swimming All American and 7x U.S. Masters Swimming National Record Holder. He is a 3x Matt Biondi Classic Champion and the 2020 Cal Tech Pentathlon Champion. Coach Mario is a 2019 U.S. Masters All Star and 2019 CCCAA State Champion. He also competed in the 2016 American Ninja Warrior Competition! Mario has twenty four years of experience coaching athletes at all levels, including professional and Olympic athletes. Mario studied kinesiology at California State University, Northridge with an emphasis on physical education. Mario has been a member of the following swim teams throughout his impressive swimming career: CSUN, Pierce College, Canyons Aquatics, Trojan Swim Club, Swim Up Hill and, currently, Golden Road Aquatics. Mario and his family reside in Palmdale, CA. He lives by the quotes “Figure It Out” (Larry Marshall) and “What’s next?” (Maria Marshall).
 

 

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Sheridan (Burge-Lopez) Sanders

Coach Sheridan (Burge-Lopez) Sanders works with many of our training groups and is an Australian Olympic swimmer who competed in the 200m and 400m freestyle at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She also represented her country at the 1987 Pan Pacific Games and the 1990 Commonwealth Games where she placed 3rd in the 800m Freestyle. After retiring from competitive swimming, Coach Sheridan took up Triathlons for fun and fitness, competing in several half Ironman Triathlons and a full Ironman triathlon. After her athletic career, Coach Sheridan worked for Speedo Australia in sales and marketing for six years. She also managed Sea Eagles Swim School in Australia, for several years. Coach Sheridan has taught young swimmers, ages 2-16, as well as adults, how to swim and be water safe for more than twenty years. Coach Sheridan will be working with a few training groups including Speedwagon and Sharknado.

 

Nayiri Partamian

 
Coach Nayiri coaches the Hurricane Riders, Kahunas, and Hang Ten training groups for our swim team. She was born in Michigan where she started competing in swimming at age three. Later, Coach Nayiri moved to La Canada for high school, where she swam for the La Canada women’s swim team! She received her BA in French and Economics from Albion College where she continued to swim competitively. After college, Coach Nayiri received a Degree of Culinary Arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts. When she is not teaching our passionate young swimmers, Coach Nayiri works as a personal chef for clients with medically related dietary restrictions. Coach Nayiri also swims on the Spartans Masters swim team. You can recognize Nayiri by her curly locks, big smile, playful personality, and adorned water thermos that is always getting a glow-up.  
 
 
 
Patrick Mulcare
 
Coach Patrick Mulcare coaches our Phoenix training groups. He is a 2020 graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Media Arts and Practice. He is a freelance post-production editor, asset manager and archivist. Patrick also works in the Prop Department at Geffen Playhouse. Patrick is well known as one of the fastest backstrokers the United States has ever seen. Patrick remains USC’s 200y backstroke recordholder, having broken Trojan Olympic champion Lenny Krayzelburg's 1997 USC record in 2016. Patrick also holds the USC records for the 200 LCM backstroke and the 200IM LCM. Coach Patrick is a two-time 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials semifinalist and a five-time All-American. He qualified for the D1 NCAA men’s swimming championship every year of his college swimming career and was an A finalist in the 200 backstroke three of those four years. He is a versatile, accomplished swimmer across many events in addition to the 200 backstroke, both in yards and long course meters, including the 100 backstroke, 200 freestyle and both the 400 IM and 200 IM. Coach Patrick was the 2016 200y backstroke Pac-12 champion. During his time with USC, Coach Patrick was named to the CSCAA Scholar All-American first team as well as to the Pac-12 All-Academic second team. In high school, Coach Patrick led his school, Southridge High in Beaverton, Oregon, to third place in 2014 at the Oregon state championships. At that meet, Patrick broke a 15-year-old record in the 200y IM (1:49.02) and also reset the state standard in the 100y back (48.53) during title swims. Patrick was a three-time finalist at the 2015 U.S. Winter Nationals, highlighted by his second-place finish in the 200m back in 1:57.34, 0.10 behind Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers' winning time. Patrick represented the U.S. at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, where he was a four-time finalist, placing fourth in the 200m IM and 200m back and eighth in both the 100m back and 200m free. Patrick, who qualified for six events at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials before entering USC, also attended Oakwood High in Dayton, Ohio, before moving to Oregon. While still in Dayton, Patrick qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials as a sophomore in high school and helped Oakwood win a state title in the 400y free relay. He also set a state record (15-16) in the 400m IM. He is a former NAG (11-12) record holder in the 200 freestyle relay while with the Dayton Raiders.
 
 
 
 
Sarah Olson
 

Coach Sarah Olson coaches works with many of our team's training groups. She also serves as a cardiac nurse at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. Coach Sarah graduated from University of California, San Diego in 2016 with a degree in Human Biology, and also with a BSN in Nursing at Xavier/Ohio in 2022.  She was on the UCSD swim team as a freshman. 

 

Sarah graduated from La Canada High School in 2012, and was a 4 year varsity swimmer, team captain, Team MVP, NISCA All-American, and school record holder for more than a decade in both the 50 freestyle and 400free relay.

