Our Coaches

Jackie Arendt

Returning for her second short course season as an assistant coach with the Wave, Jackie is a student at UW-La Crosse. Jackie is an exceptional athlete who has joined UW-L's cross country program this season and is an avid runner and tri-athlete. Jackie likes to pass on her love for sport and fitness and encourages swimmers to give their best.

Chris Babinec

Chris has been a major part of the Wave for at least 14 seasons working primarily with our Novice swimmers and doing an amazing job of introducing them to the basics of competitive swimming. Chris has developed innovative and fun ways to teach basic stroke technique to our youngest swimmers. Chris lives in Onalaska with her husband Joel and five children all of whom have swam with the team.

Mark Benishek

A native of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, Mark joins the Wave for the first time this season. Mark began his competitive swimming career in High School and had great success while developing a love for the sport. He has coached with the Cedarburg high school team and the Ozaukee Swim Club. He is a graduate student at UW-L in Recreation Management who gets a great feeling from watching swimmers achieve their goals.

Lauren Bryant

Lauren began coaching this summer after swimming for the Wave since she was 7 years old. She is a student and swimmer at Central High School in La Crosse. Lauren brings a great deal of empathy to her coaching and is able to relate to swimmers extremely well.

Jon Brenner, Head Coach

Jon has been Coach of the WAVE for over 15 seasons. He is the lead coach for the Junior and Junior Elite training groups. He is a Chicago native who coached at the Evanston, IL YMCA before coming to La Crosse. Jon and his wife Terry both work at the YMCA and have three young daughters. He believes strongly in the YMCA mission and loves to see swimmers develop in spirit, mind and body through their participation on the Wave.

Megan Burke

Megan comes from Appleton where she swam with the Fox Cities YMCA swim team. She is a talented runner, soccer player and student. Currently she is student teaching while finishing her education degree at UW-L. Megan has helped us for the last two seasons and will be working primarily with the Senior group this season.

Nic Dietrich

Nic is the La Crosse YMCA Aquatic Director as well as helping with the Wave. He has honed his coaching skills as the assistant coach at UW-La Crosse while completing his Masters degree in exercise physiology. Originally from Ithaca, New York, Nic's enthusiasm for swimming is evident in his approach to coaching and developing the skills of our swimmers.

David Dubczak

An Onalaska resident and student at Holmen High, David has grown into a very valuable member of our coaching staff while continuing to contribute as a swimmer. He is a student of the sport of swimming and really enjoys working with our younger swimmers. One of his top reasons for enjoying swimming is that you don't know you're sweating.

Heidi Freiberg

Heidi is a UW-L fitness major from Manitowoc joining our team for the first time. Her swimming experience includes YMCA, summer recreation and high school teams. She enjoys being with young swimmers and watching as they gain skills and improve over time.

Anna Graham

A La Crescent native who spent over 8 years swimming with our team, Anna moved into the coaching ranks last year and assists Eric with our Senior group. Anna was a NCAA National Finalist with the UW-La Crosse Swim Team and had a stellar college career. Anna loves the fun, friends and exercise that swimming provides. This season Anna will be raising a future Wave swimmer, her daughter Natalie and working as the marketing director for Fowler and Hammer Construction.

Morgan Nilles

Obviously someone who likes to keep involved, Morgan is currently swimming for the UW-L Swim Team, studying to be a Physicians Assistant, working at Gundersen-Lutheran Hospital and helping with the Wave. Originally from Shorewood where she swam and coached with the Shorewood Swim Team this is her first season with our team.

Jenny Peebles

Jenny hails from Fond Du Lac where she swam with the Fond Du Lac Recreation and High School teams. She is a transfer student from UW-Oshkosh where she also was a member of the swim team. She is majoring in physical Therapy at UW-L and enjoys watching swimmers reach their goals.

Nick Rooney

Nick is a long time Wave swimmer and Onalaska resident who is looking forward to representing the first Onalaska Boys High School Swim Team this winter. Nick began coaching with us last short course season and has coached the Onalaska Fighting Tuna Swim Team for two summers.

Elizabeth Winberg

After swimming with the team for almost 10 years, Elizabeth started coaching this summer. Her talent and determination as a gifted distance swimmer helps her relate very well to our younger swimmers. Elizabeth is a Junior at La Crosse Central High School and a member of their swim team.

Melanie Winter

Melanie is another survivor who has risen from the ranks of Wave swimmers to help coach our team. Melanie has done a fantastic job with our Novice group, leading their training for at least three years. This is Melanie's sixth year as a Wave Coach and her energy, caring and organizational skills have been a great asset to the team. Melanie's many talents include being a graduate student in mycology at UW-L and making the best pies in the universe.

Eric Wojta

A mild mannered math teacher at Onalaska High School by day, Eric transforms himself each evening into the dynamic leader of our Senior swimmers. For over 14 years Eric has guided our Seniors and been a key element in our teams success. Eric comes from Manitowoc, is an alumnus of UW-L and is known to have a slight fondness for ice-cream.