Steven Mills
Head Coach
Email
Coach Steven Mills stepped into his new role as Head Coach of the CCA Marlins in 2024. With 8 years of coaching experience, two of which was spent serving as the Head Age Group coach for the Marlins, Coach Steven plans to bring his own unique approach to coaching both the Senior Group & Age Group Gold Group while continuing to spread the love of swimming to the Marlins and the Roanoke Area.
During his time serving as the Head Age Group Coach for the Marlins, Coach Steven saw the Age Group Gold Group grow from 12 swimmers to nearly 30 swimmers. He also assisted in the increased performance the Marlins have seen at the Local and Age Group Level. Coach Steven particular enjoyed helping his group set goals for themselves and assisting them in accomplishing those goal throughout the season.
Before joining the Marlins, Coach Steven was originally from Wilmington, Delaware where he started competitive swimming when he was 5-years old for Delaware Swim Team. He and his family moved to Lynchburg, Virginia when he was 8-years old where he began swimming for the Lynchburg YMCA Swim Team. Over his 10 year career with LY, Coach Steven set numerous team records as well as a state record for the 11-12 400m Freestyle at the time. Coach Steven Specialized in the 200, 500, & 1650 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, and 200 Butterfly. During his high school swim career, Steven was a VISAA & VHSL State qualifier and finalist in both individual and relay events for Liberty Christian Academy. Steven was named the Virginia Independent Conference Swimmer of the year and was a three time conference/region champion in the 200 & 500 Freestyle. Steven was also named team captain during his senior year at LCA. Steven finished out his swimming career for Liberty University Men's Swim Team.
Coach Steven began his coaching career at his local summer league team, The F.A.S.T. Makos, in 2016 during his sophmore year of high school. During this time, he operated as an assistant coach and was later promoted to Head Coach in 2020 where he continued to coach through the 2022 season. Steven was also the Head Coach for the Heritage High School Pioneers from 2021-2023 where he was able to help coach 6 VHSL Class 3 State Qualifiers & Finalists, which were the first VHSL State qualifiers Heritage High School had in 20 years. Coach Steven also operated as an assistant coach for Liberty University Men's Swim Team for two season while completing his Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science with a specialization in Therapeutic Science. Steven spent most of his time working with the sprint group where he focused on elite skill development as well as assisting the head coach in cultivating a competitive environment. During his time at Liberty, the men's team placed 5th and 2nd at the CCS National Championship. Coach Steven is also currently the Head Coach of the Hunting Hills Hound Dogs Swim Team during the Summer.
Outside of swimming, Coach Steven is a huge sports fan and loves to watch professional and college sports during his free time. He also enjoys hunting and fishing when he has the time.
Swim America Director/Mini Marlins Coach
Email
Susan came to the Marlins program in 2012 with over 25 years of swim instruction experience. She is the CCA Marlins Swim America program director and coaches the Mini Marlins 1 at both the CAC and Lancerlot sites. Susan adds a wealth of swimming knowledge and coaching insight to the Marlins family.
Susan grew up in the Roanoke Valley, swimming at the Elks Club summer league swim team. Her joy of swimming led her to swim coaching at various summer league programs throughout the Roanoke Valley, including the Elks Club, Countryside, and North Lakes Swim Clubs. Coach Susan swam in college while attending the University of Mary Washington, where she earned a BA degree in sociology and teaching.
In more recent years Susan has continued to offer private swim lessons and has coached for swim teams at Roanoke Catholic High School, Lord Botetourt High School, and Read Mountain Summer League Swim Team. She was named Roanoke Catholic Coach of the Year for the 2019-2020 school year. She
is ASCA Level 3 certified and a certified water safety instructor, lifeguard, as well as a swim instructor at the Botetourt Athletic Club.
Susan is married to Doug and is the mother of three : Jennifer, John and Juliana. Susan believes, "Through my experiences as a swimmer, instructor, and coach, I realize the life-long benefits of swimming and appreciate every level of swimming. Learning to swim is essential and takes patience on the part of the swimmer, parent and coach. It brings me great joy to see an "emerging" swimmer of any age."
