Coaches
Aimee Schmitt has been an active USA Swimming certified coach and stroke instructor for the past twenty years at all levels of the sport including lessons, clinics, camps, club teams, and high school teams. Her expertise is teaching correct stroke techniques by using the same progressive drills that are used by elite level coaches. Aimee helps make the complicated easy for young swimmers by effectively communicating how to make the necessary changes to become a more efficient, and faster swimmer.
Coach Aimee comes with a lifetime of experience which began at the age of seven when she first joined a team on the island of Guam. She was hooked immediately, and grew up competing in the sport. In high school she set an Ohio state record in the 50 yard free (22.8) which stood for twenty years! She gained a scholarship to swim at Stanford University and went on to become a highly decorated All-American swimmer and led the Cardinal to an NCAA National Title in 1989. She was on three American Record relay teams for the Stanford Swim team. Some of her International swimming highlights include four select USA National Teams including World Championships (Silver Medal) and World University Games (Gold Medal), competing at three Olympic Trials.
Apart from her stellar swim career, She has coached as an Assistant Coach at Arizona State University, and has helped direct USA club programs in California. Aimee has been active in the swimming world by being a designer & marketer for Speedo and Head Designer for AquaZone swimwear in Mexico. She has written many articles in national publications and a Goal log book for swimmers. She was personally invited to go to the 2016 USA Olympic Trials in Omaha as a guest of USA Swimming.
She is married to Adam Schmitt, former Division I collegiate coach and swimmer, and they have two daughters, Hannah and Haley.
Coach Adam has more than twenty years of collegiate coaching experience at the highest levels of the sport. Over the course of his career, he has coached swimmers who have earned more than one hundred All-American recognitions, SEC and PAC-10 championship honors, and NCAA individual and team championships. His collegiate experience includes being the Head Coach of LSU, the Associate Head Coach at Arizona State University, Assistant Coach at Auburn University, the Head Coach at Long Beach City College and most recently he had been the Volunteer Assistant Coach at the University of Houston Women's Swim Team, a NCAA Division I program and 4-time AAC Conference champions. He was recognized by the American Swim Coaches Association as one of the elite coaches in America achieving the Coaching Excellence Award for four consecutive years. He also has coached as the Head Coach of two Silver medal USA Swimming club programs in California. In addition to his coaching accomplishments, he has been a speaker at the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association clinic and has spoken at events for coaching organizations in Mississippi, California and Florida.
Before his coaching career, Coach Adam was an outstanding swimmer. With roots in Houston, Texas, he started swimming on the NWAL summer league team in his neighborhood, and then for Cy-Creek High School. His swimming earned him a scholarship to Louisiana State University where he swam to 12 NCAA All-American honors, 3-time SEC champion in the 50 Free, SEC Relay champion, and set both school and SEC records. In his senior year, the LSU team went on to win the SEC Championship title. Post college, Adam continued to swim on the USA National team and earned the rank of 4th in the world in the 50 meter freestyle. He earned spots on multiple USA National Teams including Pan-American Games (Silver Medal), Goodwill Games and World University Games and was the US Open Champion in 1991. He competed at two US Olympic Trials (1988 and 1992). The most memorable team trip was the 1987 World University games where he met his wife Aimee!
Coach Adam looks forward to building a local aquatics program in the beautiful community of Fulshear.
Haley joins the FRST staff with a wealth of knowledge in the swimming world. She started swimming when she was 5 years old and continued through her collegiate career. Being the daughter of a college swim coach has allowed her to experience many different programs. She was born in Auburn, AL and went with her family across the country to many universities, being around some of the top NCAA swim programs in the country.
Haley arrived to Fulshear in 2015 where she attended and graduated from Tompkins High School. She competed on a local swim club for many years before she was one of the original FRST swimmers, and she holds many FRST records to this day. After high school, she received a Division I NCAA scholarship to swim at the University of Connecticut where their team was Big East Runner-Ups 4 years in a row. She graduated with a degree in Chemistry and looks to apply that degree in a research lab work position.
We are excited to have Haley bring her knowledge and experience to the program and help guide the swimmers to be their best! Along with her swim coach duties, she spearheads our Strength and Conditioning program across the FRST team.
Coach Abby is a proud native of Katy, Texas, where she was raised in a family deeply rooted in the world of swimming. From an early age, the pool felt like a second home, and her passion for the sport only grew stronger over the years. She graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Teaching and Learning, and today, she brings that same passion for education to the classroom as a 6th grade English teacher at Katy Junior High.
Coach Abby has been involved in swimming for over 20 years, with 13 of those years dedicated to coaching. Her diverse experience spans nearly every level of the sport—from teaching water safety and beginner swim lessons to developing swimmers on competitive teams. She has worked with swimmers of all ages and skill levels, offering private lessons, group instruction, and team coaching that emphasizes technique, confidence, and a love for the sport.