 

Some of Sarah’s extracurricular activities included Girl Scouts (Gold Award), National Charity League, Rose Bowl Swim Club (captain & former record holder), Group Leader at La Canada Presbyterian Church, Ceramics & teaching individual swim lessons.

 

Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, including her husband, Shaan, baby Sawyer, and their cat, Joey.

 

 
 
Niyoosha Nadaaf

Coach Niyoosha Nadaaf helps coach our Sharknado training groups. Niyoosha has a master’s degree in industrial engineering and she is currently working on the LA Metro "D" line (Purple Line) subway extension project, focused on improving Los Angeles public transportation for the 2028 Olympics. Coach Niyoosha’s journey in swimming began at a young age in Iran, where she competed in the national league at just 10 years old. Throughout the following years, Coach Niyoosha continued to swim competitively in university leagues, solidifying her dedication to the sport. Coach Niyoosha worked for several years as a swim coach and lifeguard in Iran, training both age group swimmers and adult swimmers. In 2010, Niyoosha’s journey led her to Canada, where she devoted her time volunteering as a swim coach with the YMCA. In 2016, Niyoosha relocated to California. We are thrilled to have Niyoosha helping our team with the Sharknado 2 training group where she can provide her much needed expertise and guidance to help our team’s young swimmers. Coach Niyoosha cherishes moments spent with her family. She loves reading and diving into the depths of literature.

 
   
 
John O'Grady
Coach John coaches the Condors, Kraken and Phoenix training groups for the Spartans of La Canada. He is also the Head Coach for the La Canada High School girls’ swim team. John has an eye for stroke technique and is known for helping countless swimmers make small improvements to their strokes that often bring big results at race time. In addition to helping swimmers get faster, John ensures his swimmers are practicing proper stroke technique in order to lower the potential for athletic injuries. John is also the inventor of the popular Aqua Knuckles training device. Aqua Knuckles help swimmers develop open finger muscle memory in order to pull more water and swim faster. Aqua Knuckles are used by swimmers at all levels, worldwide. From his early days as an “8 & under” age-group swimmer, through high school and college swimming…to his recent masters team swimming, John has a love for the sport of swimming that has carried him through decades. When he is not in the water or on a pool deck, John runs a boutique media services company focused on creative projects of all kinds for both large and small entities. He enjoys cooking, surfing, travel, photography and spending time with his wife and four children.
 
Kailee Ruiz

Coach Kailee works with many of our Spartans training groups and also competes for the Spartans Masters team! She is a gifted, accomplished swimmer across all strokes. Her favorite events are the 100IM, 200IM, 200Free, and 100Breast. Kailee’s versatility served her well during her college swimming career at University of California, Davis – where she finaled in every event she swam at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championships, earning First and Second All-Conference awards. At University of California, Davis, Kailee studied psychology with an emphasis on neurobiology.

Growing up in Oxnard, CA on the water, Kailee started swimming when she was 2 years old. Kailee and her family eventually moved to Pasadena, where Kailee swam for Rose Bowl Aquatics in their National Group under the leadership of former Rose Bowl Head Coach, Jeff Julian, and former Associate Head Coach of Rose Bowl Aquatics and U.S. Olympic swimmer, Kristine Quance Julian.

Kailee loves teaching and helping others! She spent three summers in Japan as a sports camp counselor and enjoyed it so much - she moved and lived in Tokyo for over a year to teach English at a high school for students with special needs. 

In addition to coaching for Spartans, Kailee works in sales and service at 24 Hour Fitness. She plans to continue her education to study radiology in the future.   

In Kailee’s free time, you can catch her at the golf course practicing her swing! Kailee and her family love puzzles and will often go to late night spooky escape rooms. Some other hobbies Kailee has been enjoying lately are recording her own music, decorating cakes, sewing/fashion, and bringing her dog, Coco, on runs. 

 

Chris O'Grady

Chris works with several of our Spartans training groups. He also competes for both our Spartans USA Swimming club team as well as our Spartans Masters team. Chris graduated from University of Southern California in 2025 with a B.S. in Human Biology. He was on the USC men’s swim team all four years, specializing in the breaststroke events and IM. He qualified for the NCAA D1 men’s swimming championship in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 - and is a 3x NCAA All American, Second Team. Chris holds the USC 200 breaststroke SCY record (1:50.48 in 2025) and is the 3rd fastest performer in USC’s history in the 100 breaststroke SCY (51.53 in 2023).  He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials and has been a U.S. Swimming Nationals/U.S. Open finalist in many events over recent years. Chris was a member of the USA Junior Nationals Championship Team in 2019 when Rose Bowl Aquatics, under the leadership of former Head Coach Jeff Julian, won the meet. Chris holds the La Canada High School men’s swimming record in the 100 breaststroke (54.14 in 2021) and holds two relay records as a member of the men’s 200 freestyle relay (2019) and men’s 200IM relay (2019). Chris enjoys strength training, mountaineering, skiing, hiking, surfing, lobster diving, spearfishing, and traveling.