Coaching Staff
Marc Cahalane
Director of Coaching Development / Owner
MARC CAHALANE
Marc has been the owner and Head Coach of AFD since 2007. Since 2007 AFD has accomplished the following...
USA Olympic Team Trials
•2 Qualifiers
USA Senior National Championships as of 2022
•7th Place Men’s Team (2019)
•11th Place Combined Men’s and Women’s Team (2019)
•2 USA Senior National Silver Medals
•2 USA Senior National Bronze Medals
•20 USA Senior National Championship Qualifiers
•17 USA Senior National Championship Finalists
•6 USA Synchro National Championship Qualifiers
•2 USA Synchro National Championship Finalists
USA Junior Nationals as of 2022
•2019 – Boys Team (National Runners Up)
•2019 – Combined Team (7th)
•2018 – Boys Team (National Champions)
•2018 – Combined Team (7th)
•2017 – Boys Team (5th)
•2017 – Boys Synchro Team (8th)
•2017 – Girls Synchro Team (6th)
•2017 – Combined Synchro Team (7th)
•3 High Performance USA National Junior Team Members
•6 USA Junior National Gold Medals
•4 USA Junior National Silver Medals
•8 USA Junior National Bronze Medals
•4 Junior World Championship Trials Qualifiers
•8 Junior World Championship Trials Finalists – 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
•8 USA Synchro National Championship Finalists
•Over 60 Junior National Qualifiers and Finalists
OHSAA Accomplishments as of 2020
•10 State Champions, 9 silver, 8 bronze
•157 State qualifiers, 119 State finalists and 27 total medalists
•2019 All-American Champion and numerous All-American Athletes
•Placed 52 athletes in 37 colleges and universities to date and counting
International Coaching Experience
•2023 Pan-American Games 4th place finisher
•2019 World University Games Qualifier – Naples, Italy
•2019 Canada Cup Qualifier – Calgary, Canada
•2018 Junior World Championships Qualifier – Kiev, Ukraine
•2018 Junior World Championships – Team USA Coach
•2017 Junior Pan American Games, 2 Qualifiers – Victoria, British Columbia Canada
•2017 Junior Pan American Games – Team USA Coach - Victoria, British Columbia Canada
•2017 Dresden Youth International Meet Qualifier – Dresden, Germany
•2017 Dresden Youth International Meet – Team USA Coach
•2015 Junior Pan American Games Qualifier - Matanzas, Cuba
•2015 Canada Camo International Invitational meet – Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalist
Marc was named the Head Diving Coach and the University of Akron in 2020. In his first year the Zips qualified multiple divers to the NCAA Zone Championship Meet and to the A-final of the MAC Championship Meet in addition to climbing the rankings on the Akron Top-10 all-time scores for both 1 meter and 3 meter records.
Dan Miller
Dan is AFD's longest tenured assistant coach, joining the club in 2009. Since then Dan has coached all levels at AFD and was named Director of High School Diving in 2020, and Business Manager in 2021.
Dan's first high school coaching position was at Hudson High School. Since taking over at Hudson in the 2010-2011 season, Hudson has advanced 11 different divers to the State Championship Meet with finishes including a State Champion, two 2nd places, a 3rd place, two 4th places and 3 other podium finishes, with 5 other finishes earning All-Ohio honors. Hudson has placed 9 different divers on to NCAA Division 1 rosters in that same time.
Dan has also recently served as the Meet Director for the 2022 Region 5 Championships and 2023 Zone C Championships, in addition to being the Head Referee at the 2023 and 2024 Region 5 Championships.
In addition to Dan's responsibilities with AFD, he previously served as a World Aquatics Certified Diving Judge, being 1 of only 39 World Aquatics judges in the USA and 405 world wide at the time. Additionally, he serves on the OHSAA Diving Judge Education Committee as the Northeast District Coach Representative. Dan was chosen by USA Diving to serve as a judge at the International Training Camp leading up to the 2023 World Cup in Montreal, Canada and multiple Jr. National Championships.
Dan Miller
Assoc. Head Coach & Dir. of HS Diving
Curtis Roden
Curtis Roden
Associate Head Coach
Curtis joined the AFD coaching staff in 2019 after finishing his collegiate diving career at Cleveland State University. While at CSU, Curtis was an NCAA Zone Championships qualifier and finished as high as 3rd place in the Horizon League Championship Meet. Since joining AFD, Curtis has had the opportunity to work with all of our program groups from the Developmental divers to our Red, White and Blue teams. During the 2020-2021 high school season, Curtis took over the University School Head Diving Coach position and qualified two divers to the OHSAA State Championship Meet.
