Coaches
Misa Sugiura (MVM Head Coach) joined a swim team in fifth grade, continued all the way through college, and then joined a masters team. Her favorite stroke is backstroke and her favorite distances are short. A Chicagoland native, Misa is now a California weather wimp and must bundle up to coach in the winter. In her non-swimming life, she is a mom and an author, and she loves reading, cooking, and playing water polo. Misa has been swimming and coaching with MVM since 2002. Email Misa.
Kate Latham was born in San Francisco, grew up in Palo Alto, and currently lives in Mountain View. She swam competitively when very young (8-10 years old) then took up tennis as her main sport. She played on the world tour with her highest ranking of 9 in the United States and 21 on the WTA world rankings. After retiring from tennis she went back to school and received her undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from San Jose State. During this time she joined MVM, took up triathlons, started doing open water swimming, and now is a coach for MVM with USMS Level 1 certification. Kate’s day job is to help builders with environmental regulations. Contact Kate.
Liz Kooy swam throughout childhood in Nebraska. With great regret, she quit before college but came back to Masters swimming at the age of 30. Liz has been coaching Masters for almost two decades for the Chicago Smelts, the Dallas Aquatic Masters, and now for Mountain View Masters. She jokes that this is her chance to yell at adults. Liz is a big fan of long distance and Open Water racing although she prefers training for shorter events. She has won a few Masters National Championships including the USMS inaugural 25K Relay in Noblesville, Indiana. Some of her favorite Open Water swims are Big Shoulders in Chicago, Point to Point in Lake Okoboji, Iowa, and the Swim Around Charleston in South Carolina. Liz is also a big fan of the Pacific Masters Open Water Series. Her motto is “you are only one swim away from a good mood.” She is available for private lessons. Email Liz.
Tina Whiteside swam in college at the Univeristy of North Dakota while earning her BS in Mechanical Engineering. Being involved with Masters swimming for a number of years, and wanting to take a break from working as an engineer, she became interested in coaching and earned her ASCA Level 2 and USMS Level 3 coaching certifications. Tina reguarly competes in local and national meets, favoring the IM and backstroke events. Away from the pool she teaches yoga, works on her craft projects, and spends time with her husband. She is available mornings for one-on-one lessons on request. Send email to Tina.
Florent Haïk‘s origins are still unclear. He swam in middle school and high school but stayed dry in college. Florent (aka Flo) has been an MVM member for the past 20+ years and started coaching in 2021.
Al Moser has been swimming since he was 8 years old. He competed through high school in south Florida and college in Rhode Island. He joined masters swimming in graduate school in the Los Angeles area, and started coaching on a part-time basis. He’s swum with MVM since 1996.