Former KING Aquatic Club coach Dave Kienlen will be heading east, taking over as the new head coach of the recently-merged Poseidon-Hanover swim club.
Kienlen had previously retired from coaching in 2014 after 9 seasons with KING, which is based out of the Seattle, Washington area. Most recently, he was working full-time as an aquatics supervisor in Fife, Washington.
“My passion has always been coaching, and an opportunity became available in the Richmond (VA) area,” Kienlen told SwimSwam. He said the move to Virginia also allows him and his wife to be closer to family, most notably his daughter, who lives in the Richmond area.
“We are very excited to work with such an outstanding team, wonderful families and tremendous young athletes,” he said.
Kienlen has been coaching since the 1970s. He started with Joliet Swim Club in Illinois, and also coached in North Carolina before landing in Washington. On a large scale, he’s also well-known for coaching Olympic gold medalist Megan Quann (now Megan Jendrick) in the mid-2000s, after she took gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
The Poseidon-Hanover club was formed through the 2015 merger of Burkwood Aquatic Club and Poseidon Swimming.
Obviously, none of you know what happened, so if you don’t know his life and the life story of others, don’t post it. This man moved to Richmond, VA (2800+ miles from Seattle) to be closer to his children and grandchildren and continue his passion of coaching. Congrats Dave!
Ya, I believe Swimswam before I believe any of ya’ll
Don’t hate on Dave because of what Swimswam puts in an article. He moved to a great place to do something he loves.
Your article needs some updates. Jendrick swam for Sean Hutchison and KING when she competed at the 05 World U’s, 07 Worlds and 08 Olympics, not this guy. Her being on those teams are how Hutchison got on the coaching staff of those teams
What about Rick Benner before where does he fit in.
Not to take anything away from Dave or derail the intent of the article….Rick coached Megan Quann pre-Sydney and thru Sydney. Not sure of the exact length of his tenure, but definitely 1997 – 2001 at Puyallup Aquatic Club. Another national teamer at PAC he developed was Jamie Reid.
Rick was (and is) a great coach and pleasant to be around. I remember having a conversation with Rick at Clovis nationals regarding passing on a more prestigious meet Megan qualified for (Perth World Champs?) to take a lesser meet that would have more value for Sydney. That meet was the 1999 Pan Pacs in Sydney. Tough call in 1998. Well worth it in 2000.
I’m actually curious now. Who coached her from 2000 to 2005?
This guy coached her from somewhere around 2001 to her failed Olympic bid in 2004. She retired after that, left this coach’s team, and returned in 2005 with Sean Hutchison at King aquatic club
“This guy” has a name and it’s Dave. 2004 wasn’t a fail, getting 3rd happens. Retiring is a peesonal decision and returing is because you love doing it.
3rd at the OLYMPIC TRIALS is not a failed attempt, it just means you missed the team. Did Marsh fail Lochte when he missed the 400 IM and so many others. There were 26 3rd places at the Olympic Trials, were they all failed attempts by the coach?
Congrats Dave ! Great to be near family & you’ll enjoy the area and Va. coaches.