Amina Serir
Director of Operations/Assistant Coach
Email
Amina Serir previously lead the Marlins as head coach from 2017-2024. She now currently operates as our Director of Operations and is an assistant coach on the pool deck, assisting with many of our groups as needed. During her tenure as head coach, she coached swimmers who swam at Junior Nationals, Futures, NCSAs, and Zones. While Coach Amina was at the helm, the team grew each season and even expanded to a second location at the Lancerlot Sports Complex. She is looking forward to continuing to be a part of the Marlins and continue to help build the team going forward.
Amina was born and raised in Algeria and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2021. She started swimming at the age of 5. at age 12, she qualified for her first international meet with the Algerian National Team. For 8 years she competed with the international team and trained with the top 15 swimmers in the country. During those years she had the opportunity to train with some of the best international coaches and compete against the top swimmers in the world. She competed in the Magherban Championships, African Games, Mare Nostrum, and Arab Games, among other top international meets.
Amina began coaching swimming at the age of 17 as an assistant coach to Algeria's international team, USMA, and her age-group team, NRDI. In 2010, Amina became the general manager of one of Algeria's elite swim teams, which required her to lead the coaching staff, run practices, manage the facilities, coordinate international travel, liaison with international athletes, and manage the team's general budget. Amina moved to the United States in 2015. She was the Aquatics Director at the Kirk Family YMCA from 2016-2017. In November of 2017, thanks to the influence of coach Louis Tudor, Amina joined the CCA Marlins as Head Swim Coach. She is currently ASCA level 3 certified. Amina graduated with honors from Algeria's University of High Business Education (EHEC) in 2010 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business and Marketing. She received a second Bachelor's Degree as a General Physical Instructor with a specialty in swimming and an Elite Athlete rank. In addition, Amina was recruited by Algeria to revive the sport of synchronized swimming and graduated from an intensive training program as a synchronized swimming instructior in 2014.
Silver Group Coach
Email
Coach Buffy joined the Marlins coaching staff in 2020 as the Silver group coach. Buffy started swimming competitively when she was 7 years old because she wanted to keep up with her older siblings. She swam for the Wilson Water Warriors (Wilson, NC) and Y-Spartaquatics Swim Club (Spartanburg, SC). She was an All-State swimmer for 7 years in South Carolina. She earned 23 All-American honors for the YMCA and was a Junior National qualifier in the 1,650 and 1,000 freestyle, and 100 and 200 backstroke. She was also a member of YSSC's YMCA National Championship team.
Buffy continued her swimming career at Virginia Tech. She was a three-year team captain and a four-year member of the All-Academic team. She specialized in distance freestyle and backstroke. She finished second in the 1650 freestyle at conference championships for two consecutive years. She also finished second in the 500 freestyle and seventh in the 200 backstroke at conference championships. Buffy graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Public Communications.
After graduating Buffy married her college sweetheart, Dave. Over the years, they have lived in eight different places. She returned to school and received her Elementary Education degree from Belmont Abbey College. She has taught elementary and preschool-aged children in various capacities, including coaching for three swim teams. She currently works for Roanoke County Public Schools. She is also one of the coaches for RVAA's Castle Rock swim team. Buffy is ASCA Level 2 certified.
Dave and Buffy have four girls, all who swim for the Marlins. In her free time, Buffy enjoys spending time with her family, reading, exercising, boating, and being outdoors.
Bronze Group Coach
Email
Coach Jamie joined the Marlins coaching staff in August of 2019 as the Bronze group coach. Jamie grew up in the Roanoke Valley and swam year-round with the Marlins. She competed nationally with the Marlins at meets such as Junior Nationals and the US Open. She continued her swimming career at Virginia Tech where she double majored in Wildlife Science and Biology. At Virginia Tech she specialized in sprint freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke. Jamie was named a member of the Big East All Academic Team all 4 years at Virginia Tech, competed at Senior Nationals in the 50 free, finished 4th at the Nike Cup in 2003, and had top ten finishes at the Big East Championships.
