Coach Jackson was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he competed for the Council Bluffs Swim Club. He was a two-time IHSAA state champion (100- and 200-yard freestyle), two-time NISCAA Automatic All-American, three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, and three-time Midwestern LSC Swimmer of the Year. Jackson went on to compete for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in college, where he competed at the Big Ten championships. During his time as a Hawkeye, he achieved two top-ten Iowa all-time top performances in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly, in addition to being a part of a school record in the 800 freestyle relay. Jackson earned his bachelor's degree in Sport and Recreation Management in the summer of 2021. He also earned his master's degree in the same field of study in the winter of 2022.

Coach Jackson accepted the position as Head Coach of the Linn-Mar Swim Team in August of 2022. In his tenure, he has been the Lead Coach for the Gold, Platinum, and Diamond practice groups. During his time, he has coached multiple All Star and Zones qualifiers, IASI championship high point winners, and top ten swims in the country. Jackson has served in leadership roles across the Iowa Swimming LSC, serving as a coach at the Central Zones Championships and at the Inaugural Iowa Senior Altitude Select Swimming Camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and as a member of the Senior Swim Coaches' Committee. Prior to his time at LMST, Jackson coached at the Council Bluffs Swim Club, the Iowa Flyers Swim Club, and at the Iowa Hawkeye Swim Camp.

Jackson currently resides in North Liberty with his wife, Alleyna, who also swam for the University of Iowa, and his Miniature Schnauzer named Boots.

Coach Julia began swimming at the old Downtown Y pool at 6 months old. One of her first memories is jumping off the diving board into her mother’s arms and swimming down to join the Waterbabies class. The rest of her youth was spent at the pool(s), swimming and synchronized swimming.     

Coach Julia graduated from Linn Mar HS in 1992. Vowing to escape the snow forever, she fled to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. At USC she was in Thematic Option (General Ed Honors,) Omicron Delta Epsilon, URSC, and was President of the Academic Honors Assembly. Coach Julia graduated in 1996, cum laude with a BA in International Relations and a BA in Economics. She was named to the Order of Troy at USC. In 1998 Julia graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Masters of Economic Science in International Relations. She speaks German, and some French.   

Julia has taught swimming for many years. She began officially coaching club swim in 2016 with Cedar Rapids Aquatics Association, later Eastern Iowa Swimming Federation. Since 2021 she has been coaching at LMST. She took over as Silver Lead Coach in May 2022.   

Julia is married to Jim Wittnebel. Jim can often be found at the timing table as an AO. They have three sons: Alex, Peter and Greg.  Besides club swim, the entire family is involved with Scouting. Julia, Jim, Alex and Peter are all Open Water PADI certified scuba divers.   

Wilson grew up near Galesburg, IL where he started swimming as an age group swimmer through the YMCA. He would swim through the summer months with the Lake Bracken Country Club near his hometown of Cameron, IL. He attended Galesburg High School where he set a school record in the 50 freestyle, set multiple pool records throughout his conference and was a state qualifier. He was also a multiple sport athlete where he participated in Cross Country and Track where he was a conference champ in the 800 meter run, a state qualifier and member of the second place 2015 state track team. He swam his Freshman year of college at Eastern Michigan University as a sprint freestyler but transferred due to a program cut after the 2018 season. He swam one more year at a small private school in Wisconsin where he placed top 3 in the CCIW conference in the 50 free and 100 free. Wilson graduated with a degree in Philosophy and a M.Sc. in Forest Modeling from SUNY ESF in Syracuse, WI.

Wilson began assistant coaching in high school with his summer country club team. He would get in the water and help with the very young swimmers. Through undergrad, he would do private swim lessons with some hometown swimmers over the summer months. During his Master’s degree, he was the head coach for the Syracuse Club Swim Team at Syracuse University.

Wilson currently resides in Hiawatha where he is working part-time and taking classes to pursue a PhD in Statistics. He lives with his girlfriend, who is a Cedar Rapids native, Mackinzee Macho and enjoys spending time with her, fishing, downtime and spending some time with his family in Illinois.

Sheppard was born and raised in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. He started swimming competitively at 8 and has been at it for 12 years. Sheppard swam for the YMCA MACR Sharks for 11 years and this past year for LMST.

Sheppard started coaching 3 years ago with MACR and this past year with LMST. He is a USA Core Certified Swim Coach, has his Surge Strength and Conditioning Training Certification and is also an American Swimming Coaches Association Member Level 1.

Sheppard has also been a lesson instructor for 5 years with experience at the City of Cedar Rapids, the YMCA and Linn Mar Aquatic Center. 

Sheppard is enrolled at Southwest Baptist University, a Division ll school, where he will begin pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science in the fall. He will also be continuing his swimming career there.

Ozgur (Oz) Celik brings over 25 years of coaching experience and expertise in sports physiology to the Linn-Mar Swim Team. He holds a Ph.D. in Sports Physiology and has trained with world-class coaches such as Bob Bowman, Dimitri Mancevic, Stefano Nurra, and Peter Mankoc, coaching athletes across Turkey, Japan, and the United States, giving him a truly global perspective on athlete development.

Before LMST, Oz was Head Coach of the METU Sharks in Turkey, guiding swimmers to national-level success. He also completed an intensive coaching practicum at NBAC under Bob Bowman, working with elite athletes including Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, and Jessica Long. At NBAC and other international programs, Oz coached swimmers across a wide spectrum—from high-performance Olympic-level athletes to groups equivalent to today’s Diamond Group at LMST—giving him extensive experience across all stages of competitive swimming. He also spent a year as a visiting scholar at the University of Delaware, volunteering as a swim coach and contributing to the university’s swimming program.

A former triathlon national team athlete, Oz represented Turkey at the European Championship and twice at the World Universities Championship, and he still enjoys local triathlons when time allows.

Oz’s coaching philosophy emphasizes discipline, teamwork, and Long-Term Athlete Development. He currently leads the Diamond Group in the Train-to-Train phase, focusing on increasing swimmers’ tolerance for longer, more intense, and higher-quality practices. This phase builds endurance, technique, and resilience, helping athletes approach challenging workouts with confidence.

Outside the pool, Oz loves spending time with his wife and three daughters, skiing, gravel cycling, and exploring new countries and cultures. While his wife moved to Iowa for her job at Collins Aerospace, Oz and his family have fallen in love with Iowa and the Linn-Mar community, embracing it with energy and enthusiasm. He is passionate about helping swimmers develop as athletes and individuals, combining fun, motivation, and growth in practices.

George was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he competed for LMST and EISF specializing in Sprint Freestyle and Beast Stroke. Additionally, George also represented the Cedar Rapids Washington Warriors where he would earn multiple state medals and multiple All-Conference, All-State and All-American honors. After high school George swam for Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO. While swimming for the Mavericks, he was a member of 4 consecutive RMAC Championships teams (2019-2022) and earned multiple All-Conference, All-American, and All-Academic honors. George graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in the spring of 2022. He also minored in Exercise Science and Coaching & Officiating.

George began his coaching career during his senior year of college as an assistant at Maverick Aquatics in Grand Junction, CO. The past three seasons George has worked as a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s swim teams at Washington High School (2 Years) and Linn-Mar High School (1 Year). George also coaches private lessons and runs strength and conditioning programs with high school and college athletes during the summer.

George currently resides in Cedar Rapids where I coach and work in sales for my family's business Terry-Durin Co. I have two older sibling Lauren and Nick Durin. Some of his interests outside of the pool are spear fishing, hunting, traveling, adventuring, and spending time with friends and family.

This coach is awesome!

This coach is awesome!