Throughout her coaching career, Coach Abby has made a lasting impact in the Katy area. She served as an assistant coach for several WHALE summer league teams and went on to become one of the head coaches for the Mayde Creek Aquatic Swim Club. Additionally, she led the Silver Ranch Seawolves summer team as head coach, where she focused on fostering team spirit, sportsmanship, and skill development.
As an athlete, Coach Abby swam competitively for Seven Lakes High School and participated in USA Swimming, giving her valuable insight into the dedication and discipline it takes to succeed in the sport. Her personal experience as a swimmer has greatly influenced her coaching philosophy, which centers around building strong technical foundations, nurturing a positive mindset, and encouraging every swimmer to reach their fullest potential.
For the past five years, Coach Abby has been an integral part of the FRST family. She treasures the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and inspiring community and takes pride in helping young athletes grow both in and out of the water. Her greatest joy as a coach comes from seeing her swimmers develop not only as athletes but also as confident, resilient individuals who love the sport as much as she does.
Coach Abby looks forward to many more seasons on deck and remains committed to sharing her knowledge, energy, and enthusiasm with the next generation of swimmers.
Andrea is from Caracas, Venezuela. She has 10 years of experience with swimming and coaching; she started swimming when she was 9 years old and represented FEVEDA (my hometown federation team) in national competitions. She moved to Katy, Texas when she was 14 years old, and swim club swimming and represented the Seven Lakes Varsity Swimming Team. Currently, Andrea teaches elementary education and is very excited to "put all her education knowledge in practice and to be part of the amazing FRST team."
Leyla was a varsity high school swimmer for 4 years at Foster High School, as well as swam for FRST. She represented Foster at the Texas State meet for two years. Not only was she a varsity swimmer, but also a varsity Water Polo player. She made the Water Polo state tournament all four years and won twice. Leyla is also a two time Junior Olympic Water Polo champion in the 18 and under division in the United States. Currently, she is a junior at Texas Southern University where she is studying for a BA in Finance. She says she enjoys most about coaching is getting to interact with the young swimmers and teaching them how to improve, while also maintaining a fun environment.
Drew just finished his collegiate swimming career and is excited to join the FRST family of coaches. He was a varsity high school swimmer for 4 years at Tompkins High School, as well as swam for FRST. He went on to swim at LIU (Long Island University) before transferring to Southern Connecticut State University to get his Finance degree. Drew competed for FRST at the Sectional level and is all over the FRST All Time top ten times as a swimmer. He will bring his experience to the pool deck to help the young swimmers.
Erin McGahren Coach/Administration
Coach Erin grew up in the Katy area and has been involved in swimming her whole life. She began swimming club since the age of 4 years old, and she continued swimming all the way through her collegiate career.
Erin was on the Cinco Ranch High School varsity team where she was a state qualifier for four consecutive years. Erin followed her dream to swim in college for Lindenwood University, an NCAA Division II school. At Lindenwood, she earned a swimming scholarship, was voted team captain for both her junior and senior year, broke multiple team records, and became an NCAA All American in the 400 IM and 800 free relay.
She began her coaching experience in 2015 as an assistant coach for the Weston Lakes Swim team for two years. Erin then was the head coach for the Firethorne swim team from 2017-2019 where she led them to three undefeated seasons. She brought her love of coaching to FRST in 2019-2020 where she coached the Pre-senior and Senior groups.
Coach Erin took a break from the pool for a few years to become a registered nurse, which she now does full time. Coach Erin assists FRST on the administrative side, but also coaching on deck where needed.
Drake Silva Coach
Drake has been swimming competitively for most of his life, he has been an experienced athlete and a leader in swimming for the last 6 years. He joined the Katy High School team in 2019 and spent his senior year as captain of the team and qualified for regionals. In 2022, he joined the NCAA Division II team at the University of Texas Permian Basin. He first tried coaching officially last year, but he’s always enjoyed helping other swimmers and sharing his knowledge, experience, and passion for the water. He is proud to continue his work as a coach at FRST and be a part of its community.
Coach Larry has a long history of coaching in the Katy area. Coach Larry believes in teaching solid technique that will then build a solid foundation for speed and endurance. He began his coaching career in 2006 with the Mayde Creek Aquatic Club. Coach Larry continued coaching swimmers of all levels at MCAC from the learn-to-swim lessons, to the more advanced swimmers until 2018. Coach Larry has also been involved with several summer league programs. In 2007, he joined the Williamsburg Settlement Dolphins as their head coach, where all 4 of his children swam and eventually coached there as well. During the 7 years, Larry coached the Dolphins to 5 division titles. In 2015, Coach Larry took over as head coach for the Kelliwood Killer Whales. In the 8 years with the Whales, the team saw growth and success which led to 4 division titles.
Larry is an 8th grade science teacher in Katy ISD. He is excited to be coaching the FRST Masters swim program for adults and has his U.S. Masters Swimming Masters Coach Level 1 certification.
Junior Coaches: more info to come!
Audrey Darnell
Alessa Iosue
Madi Sero
Aiden Hendrickson
Amy Pretorius
