The Team

Mark McGrann

Mark is the senior coach for the MSC at Ruyton program based at Ruyton Girls School in Kew. Born and raised in Ireland, Mark has coached several state and national medallist in Ireland and also Canada where he was the Head Coach of the Halifax Trojans Aquatic Club, one of the most successful junior programs in Canada prior to joining MSC Geelong in December 2022. With a strong focus on technical skills, swimmers from all levels will be able to achieve their goals under Mark’s leadership.

Julie-Anne Roberts

Julie-Anne Roberts has become is a highly regarded national level coach after a decorated career as a swimmer. Roberts joined MSC from Surrey Park, where she had coached several medallists at National, National Age and State Championships. During her earlier tenure at Tigersharks, Roberts was selected as the Australian Youth Trans-Tasman Team.

Liam Pope

Liam has over 5 years coaching experience having coached at Surrey Park and Trinity Grammar School.He is passionate about supporting others both in the water and out, and has a great rapport with his swimmers. He has a great eye for the technical aspects of swimming and makes this his primary goal with the swimmers in fine tuning their technique.

Lucky Weerakkody

Lucky is an accredited Silver Licenced Coach (currently termed as Advanced) and has over 30 years experience coaching swimmers from introductory to elite levels including serving as an Australian National Paralympic Team coach at the World Championships held at Durbin, South Africa in 2006 and Manchester UK in 2005. Lucky joins MSC Geelong after being the Head coach with Kwinana Swimming club in Western Australia since July 2021 where he was awarded the Swimming WA Development coach of the year 2022 in his first year. Prior to arriving in WA, he worked as Performance Manager and Assistant Head Coach at Geelong Swimming Club and is well know for his ability to develop stroke technique as well as giving back to the swimming community.

Kahlia Marsh

Kahlia has been involved in competitive swimming for 17 years and has 12 years of professional coaching experience. Kahlia was previously head coach at Doncaster-Templestowe Swim Club, and Director of Coaching at Boronia Penguins where she has helped 4 junior coaches become qualified. She believes in developing young athletes through extensive technique and skills work beginning with our juniors. She has a holistic approach to her coaching and focuses on creating incredible people through sport, not just great swimmers. She brings undeniable energy, dedication and commitment to developing a successful team.

Andy Warren

Having previously been the Head coach at Yarra Plenty Swimming Club and La Trobe University Swimming Club, Andy has a strong background with over 15 years experience coaching swimmers from introductory to elite including medallist at Australian Multi Class and Australian Age Championships.

Aynur Cagran

Aynur is a distinguished national athlete from Turkey, boasting 33 medals in swimming, free diving, dynamic apnea sprints with monofin, underwater rugby, and hockey. She holds dual degrees in "Sports Management" and "Physical Education and Sports Teaching" from Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University. As the assistant to the National Team Head Coach, Aynur brings extensive expertise in the technical analysis of swim strokes and the development of breathing workout programs. She was the first postgraduate student invited to teach the "Swim Sports" course at her university, reflecting her dedication to advancing swim education. In her role as a highly qualified fitness trainer for all age groups, Aynur employs postural analysis to create tailored stretching and conditioning programs that enhance mental fitness, teach visualization techniques, and develop concentration skills for swimmers, particularly during the pre-competition phase.

Trent Pirihi

Trent has 10 years of experience developing youth athletes to become stronger, faster, and more powerful across dozens of sports. Over the last 3 years, he has worked closely with age swimmers, earning a reputation for helping youth athletes achieve their goals of being selected for state, representative, and national programs in their chosen sports. As the Head Coach of Inner Athlete Performance in Cheltenham, Trent assists individuals in returning to their sport post-injury and enhancing their sporting performance. He is passionate about working with youth, creating a facility and service he wished he had growing up. His coaching philosophy focuses on “filling in the gaps” and addressing the needs of athletes to ensure they can compete at their best.

Billy Zebra

Billy is a highly experienced strength and conditioning coach with an extensive background in elite youth pathways across football, swimming, surfing, and more. Over the past 6 years, Billy has guided many athletes in achieving their personal goals, focusing on athletic development and injury rehabilitation. Billy strives to create a fun, inclusive, and hardworking gym environment, bringing out the best in each athlete. He also works at Inner Athlete Performance in Cheltenham, supporting athletes across all sports to advance in their training and pursue excellence in their sport.