- Meet our Coaches:
Ron Chlasta
Ron Chlasta
Ron Chlasta is an ASCA Level 4 coach who has inspired competitive swimmers from age-group to the masters’ level. As a club coach, Ron produced numerous high school All-Americans, USA Top 16 ranked swimmers, and Olympic Trials qualifiers. As a Masters swimming coach, Ron has worked with and motivated all levels of swimmers from beginners to USMS national qualifiers, as well as masters’ world record holders. Ron owns and operates the Sea Star Swim School in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Prior to his move to Tennessee, Ron was a partner in BottomLine Aquatics, a company designed to combine the experience and expertise of world class and Olympic swimmers throughout the United States and share it with the swimming community world wide. Ron has had the privilege of conducting clinics with the national teams of Korea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Guatemala.
Ron enjoys participating in Masters swimming and has placed top 10 in the world championships and consistently places in the top 10 at Master’s national events. His love of open water swimming will allow him to bring a unique approach to Endurance Athlete Base Camp–he has won several of the nation’s most prestigious open water events in his age group at every distance from 1-5 miles. Some of these titles include:
Del Mar Days 1 mile (course record), San Diego, CA
Santa Monica Breakwater 1 mile, Los Angeles, CA
Semana Nautica 2 mile, Santa Barbara, California
Castaic Lake 2 mile (national championship) Los Angeles, CA
Tour of the Buoys 5 mile (National Championship- 7th place) LaJolla, CA
Ron’s favorite annual open water event is Chicago’s Big Shoulders, where his highest finish was runner-up in his age-group division.
Barry Baird
Barry Baird
Barry is a true “endurance geek”. His passion for triathlons and helping others achieve their athletic goals was a strong influence in the establishment of his own business in 2007. The business is appropriately called Endurance Geeks and their services include everything from metabolic testing to coaching multi-sport athletes.
Barry has been competing in triathlons of all distances for seven years and this includes three Ironman finishes. Although training and racing in triathlons is a passion, his true enjoyment is educating and assisting fellow athletes improve in the sport. He has a strong foundation in the field of fitness and holds a BS degree in Exercise Science, a MS degree in Occupational Safety and Health, and is a Certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise.
When not immersed in training or racing, Barry makes family a top priority. He has a very supportive wife and two daughters whom are active in swim, dance, and gymnastics. A triathlon is a family event for the Baird household, as you will often find his wife and daughters at races holding signs near the finish line that say, “Go Daddy”!
Jeremy Salyers
Jeremy Salyers
Jeremy received his B.A. in Kinesiology with a minor in Business from the University of Kentucky.
Jeremy has trained many high school and college athletes focusing on speed, power, quickness, strength, and flexibility. He shows great enthusiasm for health and fitness and works closely with individuals to maximize their competitive edge in both sports and life. He is motivated from those who share the same passion of living a more holistic lifestyle.
When not training, Jeremy can be found rock climbing, a sport for which he has great passion for. Over the last five years he attributes his success in rock climbing to the knowledge and understanding of strength training and body mechanics. He is also an avid cyclist, swimmer, runner, and enjoys training for triathlons.
Endurance Athlete Base Camp 