Alto Coaching Staff

Joey Sementelli is the Head Coach of Alto Swim Club and Lead Coach for the National Group. Joey has been instrumental in developing Alto into one of the best club teams in the country. In 2019, Alto won 1st place at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championship. Under Joey’s guidance, Alto swimmers rank among the best nationwide each seaosn and have represented the team at the highest level meets locally and internationally, including Olympic Team Trials and the Olympic Games.

Learn More about Coach Joey Here

Laura Mitchell is the Head Coach of Alto Swim Club and Lead Coach for Senior 1. Laura has worked to elevate the team's performance and drive significant growth and success. In 2019, Alto won 1st place at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championship. In local championship meets, Laura has coached Far Western and Junior Olympic champions and Far Western and Pacific Swimming record holders. Prior to Alto, Laura spent 8 years with Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics as Head Coach and Owner of PASA (Stanford Site).

Learn More about Coach Laura Here

Dan Schemmel works primarily with the collegiate & post-graduate swimmers. Dan is the Head Coach of Stanford Men’s Swimming. Dan has led Stanford to multiple top 10 NCAA Championships and 2 Stanford swimmers competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Learn More about Coach Dan Here

Richie Barth
Head Age Group Coach

Richie Barth joined the Alto staff in 2022 as Alto's Head Age Group Coach and the Lead Coach for Age Group Gold and Age Group Silver. He has over 13 years of coaching experience internationally in Austria, Switzerland and California. Before moving out to California, Richie was a Senior coach at Bern Swimming Club (Switzerland), the Team Leader of Education and Training at Campus Sursee Sports Arena and Head Coach at Swim Team Lucerne. He has coached athletes to 22 Top 3 finishes at the Swiss Junior Age-Group Championships, 4 Top 3 finishes at Swiss Championships, and one Swiss National Single-Age Record (50 Freestyle, Womens 16-year-old). In the spring of 2022, Richie fulfilled a dream of his by traveling around California for 3 months, visiting swim teams from San Diego all the way up to the Bay Area. He loved having the chance to visit and observe more than twenty club and college programs and interact and learn from coaches at every level!

Alec Scott
National

Alec Scott has been with Alto since 2018 and is one of the Lead Coaches for the National Group. He was also an Assistant with the Stanford Men's Swimming & Diving team from 2019-2024, helping guide the team to three top-10 NCAA finishes and coaching three Olympians. At Alto, Alec has coached swimmers to over 100 Junior National cuts and 5 Olympic Trials qualifications. The team has earned 8 Sectional titles and won the 2019 USA Swimming National Championship. 

During his time with the Stanford men’s team, Alec helped coach 3 Olympians, Andrei Minakov, Ron Polosnky and Jonathan Tan. In NCAA competition, he helped Stanford to over 50 All-America honors and three top ten NCAA team finishes in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He also helped coach Andrei Minakov to the NCAA title in the 100 Butterfly in 2022.

Alec holds a degree in Journalism and brings a thoughtful, competitive approach to coaching.

Dustin Fukuda
Senior

Dustin Fukuda is in his fourth year coaching with Alto as the Lead Coach of Senior 2 and assisting in all aspects of the team development. Dustin joined the Alto coaching staff with 12 years of coaching experience, most recently a Senior coach at Punahou Aquatics in Hawaii. In 5 years with Punahou Aquatics, Dustin developed multiple Junior National and National level qualifiers, Future's finalists and a USA Swimming Scholastic All American. Multiple swimmers ranked top 10 in the United States in their respective age groups. Additionally, Dustin served as a physical education teacher for Punahou School. Prior to coaching with Punahou Aquatics, Dustin was a Senior Coach at Kamehameha Swim Club for 5 years. Kamehameha won every Age Group and Senior Championship meet in Hawaii during his time with the team. Swimmers set a National Age Group record for a 15-16 year old boys relay and posted multiple nationally ranked swims. The club ranked as a United States Silver medal throughout the course of his tenure. Dustin competed at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He competed four years at Conference USA Championships and qualified for USA Swimming Nationals.

