GOLD MEDAL SWIM CLUB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Head Coach, Head Age Group Coach
Coach Grant Griffith brings 10 years of coaching experience to Gold Medal with deep ties to Texas swimming and the Boston, MA area. Griffith comes to us from Crimson Aquatics in New England where he was a senior and high-level age group Coach. While coaching at Crimson, he coached both Senior and age group state champions as well as Future and Sectional level swimmers.
Prior to Crimson, he was the Head Coach at Odessa High School in Odessa, Texas. During his tenure in Odessa, he nearly tripled the size of the team and guided them to multiple top 10 finishes. Griffith began his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at his alma mater The University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he coached the sprint and dryland programs for two years.
As a collegiate swimmer at UTPB, Griffith was a Captain, team record holder, and achieved NCAA B time standard qualifications. He received his B.S. in Kinesiology with a minor in Business. Coach Grant is looking forward to working with every individual daily and providing a challenging and fun environment that strives for excellence. He aims to help each individual within the team dynamic while using his extensive educational background to bring the "sports science" side into his coaching and groups.
Coach Grant works primarily with Blue and Senior 1.
Coach Katy Clausen has been a swimmer for over 14 years beginning as an age group swimmer in Illinois and finishing her club swimming career with Coach Chasson and Cactus Aquatics. Katy decided to combine her love of running and swimming and during high school began competing in triathlons. She excelled quickly and is now part of the 6x NCAA Champion Arizona State Triathlon team (Division 1 sport) and is currently the team captain. She is finishing up her B.S. in Psychology and Counseling Applied Sciences. She has earned PAC 12 Academic Honor Roll all three years and continues to push herself in and out of the classroom. Prior to college, she attended Desert Vista High School where she was MVP for cross country and track and field.
Clausen's coaching background has focused on developing age group swimmers from the pre-competitive level though club. At the Ahwatukee YMCA, she coached and taught kids under 12 and created curriculum and taught free classes for the YMCA's Safety Around Water Week. She's excited to help build lifelong memories with swimmers while encouraging them to be the best athletes they can be.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Assistant Age Group Coach
Coach Kristine brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team, having swam collegiately at Northern Arizona University and been a former Wyoming State Champion, primarily in Backstroke. She received the Golden Eagle Outstanding Athlete-Scholar award during her time at NAU. After her swimming career, she taught elementary school for over 20 years, specializing in reading, and has since retired from Chandler Public Schools.
As the Head Coach of Arizona College Prep High School for five seasons, she grew the team from a small high school group to one of the largest and fastest in the state. Coach Kristine is excited to assist with Age Group Swimmers and has a special eye for swimmers who want to improve and work hard regardless of their current level.
Coach Mick Litherland recently finished his competitive swimming career with a massive list of accomplishments including: Olympics Trials semi-finalist, US Open finalist, and NCAA D-1 semi-finalist. Collegiately he swam at the University of Georgia under hall of fame coach Jack Bauerle and graduated with a Bachelors in Sociology and Japanese. At Georgia, Litherland specialized in butterfly and was the 10th fastest 200 butterflier in Georgia history. Prior to Georgia, he swam at Dynamo Swim Club and was a four-time Scholastic All-American. Mick was born in Japan before moving to Alpharetta, GA at the age of five.
Coach Mick has primarily worked with age group swimmers. Before moving to Arizona, he coached summer clinics at the University of Georgia for the Bulldog Swim Club and with programs at the Dynamo Swim Club. Coach Mick hopes to inspire swimmers and create a positive environment for all swimmers on the team. Coach Mick is passionate about swimming at every level and loves how swimming can develop the whole person.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Coach
- Assistant Age Group Coach