Coaches
Mickey Murad
Co-Founder
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Mickey Murad has been involved in swimming since an early age. He learned to swim before he could walk and began his competitive career at the age of 5. He quickly advanced through the ranks of San Diego age group swimming, winning several Junior Olympic Championships along the way. His boundaries went beyond the pool lanes as he developed interests in water polo, surfing, bodysurfing and open water swim competitions. As part of the San Diego Jr. Lifeguard program he excelled at their local, regional and national championships, becoming national champion in the open water event. By the age of 12 he was a top southwest regional swimmer, and throughout high school was a multiple CIF champion and All-American. During this time he won 3 Jr. National titles in distance freestyle events, and was invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Mickey continued his passion for open water racing, winning several local races including Coronado, Solana Beach, Oceanside and the La Jolla Rough Water. He accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley where he met and established a close friendship with First Wave co-founder Matt Macedo. During his time at Cal he was a world ranked distance swimmer and achieved All-American status. Mickey eventually returned to San Diego and assisted renowned Head Coach Jeff Pease with North Coast Aquatics, one of the premier club swim teams in the U.S. After a brief hiatus exploring the “real world” (working for LPL Financial), Mickey has returned to his true passion, the world of swimming.
Matt Macedo
Co-Founder
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Matt Macedo started swimming competitively at the age of four and was an accomplished age group swimmer. In 1999, he was selected Pacific Swimming’s Swimmer of the Year. Swimming for the University of California, Berkeley at his first Nationals in 1999, he was third in the 50 meter free, earning Rookie of the Meet honors with a time that placed him 18th fastest in the world. While at Cal, he was a two-time Division 1 NCAA champion and was fourth in the 100 meter free at the 2000 NCAA championships. A sixth place finish in the 50 meter free and a ninth place finish in the 100 meter free at the 2000 Olympic Trials highlight his illustrious career. Later, he represented the USA as a member of the 2001 World University Games team competing in Beijing. In 2003, Matt graduated from Cal as a twenty-time All American with a degree in Public Policy/Public Health. In 2004, Matt joined North Coast Aquatics in San Diego as senior assistant and senior development coach. In 2007, he coached at the Race Club in Florida, along with head coach Mike Bottom. There, Matt worked with the World Team, twenty-two American and international elite athletes who trained to qualify for berths on their countries’ 2008 Olympic swimming teams. Thirteen of these swimmers achieved that goal, among them gold medalist and world champion Nathan Adrian, silver medalist Milorad Cavic, and world champion Duje Draganja. Matt was named head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Swim Team and his swimmer George Bovell placed 11th in the 50 free. Currently, Matt is assistant swim coach at the University of California, San Diego.