Kara Guenther
Lead Age Group Coach

Kara Guenther is the Lead Age Group Coach at the Alpine Pool. She was previously the Lead Coach for Alto’s Age Group Bronze and Age Group 2. She has been instrumental in developing Alto into one of the top Age Group programs in Pacific Swimming. Prior to Alto, Kara coached at Lakeside Aquatic Club where she coached multiple 12 & Under Groups. While at Lakeside, Kara excelled in coaching and developing multiple groups with Age Group Program at The Colony, Texas site. Lakeside has been recognized as a USA Swimming Gold Medal club. Kara grew up in the Dallas Metroplex and swam with Lakeside Aquatic Club. Kara had a successful swimming career with Lakeside Aquatic Club and competed at multiple Junior National Championship Meets. She continued her swimming success at the University of Wyoming where she was a finalist at the Mountain West Conference in 2017. Kara graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition.

Logan McLaughlin
Lead Age Group Coach

Logan McLaughlin joined Alto from Indiana Swim Club, where he served as Head Coach and led the team to significant growth, including a top-three finish at the Indiana Senior State Championships and the development of the club’s first national team. He brings experience across all age levels. Prior to Indiana, Logan served as an Assistant Coach at Lawrence Swim Team, where he led the 10 and Under program with creativity and a focus on engagement. He also coached both the girls’ and boys’ swim teams at Hudson High School in Wisconsin, guiding varsity and JV athletes. His coaching journey began with Mako Aquatics, where he coached middle school athletes. Logan swam collegiately at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he was a four-time conference champion. He holds degrees in Mathematics and Civil Engineering, and applies a strong analytical approach to athlete development and season planning.

Melina Gold
Age Group

Melina Gold is in her second year coaching with Alto as the Lead Coach for Discovery 2 and Discovery 3. Melina joined Alto with over 10 years of experience teaching and coaching swimming. Most recently, Melina was Head Coach of the Mavericks Swim Club and the Half Moon Bay High School swim team for 2 years. During her time with the Mavericks, she coached athletes ages 6 -18 and helped athletes achieve multiple Junior Olympics and Far Western qualifying times. Melina also led the Half Moon Bay High School Cougars to winning two consecutive PAL - Ocean Division Championships. Prior to coaching with the Mavericks, Melina coached at the Bulldogs Swim Club for 5 years and helped grow the team's 12 and under developmental and competitive age groups. Melina’s love for swimming began at the age of 6. She was the age group national record holder in the 100m and 200m breaststroke for 6 consecutive years in her native country Bulgaria. She became an Olympic hopeful at the age of 14 with strong focus toward the Seoul 1988 Olympics. Melina is an American Swim Coaches Association member. In her spare time, Melina has been practicing real estate as a licensed realtor since 2015.

Michael Sheppard
Age Group

Michael Sheppard is in his first year coaching with Alto Swim Club, bringing over a decade of coaching and competitive swimming experience. He is the Lead Coach for Age Group 3 and Co-Lead Coach for Age Group 1. Most recently, Michael served as Head Age Group Coach at North Coast Aquatics (2021-2024), where he guided swimmers aged 9-14 to multiple team records, SWAGGR wins, and a 1st place finish at the 2024 SDI Age Group Championships. Before his time at North Coast, Michael coached at Roadrunner Aquatics (2018-2021) as a Senior and Age Group Coach. Additionally, Michael also contributed to collegiate swimming programs, serving as an Assistant Swim Coach at California State University Bakersfield (2018-2019) and Rhodes College (2016-2018). Michael began his coaching career at Tucson Ford Aquatics (2014-2016), where he coached swimmers of all ages, from young age group athletes to masters.

His passion for swimming stems from his own competitive background. A former standout swimmer, Michael competed for the University of Arizona, earning NCAA All-American honors and representing the US on the Junior National and World Youth Teams. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Arizona. Coach Michael is passionate about inspiring young athletes to reach their full potential.

Andreas Harb
Senior Prep and Age Group

Andreas Harb comes to Alto with over 9 years of coaching experience at the age group and senior levels. Andreas is the Lead Coach for Senior Prep and Discovery 1. Prior to Alto, Andreas was most recently the Lead Coach of the Junior Group at Charles River Aquatics in Wellesley, Massachusetts. During Andreas' time with the team, CRA placed Top-3 at multiple 14 & Under New England Championship Meets. Andreas studied Exercise Physiology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell where he started to find his passion for coaching working with a pre-competitive group with Aces Aquatics. Later, he coached part-time with his former club team, Executive Swim Club, and accepted a full-time position after graduation. He worked with athletes of all ages and levels before joining the Charles River Aquatics coaching staff in 2021, where he has primarily worked with age group program athletes ages 11-14 as well as taking a lead role with the swim school program.   Andreas brings passion for the sport and enthusiasm for developing young athletes both in and out of the water. During training, he enjoys guiding athletes through technical improvements and loves to create unique and challenging workouts; especially ones that incorporate IM! When not at the pool, Andreas enjoys a variety of outdoor activities with friends including hiking, skiing, kayaking and disc golf.

