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CATAWBA VALLEY AQUATIC CLUB MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT

Catawba Valley Aquatic Club is dedicated to upholding its motto of “Sharing the Dreams of Children." Our mission is to help young athletes achieve excellence in swimming and life. Not every youngster can be first, but all of them may succeed by performing their best. The booster club is responsible for providing the support for the swim program through fund raising and volunteer manpower. We would like for Hickory to help us to “Share the Dreams of our Children.”

We strive to teach children the necessary skills for performing well in the sport of swimming. Many of these skills can also be applied to family, school, and church. Every swimmer’s safety and well-being is protected by staff and parents. We are training and monitoring in all areas to create a safe, supportive, and successful environment for our swimmers. Our team follows the protocols of the USA Swimming Safe Sport Program.

Swimming should be FUN for all of our athletes. The youth of today are becoming very more sedentary with the popularity of video games and the lack of simple outside activities. Physical fitness test scores are becoming worse and worse. Studies show higher and higher percentages of the American population are obese. Cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 Diabetes are rampant among all ages of our population. Swimming provides the necessary exercise for your child during the cold winter months to help prevent these diseases.

Parental involvement is also critical. Swimming in our program is very much a family affair. Our parent booster club is instrumental in the success of the program for the children. Financial assistance as well as support group manpower is essential to our success. This assistance will keep swimmer fees down and allow for all youngsters to be able to participate in the sport of swimming. This activity should not be cost prohibitive for anyone.

Coach Paul Schiffel

Contacts

Paul Schiffel

Head Coach/Owner

Coach Schiffel is currently the head Coach of the Lenoir^Rhyne Men’s and Women’s. The Bears are entering their 13th season under Coach Schiffel.

Schiffel currently serves as the Owner and Coach of the Catawba Valley Aquatics Club and had been the Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Swimming Teams at St. Stephens High School from its inception in 1992 and lasting 15 years.

Schiffel also served as the Head Coach of the Hickory Seahorse Swim Team (1978-84 and 1986-89) and coached a swimmer who later became a two-time NCAA Division II All-American (2000 and 2002).

In the 1980s, Schiffel coached several swimmers who qualified for the Olympic Trials and United States Senior Nationals.

Several team accomplishments for Schiffel were the 1985 NCS Short Course Age Group Championship and St. Stephens’ second-place finish in the NCHSAA Championship in 2006.

In May of 2016, Schiffel was inducted into the prestigious Catawba County Sports Hall Of Fame.

Schiffel graduated from East Carolina University in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and earned his master’s degree in education from ECU in 1981 as well.

Schiffel, a member of the East Carolina Men’s Swimming Team, earned Team MVP honors as a junior and served as an assistant coach for the Pirates from 1975 to 1978.

Schiffel recently retired as a Physical Education Teacher at St. Stephens Elementary School in Hickory, N.C.

Scott Schiffel

Assistant Coach/Safe Sport Coordinator

Alyx Koert

Assistant Coach

Courtney Schiffel

Assistant Coach

Erin Weaver

Swim School Director

Locations

Lenior^Rhyne University

(p) 828-256-6600 or 828-310-3924

Lenoir^Rhyne University facilty. Located in the same building of the Shuford Gym and McCorie Center.

625 7th Ave NE, Hickory, North Carolina, US