CPR
Infant, child & adult CPR certified, current.
Meet your coach
Allison “Allie” VanNess
The Allie Gator · Founder & coach
A competitive swimmer of nine years with two USA gold-medal clubs behind her, Allie now coaches young swimmers at a local Granite Bay club — and has a real gift for making kids feel at home in the pool: calm, patient, and never forced.
All four strokes First Aid, CPR & AED certified
Where it started
She remembers learning, too.
Allie first got in the water around age two — that's her here, leaping to her dad at Spindletop in Lexington, Kentucky, the pool where she'd later swim her first competitive race and win her first heat.
It's exactly why she teaches the way she does: the water should feel fun, safe, and playful, never forced. She's been on the other side of that first jump.
Her story
She started swimming competitively at eight. Nine years later, she's a senior at Granite Bay High School, three years into the high school swim team, and still in the water nearly every morning.
Along the way she swam for two USA gold-medal clubs, the Northern Kentucky Clippers and the Sierra Marlins, plus local rec swimming. Today she coaches young swimmers for a local Granite Bay club, ages 6 & under and 7–8, which is exactly the experience that shaped how she teaches.
She's strongest in butterfly and the individual medley, which, in plain terms, means she's a well-rounded swimmer who can take a child from nothing to something in any stroke.
Experience
9 yearsCompetitive swimming, since age 8
3 yearsGranite Bay High School swim team
ClubSierra Marlins & Northern Kentucky Clippers, both USA gold-medal clubs
CoachingA local Granite Bay swim club, ages 6 & under and 7–8
StrengthsButterfly & individual medley, a strong all-arounder
Her coaching philosophy
“I just want the kids to like swimming. I want them to feel comfortable saying they don't know how to do something, so I can help them figure it out.”
She'll never be the reason a child decides they hate the water. Lessons are positive, a little playful, and never forced, because a kid who has fun is a kid who keeps swimming.
And because every lesson is one-on-one, there's no rigid script. If your swimmer wants to nail their dive or finally get their backstroke, that's exactly what the lesson becomes.
Certifications & safety
AED
Trained and certified in AED use.
First Aid
Certified in first aid for every age group.
Come swim with the Allie Gator.
Book an assessment and meet the coach your kid will actually look forward to.
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