Coaching Staff

Nothing has a greater influence on the quality of children's sports than the excellence of the coach. The Tigers Aquatics staff consists of three professionally trained coaches. They, as member coaches in the American Swimming Coaches Association, have access to the most comprehensive training and certification program for youth coaches of any sport in the United States. Certified coaches in USA Swimming programs possess training and experience in the physiology and psychology of adolescent development. Our coaching staff provides assurance that the time your children spend in swimming will be quality time.  

Coach Nicolao has been with Princeton Tigers Aquatics since its beginning in 2007 as the Level 3 swim coach.  This year, in addition to coaching, he takes over as Program Director, overseeing the integration of our swimming and water polo programs.

Coach Nicolao has had a long association with the sport of swimming; both of his parents were world record holders.  Coach Nicolao was a national age group champion and record holder, in addition to being an all American swimmer in high school.  He swam and played water polo during his college years at Navy and was awarded the Athletic Sword at Navy for top male graduating athlete.

Coach Nicolao has over 17 years of experience in coaching both swimming and water polo.  He   has been the  assistant head Coach of the Navy Juniors swim team as well as the assistant water polo coach at Navy.  He is currently the Head Coach at Princeton University for the Men and Women’s Water Polo teams.

After an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1998 Coach Nicolao earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Phoenix.  Coach Nicolao lives in the Princeton area with his wife Kellie and two daughters, Madison and Morgan.

Senior Coach:
Ying Juan (Jen) Zhen
Email:zhen888@gmail.com
 

Coach Jen begins her second season coaching Tigers at the Senior Level. 

Coach Jen is a graduate of the Sun Yat University in China with a Bachelor degree in Political Science and Public Administration.  She also holds a Bachelor of Art and Science degree in Communication from the University of Hawaii.

As a swimmer, Coach Jen was a member of the Chinese National Team competing in national and international competitions.  At the University of Hawaii Coach Jen participated in the NCAA Division Championships.  She was 1^st in the Women’s 100 Backstroke and 2^nd in Women’s 200 Backstroke at the WAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship.

Coach Jen is a Certified Level 3 & 4 Coach (certified by the American Swimming Coach Association).  She has coached swimmers from age group through senior level both in Hawaii and New Jersey and has had swimmers reach the State, Zone and National levels of competition.

Coach Jen is fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).

Coach Carolina, an ASCA Level 2 coach, begins her 4th year coaching Level 1 and 2 with Tigers. Coach Carolina swam competitively for 15 years with Santa Cecilia University in Brazil and represented her school in many regional and international competitions. As a Member of the Brazilian national team Carolina represented Brazil in national and international competitions.  Carolina immigrated to the United States in 2005 to continue her education.

Coach Carolina is looking forward to passing on the great experiences that swimming has provided her. She has extensive experience with various age group training and great skill in evaluating and monitoring the development of young swimmers.

Coach Carolina’s focus with Tigers Aquatics is to teach proper technique while providing a positive environment for her swimmers that allows them to reach their maximum potential and help them grow as individuals.

Coach Carolina is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.