Coaches

Jackie Hafner

Head Coach
Coach Jackie swam with the Northern Virginia Nereids for 10 years before becoming a coach.  She competed at both Junior National and Junior Olympics championships, and made it to finals in multiple routines at Junior Olympics.  Jackie was a summer swim team member and holds a pool yard record, while also swimming on her high school swim team.  After returning to NVN as a coach she has worked with all age groups, currently focused on our 12 and under swimmers.

Kalina Yordanova
Age Group Coach

Coach Kalina has been involved in artistic swimming for more than two decades, including 15 years as part of the Bulgarian National Team. She competed in many national and international competitions from 1998-2014, including in the European and World Championships and in Olympic qualifiers, and she won multiple awards for solo and duet at the national level in Bulgaria. She graduated from the National Sport Academy in Sofia with a major in synchronized swimming, and has been coaching in the Northern Virginia area since 2016.   

Elena Radkova
Age Group Coach

Paki Motawi

Age Group Coach

Connie Polnow
Intermediate and AG Coach
Coach Connie swam for the Nereids for 8 years, starting at 9 years old. She had the opportunity to compete in several national competitions and received 9th place in the Team event at the 2013 Age Group National Championship. In college, Connie swam for her school's club swim team, where she also had the opportunity to compete nationally, and coached for the Nereids during her breaks. Upon graduating in 2019, she began coaching for the Nereids full time. Her favorite part about coaching is seeing the swimmers grow over the years and spreading the love of a sport that's been such an important part of her life.  

Angel Oh

Novice and AG Coach