2025 Coaching Staff
We are thrilled to welcome back Phoebe Bottrell as head coach and Liam West as assistant coach this season! Their leadership will be supported by our new junior coaches, Sam Parker and Lily Kunnmann, who have both served as volunteers for the team.
We are continuing to hire and welcome your support in recruitment!
Phoebe is a mother of four children, who have all been Mighty Marlins swimmers since 2021. She has served as a strokes and turns judge, helped run Clerk of Course, and in 2023, she accepted the position of Starter. She is committed to helping the kids have fun, become strong swimmers, and provide additional support and guidance for those wanting to become more competitive. Summer swim season is a highlight for the Bottrell family and Phoebe is looking forward to her second year as the Head Coach in 2025.
Sam has been a Mighty Marlin since he was 3 years old, making this his 12th season! In addition to summer league, he has trained with year-round teams at the YMCA, Poseidon, and SwimRVA, where he's learned from a variety of great coaches. Sam also enjoys sharing his interests with anyone that will listen and mentoring young people. He served as a Smoketree swim team volunteer in 2024, teaches Lego Robotics for elementary and middle school students, and leads computer aided design (CAD) training for other students.
Lily is a sophomore at Cosby High School in the Health Sciences Specialty Center and also swims for their Varsity Swim team. Her two favorite strokes are freestyle and backstroke, and she loves working with kids on their technique to help foster their love for swimming. In the future, Lily hopes to become a wildlife Veterinarian and travel the world. "I can't wait to meet and get to know all of our swimmers this year as we grow our Smoketree Marlins family!"
Darian began swimming for the Smoketree Marlins when she was 5 years old. She is a student in the Health Professions and Therapies center at Monacan High School and swam for their varsity team last winter. Over the many summers she has spent with the Marlins, Darian has made great memories and is excited to provide children with the opportunity to do the same.
Lily began swimming for Smoketree when she was 4 or 5 years old. Now a rising senior at Monacan High School, she's had the opportunity to grow both as a swimmer and as a teammate, earning a few awards along the way and making great memories each season. Swimming has been a constant in her life, and she's excited to give back as a coach this summer. She's especially looking forward to working with the younger kids and making their experience as fun and rewarding as hers has been.
Adeline Bottrell has volunteered with Smoketree for the past 2½ years, working with swimmers of all ages, and is excited to return to the Mighty Marlins as a Junior Coach this season! She has been swimming competitively for six years, including six seasons with Smoketree and the past several years with SwimRVA. Adeline also swam varsity for Monacan High School this year as a freshman. She believes that building friendships and supporting one another is a huge part of what makes the Mighty Marlins such a special place.
