Coaches and Directors

Coaches and Directors
Coaching Staff
James McGinnis Head Coach

Jim McGinnis has been with Tidal Wave since April, 2002.  Prior to coaching with Tidal Wave, Jim was Head Assistant Coach at Clemson University and coached at  Dynamo Swim Club for five years prior to that.  Coach Jim was named the 1999-2000 Georgia Age Group Coach of the Year.  He coached three swimmers who won the Schlueter Stroke Award National Championships in 1998, and several of his swimmers have gone on to achieve Olympic Trial, Senior National, Junior National and Top 16 qualifying standards, as well as setting state and team records.  Jim was a Senior National Qualifier who went on to be a four season varsity letter winner and team swim captain at The University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics.  He is married to his wife Shannon.

Gene Paliskis Associate Head Coach

Gene came to Tidal Wave with nearly 20 years of coaching experience.  He has coached swimmers of all levels, from the beginner to Senior National qualifiers.  Most recently, Gene spent two years as the Head Coach of Dynamo’s Alpharetta facility.  There, he was responsible for overseeing the day to day training of over 300 swimmers and his coaching staff.  Prior to leading the Alpharetta facility, Gene served as Dynamo’s Head Age Group coach.  During the time Gene held that position, he developed some great athletes and his facility produced a National Junior Team member four years in a row!

Gene has been a well respected coach in Georgia Swimming for many years.  He has been named Age Group Coach of the Year, Head Coach of the Georgia Zone Team, and run a number of camps for Georgia swimmers.  Gene has also been active within the Georgia swimming LSC serving the teams in our state. 
  

Lola Campbell Assistant Coach Emeritus

Lola Campbell has been coaching summer league, high school and USA swimming teams for more than 45 years.  Lola is the original founder of Tidal Wave in 1998 and serves as the CEO of the team. She has coached many swimmers to the State and Regional levels.
 

Lola is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management at Kennesaw State University.   She holds the Master of Science degree in Physical Education from Northwestern State University of Louisiana.   She began her swimming career in her hometown of Statesboro, Georgia, and went on to swim for Georgia Southern University, on it's first Womens team (first team captain), while pursuing her undergraduate degree in Physical Education.  She has two children, Heather and Josh and three grandchildren. 

 

Andrew Baer SEL, EL, AAG, MSTRS, Pre-S HS, Lessons

I am a husband to Kelly, I am a father to Olivia, Bennett and Kyle. My wife is a Southern Peach and swam competitively in her youth. All three of my kids are swimmers. I come from a swimming family via the great state of Wisconsin. I was blessed with enough talent and drive to swim at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

To say swimming is in my blood, is an understatement.

I swam for 14+ years. I started coaching the summer after my senior year in High School. For the next decade I coached at every level, Summer League, High School, USA and College. I moved to Atlanta in 1990 to start a new life in Sports Broadcasting. After a couple years, I was drawn back into what I love…coaching.

To me, coaching is about giving back to the sport that did so much for me. To teach today’s youth, not only about swimming, but about life as well. 

David Edmundson Coach
Tyler Hoeckendorf Coach
Board of Directors
James McGinnis President/Head Coach
Gene Paliskis Member at large