Meet The Team
Annie Scott (Babicz)
Owner & Instructor
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Annie grew up swimming for the Sarasota Sharks, where she became one of the best age group swimmers in the country. To this day, she remains the 2nd fastest American swimmer of all time in the 11-12 girls 100 breaststroke and is one of the youngest Olympic Trial Qualifiers ever. She won the Rookie of the Meet award at 1998 National Championships alongside Ryan Lochte, and went on to compete at UC Berkeley where she competed internationally and was Pac 10 Champion and a four time NCAA scorer. ​
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After graduating, Annie went on to coach at the club and college level, while also teaching private lessons to kids and adults of all ages and abilities. Her philosophies stem from her time at Cal, where unconventional training practices led to a more holistic understanding of the water. She is excited to bring a fresh new perspective to the Sarasota swimming scene!
Josh Scott
Owner & Instructor
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Josh joined his first swim team when he was 6 years old, shortly after his family had moved to Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. While he wasn't a "natural" swimmer at first, he did have a love for the water and a strong desire to improve.
After moving back to the United States, Josh went on to become a top age group and high school swimmer in California, competing in both Junior and Senior Nationals, and earning a swimming scholarship to Syracuse University. While at Syracuse, he was a school record holder and honored by his teammates by being voted both Team Captain and MVP. His athletic pursuits continued after college, where he became a U.S. Masters Swimming National Champion in multiple events.
Josh found his true passion in life as a coach, helping others "understand" the sport he loves so much. He is an American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 4 Coach. He has coached multiple National Record setting relays, a U.S.A. Swimming National Team member, and a Junior National Champion.
Josh is known for making a complex sport "simple" to those he is teaching, and focusing on the RIGHT things that create massive improvement. He believes the only thing a swimmer is limited by is their technique and their heart.
Nicole Mancini
Director of Training & Instructor
Swimming has always been an important part of Nicole’s life. At age seven, she joined the YMCA team where she swam competitively for eleven years. But it did not end there! While attending college at Seton Hall University for elementary and special education, Nicole’s mother became the proud owner of a swim school. Together, Nicole and her family ran the swim school and taught lessons for everyone, from infants to adults.
Recently, Nicole and her family moved down to Sarasota from New Jersey. It was not even a question of what she wanted to do when she began looking for jobs. Luckily, she has found SwimSRQ to continue her love of teaching swimming. Her ultimate goal is for every child to learn how to swim.
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Moriah Tuttle
Instructor & certified Swim Whisperer (special needs certification)
Self described teaching style:
Adaptive, creative, balanced
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Hello my name is Moriah and I have been an instructor for two years and counting! Growing up swimming in Florida’s Gulf coast currents made me want to pursue a career that allowed me to swim everyday while making a difference in drowning statistics. I feel so lucky to do what I love!
I am passionate about baby swim, special needs (I am certified in two levels of The Swim Angelfish adaptive aquatics curriculum), individuals with trauma from the water, adults who want to learn to swim, and children who are learning how to swim. I would describe my teaching style as balanced- I am big on establishing safety before learning technique and prefer to maintain the swimmers trust while pushing them to be safe around water. I think instructor/ parent communication is the key to progression and I have found success by providing students with positive affirmations to push past their fears. to teaching kids with special needs .
Kim Hazelton
Instructor
Luci Lozano
Instructor
With over 30 years of experience, Kim is an overly qualified premier swim instructor. Back in New Jersey, she is the owner of KimSwims, a family owned and operated swim school where she teaches lessons to people of all ages. Now a snowbird living in Florida, she is ready to get back in the pool and teach more lessons on her time off.
Born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, Luci quickly established a love for the water at a young age despite not knowing how to swim. After attending swim lessons, her parents signed her up for the Sarasota Sharks. Luci began competitively swimming at 8 years old and then went on to spend 10 years with the team where she predominantly trained
IM and butterfly. As a high school swimmer, she contributed to the FHSAA State Championships as well as YMCA Nationals all 4 years.
After graduating from high school, she then went on to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. At USAFA, she became a prominent addition to the IM and butterfly groups. She recently transferred back home to pursue a career in the medical field.
Growing up around the pool deck, Luci has always had a profound love for the water, and she hopes to instill that same passion in others as they build their confidence and safely learn their way around the pool.
Kim Calhoon
Instructor
Kim was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She learned to swim as a baby and grew up in the pool when she wasn’t in the dance studio. Kim is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, modern and street dance and studied with Dance Masters of America and Dance Educators of America. She danced professionally for 15 years and received numerous awards as she toured the US. She later created her own dance company and began to teach children and adults throughout Atlanta. She formed several dance programs throughout the inner city to serve at- risk youth and give them an outlet during after school hours. Seeing the enormous needs, she volunteered in several youth shelters as a certified counselor.
Kim moved to Sarasota in 1997 with her two adopted boys and got immediately in the water and continued counseling in local youth shelters. She fell in love with open water swimming in the Gulf and it also helped with the several injuries she sustained from dance.
Kim has always been a believer in doing whatever you are passionate about in your life. This entrepreneurial spirit, which she accredits to her mom, has created a space for her to live her life to the fullest. So, after arriving in Sarasota, she began studying art at Ringling and currently paints and has a gallery and studio in Nokomis. Having applied stage makeup for years for her and her dance teams’ performances, she re-discovered the art and became a professional makeup artist 17 years ago. She specializes in television, theater, and bridal and has worked for the Sarasota Opera’s wigs and makeup department and youth camp for 6 seasons.
