Coaches

Introducing our Head Coach: Dave Little 💚

Coach Dave grew up swimming for the Spring Lake Sharks, Lansdowne Gators, Woodford County High School & Lexington Dolphins. Dave has been coaching swimming for over 23 years, starting as a volunteer assistant coach in 1999 with the Cumberland Hill Catfish. He took over as Head Coach in 2001 & retired from being Head Coach of the Catfish after the 2018 summer. While Dave was Head Coach, the Catfish went from the worst team in Conference in the early years to Conference Champions in his last year in 2018 & hadn’t lost a regular season meet since 2013. Dave returned to the Catfish in the summer of 2021 as a part time assistant & since returning, the Catfish have won 2 Straight Conference Titles in 2021/2022 & still have the longest regular season win streak in MOWSC history, 48 straight.

Dave coached at Wildcat Aquatics from 2002-2014, as Head Age Group Coach. He was nominated for KY Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year three times, coached for the KY All-Star Team 3 times, & coached for the 2009 KY Zone Team that competed in Orlando. When Dave left Wildcat Aquatics, every single Wildcat Aquatics Team Record for the age groups he coached, was held by one of his swimmers & over 30+ KY Swimming State Records were held by swimmers Dave coached while at Wildcat.

Dave was the Head Coach of the Lexington Catholic High School Swim Team from 2015-2019 & in his four years coaching Lex Cath, the team went from tied for last place in the state to winning Back to Back State Championships in 2018 & 2019. Dave was voted 2016, 2018 & 2019 KHSAA Boys Coach of the Year & was also selected by the National Federation of High School Sports as KY Boys Coach of the Year for 2016-17. In Dave’s four years, the team set 16 New School Records, 3 KHSAA State Records, & several Top 10 Nationally ranked swimmers by event. In 2019, the Boys 200 Free Relay finished #1, fastest in the Nation, in the NISCA high school swimming rankings.

Coach Dave now runs his Soul II Swim program at the LAC pool from September to May & takes his summers off to help with Catfish & go to lots of concerts (mostly DMB, reggae & hip hop shows).

Introducing Coach :Morgan Bender 💚

Coach Morgan Bender grew up swimming for a MOWSC team, Lexington Catholic High School, Lexington Dolphins, and Bellarmine University. 

Coach Morgan Bender has coached for over 10 years, with 4 of those years spent as a Catfish coach. She grew up swimming as a MOWSC swimmer and was also a competitive swimmer for 15 years. Morgan swam for and graduated from Division 1 institution Bellarmine University with a double major in Secondary Education and English. She currently works as a middle school English Language Arts teacher. During the off-season, she works for Dave Little at the Soul II Swim program.

Coach Morgan joined as a Catfish coach in the 2022 season, where she experienced her first ever conference wins in 2022 and 2023 with the team. 

As a swimmer, Morgan held multiple team records and won Conference High Point for 6 years in a row. Morgan competed at Junior Nationals and Nationals as a 100 & 200 Breaststroker. She has held the fastest times in the 100 Breaststroke in the region for over 7 years. Morgan has 2 High School State Championship wins from 2018 & 2019. Morgan accomplished many goals as a swimmer, and continues to accomplish new goals with the Catfish.

Introducing Coach: Connor Bates 💚

What’s up everybody, it’s Coach Connor!! I’m 20 years old and a student at the University of Kentucky majoring in both Finance and Accounting. I have been either swimming or coaching for the Cumberland Hill Catfish since 2011. I also swam for the Lexington Dolphins and Tates Creek High School. This will be my fifth summer coaching, and I am so excited to give all my time and effort to these kids and make sure that they have the best summer ever! My passion is to help others get better while having as much fun as possible. I love working with kids of all ages and am always available for private lessons, so please feel free to reach out. Get ready for the best six weeks of the year! Go Catfish!

You can contact me at connorbates325@gmail.com

Introducing Coach : Maddie Taylor 💚

Hey, Catfish! I'm Coach Maddie, I'm 19 years old and a second-year student at the University of South Carolina. I am studying Political Science and planning to apply to law school this coming fall! I have been on the Cumberland Hill Catfish since 2011, and also swam with the Lexington Dolphins and Tates Creek HS. I have grown up loving swim and living at the pool, and there is no doubt that this summer will be the same. I have been lucky enough to coach this team alongside Dave and some other incredible people for over six years now, and I cannot wait for another year! I'm excited to see some familiar faces and some new ones and to finally get started with the 2025 season. Let's have some fun! 

Introducing Coach : Christina Aouad 💚

Hi! My name is Christina Aouad and I am 18 years old. I have been swimming for the Cumberland Hill Catfish for 8 years & this is my 2nd year as a coach. My favorite memory was winning conference for the first time back in 2018. This summer I am excited to meet all the new catfish and to make more memories!

Introducing Swimmer Coach : Reese Burden 💚

The Burden Family is a Major part of our Catfish Family!! We are lucky to have each of them!!

Hey guys! I’m Coach Reese! I am 18 years old and a recent graduate of West Jessamine High School. I am attending the University of Kentucky this fall with a major of business management while also being a part of the Lewis Honors College! I have been a part of this team since 2013 and also swam on Lexington Dolphins for around 11 years. This will be my third summer as a swimmer coach and I cannot wait to see all the swimmers again along with some new faces! Let’s make the 2025 season our best one yet! 

Introducing Coach: Gabby Prince 💚

Hi!! My name is Gabby Prince, and I’m a rising senior at the University of Alabama!

This will be my second summer coaching for  Catfish, but I have been apart of CHILL Swim team since I can remember!! In highschool I had the opportunity to help out with Coach Dave’s “Soul ll Swim” and was on the Lafayette High School swim team.

I’ll be available for private lessons again this summer, so feel free to email me at princegabby46@gmail.com  I can’t wait to get this season started and see some familiar and new faces! Go Catfish  

Introducing Coach : Drake Poole 💚

This family is another Integral Part of our program!

Coach Drake Poole has been swimming for the catfish since he was 5 years old, now he also swims for Tate’s Creek High School. This is his 4th season coaching. He also plays soccer for LSC and Tate’s Creek. Drake has had so much fun swimming and coaching Catfish and can’t wait for many more seasons.