Mission Valley Aquatics Center hires new coach

By Kylie Richter

Lake County Leader

The Mission Valley Aquatics swim team is excited to introduce a new coach into their program. 

Randy Folker is taking over the coaching duties and starting full time at the aquatics center. The director of the center, Ali Bronsdon, has been the interim coach for the last nine months.

This week marks the beginning of the summer swim team season. Bronsdon said she isn’t sure what the team is going to be yet. “It depends on how many kids come out, and how competitive they want to be. We have some kids who are very competitive at the state level.”

Folker, better know as Coach Randy, comes from Hawaii, where he spent the last eight years. During his time there, he helped coach the University of Hawaii swim team while working on his graduate degree. 

The laid-back swim coach said he was looking for wide-open spaces with fewer crowds when he applied to work at the aquatic center. “It seemed like a good fit after talking to Ali and other board members,” he said.

Before Hawaii, Folker lived in a number of different locations where he coached other swim teams. He also spent time in the United States Coast Guard. He said one of his favorite things to do is surf. “I have a terrible surfing addiction, and I just haven’t been able to get rid of it,” he said.

Among Folker’s goals for the summer swim team is to create a fun and creative environment. “We want to start laying the foundation for a successful swim culture in Polson,” he said. “I told the parents that I want to see what Polson needs, wants, desires, and I will try to fill that role. I want to be what the community needs and right now it needs to get a summer program going.” He added that they want to focus on fitness and the technical side of swimming. “We also want to encourage the younger kids, especially, to just be athletes,” he said. “We want them to be swimmers, but we realize that some of our best swimmers will also be some of the best football players or baseball players or basketball players, and we want kids to experience all of that.”

For kids who decide they want to pursue a college swimming career, Folker said they can help. “If it’s your goal to swim at the highest levels, hey, we know how to do that,” he said. “It’s not voodoo or black magic that makes national level swimmers. It’s hard work and science, and if they provide the hard work, we’ll provide the science.”

Folker will also be helping with teaching lifeguards and other swim programs, including the masters program. Many of the masters swimmers also compete in triathlons, something that Folker used to participate in. “I like to swim, but mostly I swim so that I can surf longer,” he said.