Kim was diagnosed with Lupus several years ago and decided to focus more on swimming which has been very healing to her joints. In 2017 she decided, with her love of the water and natural ability to teach, to get certified as a swim instructor. She became certified with Swim America and has been teaching ever since. Many of her students have advanced to swim team with Tsunami, including her 7-year-old granddaughter. “Swimming has given so much to me my whole life and I want to share my love for the sport with as many as I can.” She believes that teaching swimming not only saves lives but teaches a valuable lifelong recreational sport and aids in physical healing as she has experienced so greatly.
Terri Leap
Instructor
Terri is excited to join the SwimSRQ family after nearly 30 years of coaching with the Sarasota Sharks swim team. During that time, she coached all ages/levels of swimmers from beginner to high school. Alongside her coaching, Terri also worked as a substitute teacher for Sarasota County Schools at the elementary level for 20 years.
Terri loves working with kids of all ages: her strengths are teaching proper technique in all of the strokes. She does so in a positive and encouraging, yet structured class environment.
Jenn Hart
Instructor
Jenn began swimming competitively at 8 years old in North Carolina. During her age group years and throughout high school, she had the opportunity to represent North Carolina at the National Junior Olympics, compete at the Senior National Level, and swim in the Olympic Trials. Following high school, she was a Gator student-athlete at the University of Florida.
Since graduating from the University of Florida, she has continuously taught swimming lessons and coached. While living in Jamaica for several years, Jenn established and coached the Negril Waverunners Swim Team. Jenn returned to the United States and settled in Sarasota with her son and daughter. For many years, she taught swimming lessons for the Sarasota Family YMCA and coached age group swimmers for the Sarasota Sharks. During this time, her two children swam for the Sarasota Sharks, competed internationally for Jamaica, and swam for their respective universities.
Her passion is teaching swimming technique and showing young children the joy in mastering new skills in the water.
Nicole Buckley
Instructor
Self described teaching style:
Empathetic, engaged, adaptive and disciplined.
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My first swimming memory was at age 4, jumping off a 10 meter platform while my father stood on the pool deck.
My second was of failing my first formal swim lesson at age 8. The solution, according to my instructor, to this lack of endurance and ability was to join a competitive swim team.
I have never looked back.
Swimming has saved me more than once in life; not only can it create a life long sport, it forms character, provides skills of teaching and understanding of others.
My high school years were of swimming endless laps in a pool, traveling to swim meets each weekend, lifeguarding, and teaching swimming lessons to children.
I became a RN and chose pediatrics as my specialty. While working over 20 years in acute care, I raised 2 beautiful girls, who of course swam before they could walk and each competed in swimming. During these years, I volunteered pool side with lessons and endless swim parent responsibilities.
Fast forward to 10 years ago, where I had a multitude of health issues and needed to make personal changes to become well. Where better than in swimming, aquajogging, and aqua aerobics?
8 years ago I was challenged to try open water swimming. The sea became a healing place. I began a routine of swimming sunrise at Siesta 4-5 times a week and have continued to do that since. Our sunrise group and social media has grown tremendously since that time. Beginning from a group of 10 to over 800 members from around the world. Because I know how powerful swimming is I try to include and encourage all to join us, watching the sun rise and the dolphin call, all while swimming the beautiful sea.
Kristen Szych
Instructor
My love for swimming started at 5 years old, growing up on a lake front home, my mother placed me into swim lessons with a private instructor where I spent many years with her and her sister who was an Olympic dive coach learning the competitive side of swimming and diving. After my years of competitive swimming came to an end, I became a dedicated swim instructor and water safety advocate for over 25 years, spending most of those years with the YMCA . I have loved sharing my passion for swimming and water safety with students of all ages. Guiding beginners through their first strokes and helping advanced swimmers refine their techniques has been a rewarding experience. My goal is to foster a love for swimming while ensuring a safe and enjoyable learning environment.
Samantha Cahoone
Instructor
Samantha grew up swimming for the Sarasota Sharks Swim Team where she swam for 13 years. Her love of serving others, swimming, and the outdoors led her to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. While participating in the Coast Guard Academy's swab summer program, Samantha became injured to the point where she was no longer able to participate and was differed to restart the next year. Back home in Sarasota, Samantha stayed in school enrolling in classes at USFSM. One afternoon in 2016, while studying at the YMCA, Samantha was recruited to teach swim lessons and has been teaching ever since. By the time she was able to return to the Coast Guard Academy, Samantha had created a network of clients who she tutored academically and was enjoying her time teaching swim lessons at the YMCA and Robert Taylor Community Center so much that she continued her classes at USFSM where she graduated from in 2019 with a degree in Biology and a concentration in Psychology. Samantha considers herself a lifelong learner and since graduation has continued her education, obtaining a teaching certificate in 2021 and is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology ASAP. Samantha has a strong desire to help all children become happy, healthy, and empowered adults, which led her to become a Mental Health Tech at Palm Shores Behavioral Health Care Center in Bradenton, FL. This experience as well as her experiences teaching swim lessons and tutoring students academically has given Samantha a great understanding of the intricacies that go into the psychology of individual children. Samantha's teaching philosophies are driven by the principle that she is not simply teaching a child how to swim but rather is "teaching the whole child".