About Us

SWIM TEAM

USA Swimming - Serving the North Metro Area of the Twin Cities
(763) 569 - 4070

About Us

Our Mission

The mission of the Great Wolf Swim Team is to offer programs, designed for all levels of experience, which will aid swimmers in maximizing their potential. The Great Wolf Swim Team is geared towards excellence and was founded upon the desire to lead its swimmers in reaching the highest level in their swimming. This will be accomplished through goal setting and age appropriate teaching and training that is geared toward competition.

The Great Wolf Swim Team seeks to cultivate strong area high school programs by providing each high school team with several top swimmers in each of its classes. Working together on the Great Wolf Swim Team, these top swimmers will form an elite group with the goal of competing and excelling at the national and international level.

Your Coaches

Coach David Bentz - Head Coach (All pools) - I have loved to swim as long as I can remember. As a young child I grew up 2 blocks away from the Charles Horn pool in Anoka and spent many a summer day swimming and laying in the sun. I began competitive swimming when I was in the 9th grade swimming for the Anoka High School team. My senior year I set school and pool records in the 200 and 500 free. I then swam 2 years at UMD and 1 year at the U of M.
I began coaching between my freshman and sophomore year when together with my parents and other interested families we began the ABC Aquatic Club which later became Northern Lights Aquatics. In 1979 I was an assistant coach and manager at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where several world record holders and Olympians came to train. Then in 1980 I had the good fortune to coach with The Head Olympic Coach George Haines at his club team.

I had my first head coaching job at the Bloomington Aquatic Club where I rebuilt the program winning several state championships and qualifying many swimmers to swim in both Junior and Senior Nationals. Next I took over the reigns of a coach owned program called the Marauder Aquatic Club where again we won the state age group championships and had swimmers qualify for Junior Nationals, Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials. After several years I retired from coaching to concentrate on my printing business then was hired in 1991 to coach the Gopher Swim Club at the new pool at the U of M. Once again I had numerous swimmers qualify and swim at various Nationals including one swimmer who went from Junior Nationals to being world ranked in one season. In the spring of 1999 I came back home to Northern Lights Aquatics, the team I helped start in 1976, to work with the distance swimmers. In the 5 years I coached at NLA swimmers I worked with set numerous state records, qualified for and swam in Junior Nationals, Senior Nationals and the 2004 Olympic Trials. In 2004 I began the last coaching job I will ever hold here at The Great Wolf Swim Team. I look forward to building a team that is strong from top to bottom with swimmers setting new records, swimming at Nationals and one day qualifying for the USA Olympic Team.

Coach Carl Schulze - Head Age Group Coach (Spring Lake Park and Jackson) - I first started coaching swimming in 1979 with the Northwest YMCA in Shoreview. During my time there the team won it's first three YMCA state championships. Since then I have coached several teams in Minnesota and Wisconsin associated with USA swimming. During that time two swimmers I coached have gone on to set National age group records. Most recently I was the Head age group coach at Northern Light Aquatics. In addition to coaching swimming I am an eighth grade science teacher in the Spring Lake Park district. My success has come due to finding fun ways to help younger swimmers learn excellence.

Coach Chip Fechter - Age Group and Senior Coach - Chip Fechter is one of the top developmental swimming coaches in the United States. Over the past 38 years, Chip has been able to identify and develop some of the best swimmers in the country. Many of the swimmers on teams Chip has coached started out at the Novice level. With a progressive nurturing style, his swimmers learn the basics of the competitive strokes and develop a love for the sport that have produced numerous national age-group champions, Junior National champions and swimmers, Senior National swimmers, and Olympic Trial qualifiers. Chip has also coached at the High School level with swimmers achieving ALL AMERICAN status. With his desire to make swimming a life long activity, Chip is also coaching a masters group for adults. Several of the masters swimmers were non-swimmers who are now able to swim well over a mile in an hour workout. Chip's philosophy is that swimming “Builds Skills For Life”

Coach Lisa Asbury - Orono Area Coach - I began competitive swimming at the age of 11. I swam with Bloomington AAU year round and yes, Dave Bentz was my coach - amazing!
I also swam for Dennis Dale at Burnsville High School where I was team captain my senior year and earned All-Conference, All-State and All-American honors. I was proud to be part of the team that went to State Meet which we won my junior and senior years. I went on to swim one more year in college.

I’ve been married for 20 years and have four beautiful children. Once they were all old enough to swim, I started coaching. I coached for MGC-Maple Grove Muskies from the Fall of 2001 to the end of the 2004 summer season. I now have made a full circle. Once a swimmer under Dave Bentz to coaching for him at The Great Wolf! I believe in the vision Dave has for this team and am excited to be part of it.

Coach Chuck Charnstrom - Delano/West Suburbs Coach - started swimming in 1988 with Rocky O’Neil of the Burnsville Swim Club. He swam 4 years for Burnsville High school earning All-American times in the sprint freestyle. He went on to swim at Minnesota State University-Mankato. In two years, he was NCC champion in the 50 free and broke 8 school records. Six of the records hold today. He started coaching for Twin City Swim Club with Gary Taylor before becoming Head Coach at Watertown-Mayer for the boys program. He was chosen to start up the new Waconia high school girl’s team and has held the position since 2004. He still holds the head coach position for Watertown-Mayer, Waconia, & Delano boy’s high school swim team. He’s fortunate and grateful to help spread the love of swimming.

Coach Blair Eckstrom - Seniors at Centennial, Age Group at St. Anthony -

Coach Logan Thompson- Age Group at Centennial/St. Anthony -

Coach Jen Olson - Age Group at Cambridge -

Coach Amber Van Vleet - Age Group at Cambridge -

Coach Kathy Van Vleet - Age Group at Cambridge -

Coach Renee Millius - Age Group at Cambridge -

Coach Jamie Thorlund - Age Group at Centennial -

Coach Jensen Ohlgren - Age Group at Jackson & Spring Lake Park -

Coach Tim Zacharias - Age Group at Cambridge -

Coach Megan Peterson - Age Group at St. Anthony-

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