Michael Skarzyske
Age Group

Michael Skarzyske brings over 20 years of experience teaching and coaching swimmers of all ages. Before joining Alto, he led the youth swim team at Flying Fish Swim School and helped develop the program’s instructional philosophy and technical standards. He played a key role in training and mentoring swim instructors at all levels. Michael is passionate about building confidence, teaching strong fundamentals, and helping athletes foster a lifelong love for the sport. He has also served in youth education and community engagement roles at Belle Haven Elementary School.

McKaela Glanville
Senior and Age Group

McKaela Glanville is an Assistant Coach with the Senior and Age Group programs and has been coaching with Alto for 7 years. McKaela recently graduated from Wellesley College where she was a member of the Wellesley Swimming & Diving team. She finished her collegiate career having served as Team Captain, as a CSC Academic All-American, and as a NCAA qualifier. McKaela grew up swimming on Alto and was a Team Captain in her senior year. McKaela made the All-Time Top 10 performance lists at ALTO in 8 individual swims (ages 12 - 18) and was a part of four team record setting relays. Off the pool deck, McKaela is working toward a degree in nursing. 

Michael Hung
Age Group

Michael Hung comes to Alto with 7 years of coaching experience. He works primarily with Age Group 3 and Age Group 1 and he assists with all levels of the Age Group Program. Michael started his coaching career with Kaneohe Swim Association in Hawaii, where he worked with athletes of all ages and levels including Hawaii Age Group Long Course State Championships qualifiers. From 2018 to 2022, he assisted with the Age Group and Senior programs at Punahou Aquatics. Michael is a current member of the American Swimming Coaches Association and he is involved in local swimming governance and organization.

Audrey Hsi
Age Group

Audrey Hsi is starting her first year coaching at Alto working primarily with Age Group 1. Audrey was a student-athlete at Middlebury College as a four-year member of the Middlebury Swimming & Dive team. At Middlebury, she double majored in Biology and Anthropology. In addition to coaching at Alto, she is a PhD student in the Earth System Science Department at Stanford University.

Josh Rines
Senior

Josh Rines joined the Alto coaching staff in 2019 and he has worked with both the Age Group and Senior programs. He currently assists at all levels of the team. Prior to coaching with Alto, Josh was an assistant coach with the Executive Swim Club in Manchester, NH. He was also involved in managing and coaching the Bates College Swim Camp in Lewiston, Maine. He has worked with swimmers of all ages and ability levels, from young age groupers to elite high schoolers. Josh graduated from Bates College where he was a student athlete and member of the swim team. During his college career, Josh was a two-year captain, school record holder, and helped lead the team into the NCAA national rankings for the first time. He graduated from Bates with a BS in mathematics and physics, and a concentration in art and visual culture. In addition to coaching, Jos is currently a PhD student at Stanford in Geophysics.

Aleksei Averchenko
Age Group

Aleksei Averchenko is an experienced swim coach and former elite swimmer with 25 years in competitive swimming. Coach Aleksei was a 12-time NCAA DII All-American, he set school records at Fresno Pacific University (FPU) and Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and was named PCSC Best Athlete in 2018-2019. He was also a member of the Russian National Junior Team (2010-2012) and a Masters Nationals multi-medalist. Coach Aleksei now focuses on developing young swimmers through technical excellence, endurance, and disciplined training.

Gaku Ito
Alto Team Manager

Gaku Ito is a Team Manager for Alto Swim Club. He brings nearly two decades of coaching and leadership experience. Gaku has coached with multiple local clubs, including Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics and the Pacifica Sea Lions. He excels in team operations, athlete development, and event coordination. With a strong background as a Head Coach, Masters Coach, Meet Director, and Zone Vice Chair, Gaku’s expertise in planning, organization, and communication supports Alto’s pursuit of becoming the premier swim team in the nation. His leadership on and off the deck ensures excellence at all levels of the club.