Coaches
Leon Politano has a B.Ed and M.Ed. He was an elementary school teacher for 33 years and has been the coach of Westshore Masters since the club began in November of 2007. He has been involved in swimming for the past 55 years in many different roles; elementary school swim team coach, coached Special Olympic athletes, ISA age group coach, a masters swimmer, and a level 5 senior official for Swim BC. His coaching coaching certifications include NCCP level 2, Special Olympics level 2, ASCA level 4 and USMS level 2. Leon has a passion for coaching masters swimmers and firmly supports the MSABC mission statement; “fun, friendship and fitness for life.” He believes that the three key components of swimming well are #1 technique, #2 technique, and #3 technique. He measures success in swimming by the quality of the strokes, not with a stopwatch. He challenges swimmers to get out of their comfort zone so they can become the best swimmers they can be. While teaching, he created a classroom environment that was safe and nurturing in which learning could happen. He brings this value to every practice. His wife, Colleen, says he comes home after every practice happier than a 6 year old after T Ball. These days his exercise is mostly on the C2 ERG, spin bike, or in the garden.