From it’s learn-to-swim program up through the national team training group, the Mission Viejo Nadadores have been churning out some of the top swimmers in the United States and the world, including the likes of Olympians Larsen Jensen and Chloe Sutton, since the team first originated in 1968. Led by longtime head coach Bill Rose, the Nadadores have once again earned a spot as one of USA Swimming’s top clubs, placing sixth in the 2016 Club Excellence program rankings. 

Mission Viejo placed two swimmers on the national team in 2015-2016, with Katie McLaughlin qualifying in the 100 and 200 fly and 100 free and Stephanie Peacock qualifying in the 800 free. In addition, Samantha Shelton (200 free) and Grant Shoults (200 and 400 free, 200 fly) earned spots on the national junior team. 

Thanks to a strong and supportive coaching staff, community and core of parent volunteers, the Nadadores have been able to continue a rich tradition of excellence that began nearly 50 years ago, as Coach Rose details in this week’s Club Excellence Spotlight. 

1. Tradition. Our team is built on the tradition of excellence and consistent success at the local, national and international level over the past 45 years. Our record board truly is a place of honor, as our younger and developing swimmers displace some world-renowned names with their own as they break the records of the past. Our national champions and Olympians stand as ever-present inspirations and motivators for our swimmers, as they strive to live up to the high standards we have set in the past. 

2. The Nadadores staff. We pride ourselves in the experience, expertise and stability of our coaching and support staff. Most of our 10 full-time coaches have been here in excess of 10 years and they demonstrate the commitment and steady dedication required of success in our sport. Our part-time coaches adopt this same attitude and strive to emulate our more experienced coaches. Our support staff consists of people who have been involved and committed to this team for many years, either through having swum for the Nadadores in the past or having had children who competed for the Nadadores. The staff provides the leadership and example of hard work that ensures a successful program. 

3. The Nadadores philosophy. From our mission statement that expresses our dedication to encouraging “uncompromised commitment to the pursuit of excellence,” through our training approach that emphasizes the development of great technique and a strong aerobic base established for our age group swimmers, to our commitment to our high school, college and post-grad swimmers to train them individually and specifically, our program design is at the heart of our swimmers’ achievements. We are able to see the process or journey of each of our swimmers, from the on-site swim school all the way to our national team training group, every step of the way through our gradations of training and our developmental process throughout the program.

4. The Nadadores training facility. While for many clubs, finding pool time and training space is an ongoing challenge, the Nadadores are fortunate to have a single site for the exclusive use of our team, where the entire team trains, and that we are able to adapt to our specific and current needs. Every quadrennium, we are able to set our main pool to long course and train long course for the full year prior to Olympic Trials. 

5. A supportive community. We are fortunate to have a strong community dedicated to youth sports and a long-term commitment to the Nadadores. The city of Mission Viejo has provided for our continued use of our facility and recently committed to a major renovation that will modernize and increase the usefulness of our facility. The parents of our swimmers commit to many hours of volunteer service for our team, and our parent board of directors works hard to coordinate our dry-side efforts to keep the team financially secure and make the experience of our membership fulfilling, meaningful and enjoyable for our families and athletes. In the end, it’s the team unity and team effort that truly makes for our continued success.