In addition to coaching, Curtis is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree at Cleveland State University.
Ron Navarra
Ron joined the AFD coaching staff in 2016 as the Owner & Head Coach of American Flyers Diving Youngstown. Ron is a Youngstown State University graduate with a degree in Human Performance and Exercise Science, Sports Management curriculum and has been coaching diving since 2002. Before coming to AFD, Ron spent 13 years as an assistant coach with Timberbrook Dive Club and the Youngstown Area Diving Academy.
In his time as a high school diving coach, Ron has coached divers from 18 different Ohio and Pennsylvania schools, including: 49 State Championship Qualifiers, 2 State Champions, 3 State Runners-up, and has been voted the Northeast Aquatic Conference Diving Coach of the Year 10 times.
Ron is currently the Head Diving Coach for Boardman High School, Canfield High School, Crestview High School, Poland Seminary High School, and Warren G Harding High School.
Ron Navarra
Head Coach - AFD Youngstown
Assistant Coaches
Emily Gentithes
Assistant Coach
Emily joined the AFD coaching staff in 2021.
She began her coaching career in 2008 in Evanston, IL where she coached countless club athletes to USA Diving Junior and Senior National Championship meets, helped develop a youth diving program, and worked as the team’s Program Director. During this time, Emily was also the assistant diving coach for Northwestern University.
Emily started competing with USA Diving in the 11&U age group and continued to dive throughout high school and college. Emily was a two time IHSA State Finalist, JO National Qualifier, collegiate record holder at Colgate University, and performed in MANY diving shows...you may have seen her perform at Cedar Point in the summer of 2005 or 2006.
Bela Noble
Assistant Coach
Bela (Elizabeth) joined the AFD coaching staff in 2023 following a successful freshman season as a diver at the University of Akron.
Before joining the Zips, Bela was the 2022 OSHAA Division 1 State Champion as a senior, competing for Walnut Hills High School. She was a two-time state meet qualifier, a two-time ECC conference champion, a two-time NISCA All-American currently holds the 6 and 11 dive records at Walnut Hills.
As a Zip, Bela has scored valuable diving points at the MAC Championship meet as both a freshman and a sophomore, helping contribute to a Zips MAC Championship team title in her first two seasons. Additionally she has been a NCAA Diving Zone Championship qualifier both seasons and has already secured another Zone qualifying score in her first meet of her junior season.
Katie Carter
Assistant Coach
Katie is an AFD alumni (Euclid - 2005) where she was a 3-time OHSAA State Championship Meet qualifier finishing as high as 4th as a Senior. In 2006 Katie participated in an international training camp hosted in Beijing and Xi'an China. Katie dove collegiately at the University of Akron where she was a 4-time NCAA Zone Championship Meet qualifier and 3-time MAC Champion. In 2009 she was named the MAC Diver of the Year and the University of Akron Swimming and Diving Team MVP. As a senior level diver, Katie qualified for multiple finals at the USA Diving Sr. Nationals finishing as high as 4th in 2010 and making semi-finals at the USA Diving 2012 Olympic Team Trials finishing 17th.
Katie began coaching with AFD in 2016 and was recently named the Head Diving Coach at University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio. In her first year at University School, Katie coached 2 divers to top-10 finishes at the OHSAA State Championship Meet. In 2023, all 4 University School divers qualified to the State Championships, finishing with two All-Ohio honors included the Div. II State Runner-up.
In 2024 Katie was inducted in the University of Akron Varsity "A" Hall of Fame, becoming the first diver ever inducted and only the 3rd member of the women's swimming and diving program.
Kenzie Dunigan
Assistant Coach
Originally from Orlando, FL, Kenzie joined the AFD coaching staff in 2022 while a member of the University of Akron diving team.
A multiple time YMCA Nationals qualifier and USA Diving Zone Championship qualifier as a junior-level diver, Kenzie trained under two-time US Olympian, World Champion, and World Cup Champion Mark Ruiz.
In her time at Akron, Kenzie has twice been named to the Academic All-MAC Team and as a senior will be competing for the Zips as they attempt to win their fouth MAC Champiosnship title in a row, and 11th overall.
Harley Bodziony
Assistant Coach
AFD alumni (Nordonia - 2019) Harley joined the coaching staff in 2024. Harley dove for Coach Marc and Coach Dan during her time at Nordonia and was a multiple-time District Championship qualifier.
Harley will be working with out Learn To Dive, Future Flyers, and HS Varsity groups now that she's back on deck with AFD.
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