After finishing her college career, Jamie received her Master of Education degree. During this time she coached the Lord Botetourt High School swim team and was two time Blue Ridge District Coach of the Year. Jamie continued her coaching at Radford University as an assistant coach while finishing her degree in Education. She is currently one of the coaches for RVAA's Castle Rock swim team.
Jamie was a biology teacher for 4 years at Louisa Middle School in Charlottesville, VA before moving back to the Roanoke Valley. She currently works as a cardiac research scientist for Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. She has two children who swim for the Marlins. She loves hiking, horseback riding, and any outdoor adventure. She loves helping swimmers develop a passion for the sport and a love for the water.
Casey Barrett
Junior Age Group Coach
Email
Coach Casey joined the Marlins coaching staff in 2023 as the Junior Age Group coach after coaching in Danville for 5 years. Her passion for competitive swimming began at 4 years old, when she joined her first summer swim team in the Hampton Roads area. As an Age Group swimmer, her accolades include qualifying for Age Group Champs multiple times, achieving AAA times, anchoring a nationally ranked relay, and traveling to Vienna, Austria, in 2007 as a People to People Sports Ambassador. After 14 years of dedication to competitive swimming, Casey wrapped up her swimming career as a respected team captain at Western Branch High School.
In addition to sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with young swimmers on the CCA Marlins, Coach Casey is also the head coach for the Roanoke Country Club Stars swim team and the assistant coach for the North Cross Middle School swim team, where she also teaches Middle School English. Coach Casey believes in cultivating a positive environment where athletes can build self-confidence alongside their swimming skills. She's goal-oriented and brings a contagious energy to the pool deck, motivating her swimmers to reach their full potential.
Lancerlot Coach
Email
Coach Jayden joined the CCA Marlins coaching staff in 2021. He coached for Star City Aquatic Team for one year before the teams merged. He currently coaches the Silver, Gold and Senior groups at Lancerlot.
Jayden is in avid runner and ran both cross country and track at William Byrd High School. He is currently studying to become a physical therapist assistant at Virginia Western Community College. Jayden has played music for as long as he can remember and in his free time you will find him playing the drums, guitar and bass.
Jayden is an intergral part of the Marlins staff, helping out wherever he is needed. He looks forward to working with all the swimmers to help them become the best athletes they can be!
Head Masters Coach/Assistant Coach
Email
Coach Louis Tudor was the former Marlin’s Head Master’s Coach and also assisted with the multiple swim groups in the Marlins program. He will always be a part of the CCA Marlins family.
Louis grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina but was a long term resident of the Roanoke Valley where he was influential in the development of an unmeasurable number of swimmers of all ages and levels. Tudor was an ASCA Level II certified coach, Head Coach of the Roanoke Valley’s “City Swim” program, the Adult Swim Coordinator at the Kirk Family YMCA, the Adult Swim Coach at Hunting Hills Country Club, and the former Head Coach of Roanoke Catholic School where he garnered four Coach of the Year Awards over an eleven year tenure.
Louis also had an impressive swimming career. His notable age group career led to him earning a scholarship to swim for the University of North Carolina where he qualified for the NCAA’s and was a four year letterman. Coach Tudor earned multiple USMS Top Ten National finishes as well as USMS World rankings (4th in 50 free and a member of three 1st place ranking relays in 2000) and was an active participant and record holder in RVAA since 1985.
Tudor both loved an audience with and embraced the challenge of getting anyone faster no matter the age or talent level. As Tudor put it, "It's the reason I coach - the two way exchange of information between the coach and swimmer towards achieving a common goal that keeps me in it". Louis was married to his beautiful wife Jessica had four children: Erin, Nicholas, Shane, and Hannah (all of whom are former Marlins swimmers). He is deeply missed by the CCA Marlins organization. His dedication to the entire Roanoke swimming community has left a lasting legacy.
