Kari Ustaszewski
I have been coaching Varsity Girls Swimming for 17 years. I was influenced by my high school basketball coach, Mike Takayama. He taught me that the most important part of coaching is building relationships with your athletes. I saw that athletes perform better if they feel as though their coach is invested in them and cares about them. I took that example of a coach and applied it to my love of competitive swimming that I grew up with. I think challenging each athlete individually in practice and placing them in the correct event maximizes our team's success. Swimming can be a individual sport and I believe one of the factors that contributes success is the coaches' ability to get their team to recognize that each swimmer on the team is valuable and contributes to the team's overall success. When I am not coaching swim, I am busy watching or helping out with my kids sports. I enjoy traveling with my family and friends to warm destinations like San Diego and Hawaii. I also love being active outdoors; biking, hiking, swimming and enjoying California's different seasons.
