The Bettas are surrounded by a number of highly experienced individuals who are dedicated to meeting the developmental needs of each of our swimmers! 

Please feel free to contact any of the LCST Coaches if you have questions about practice, goal setting, and appropriate support for your swimmer.  Out of respect for our Coaches, we ask that all communication occurs via email or to arrange a discussion either before or after a practice session.  While the Coaches are on the pool deck they need to be exclusively focused on the swimmers, so please refrain from questions/discussions during this time.

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Rachel Connell - Head Coach

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited to join the Bettas coaching staff this year! For the past 3 years, I have been coaching with the Lenoir City High School and Middle School teams. Before coaching, I swam on the Tellico Village Tarpons (now the LC Bettas) for 11 years and the LC middle and high school swim teams for 7 years. During this time, I was a GKAISA Champion, multi-time city meet finalist and 4x state qualifier. I went on to swim at Milligan University where I was a 3x national qualifier, 2x relay All-American, 4x conference champion, and 4x conference runner-up. My best events were 100 back, 100 fly, 200 back, and 50 free. (Fun fact: check out the team's records page... you may see my name pop up a few times!) 

Now, I am a Tester Design Engineer at Denso in Maryville. I have been married to my husband, Hunter, for almost 4 years, and we are expecting our first baby girl in September! I am so excited to work with athletes to help them reach their potential both in and out of the pool! Go Bettas!

(865) 816-0163

[email protected]

Ben Hessick - Assistant Coach

Hi all,

I am super pumped to have the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach for the Bettas this summer! As an alumni swimmer of the Bettas from a few years ago, this team means so much to me. I swam with Lenoir City for 4 years in high school, as well as many previous swimming summers since I was a little kid. Since then, I have been an active member of the Tennessee Tech Swim Club for 3 years. I currently hold the officer role of club secretary as well as having completed my lifeguard re-certification. I am a huge fan of the butterfly and freestyle strokes, and I continue to refine my technique and ability for college club swim meets in the future. I am quite passionate about swimming improvement, sportsmanship, and morale, so I cannot wait to see what our team can accomplish this summer. Go Bettas!

Emily Dubes - Assistant Coach

Dennis Stanczuk - Volunteer Assistant Coach

Coach Dennis brings over 50 years of swimming and coaching experience to the Bettas this year, including 10 years with our previous namesake, the Tellico Village Tarpons, where he coached all 3 of our other coaches! He is a former All-American collegiate swimmer where he specialized in primarily freestyle and backstroke. For over a decade, he has also been an official for the University of Tennessee swim meets, and he has even had the opportunity to officiate at the SEC and NCAA championships. He has seen every level of competitive swimming and is excited to delve deep into technique with all levels of swimmers this season!