HEARTLAND AQUATICS - Key Persons
I stared swimming for teams when I was 8 years old and had swum every year for a club until I
Johanna, "JoMac" Machmer is a former Division 1 collegiate athlete, professional trainer, volunteer coach and full-time mom of two (one of which is HLAer, Zoe!). JoMac grew up outside of St. Louis in Greenville, Illinois, loving the outdoors and playing basketball. She found her way to Nebraska to play for the Cornhuskers in the late ‘80s and after earning her degree from UNL began working with at-risk youth in a variety of areas. She has been a trainer for all staff at the Lancaster Juvenile Detention Center for 15 years.
JoMac ran her town's country club and city pools for several years while growing up. She taught swim lessons, was a guard, and managed staff. During college she worked at Woods. She still talks about this as some of the best times of her life! Over the years she has coached soccer, basketball, softball, and baseball. JoMac loves kids and enjoys nurturing their growth through sports and other avenues. Kids respond to her enthusiasm and can sense her genuine love for "the game," whatever that may be.
Coach Marcus "Sam" Bach has been a part of the Lincoln swimming community from the time he started competing in Lincoln Parks and Recreation in 1996. From then on his love for the sport of swimming has grown in so many ways. In 2000 Sam was a member of the inaugural Heartland Aquatics swim team. He competed at the highest level of age group swimming during his time with Midwestern Swimming. During his high school career Sam was a four-year athletic letter recipient and competed at the Nebraska State Championships in the 100 Back and 200 IM. He was a Boys' team captain in his senior year at Lincoln East High. During his time in high school Sam started to develop his coaching skills at Hillcrest Country Club working as a swim lessons instructor and swim team 10&Under coach.
Coach Sam's Hillcrest team won the City CC league championships from 2007-2012. Sam started coaching club swimming year round in 2011 with Greater Nebraska Swim Team. The experience working alongside Cal Benz has been an essential cornerstone in Coach Sam's coaching philosophies. Over the 8 years coaching with GNST he has had the honor and privilege of being selected by his peers to coach at varying levels for several Zone and All Stars meets. The experience and knowledge gained from these events has helped shape Coach Sam, providing him with more tools to better serve the athletes. In 2015 Coach Sam was voted as the Midwestern Age-group Coach of the Year. Coach Sam serves on the Midwestern Board of Delegates as the Coaches Chair. This experience has given him the opportunity to attend clinics that have provided him with new materials and strategies to improve swimmer performance.
Starting in 2018 Coach Bach will be the Head Coach of Heartland Aquatics, following these principles: To develop swimmers to their fullest capabilities, and in the process, teach life balance, citizenship, and dedication to the rewarding sport of competitive swimming. From year one to now "ALL THE WAY"