Coaching Staff
Head Coach:
Haley Potter
We’re thrilled to welcome Haley Potter, who will be leading the Water Otters as Head Coach this season. Haley is a former college swimmer at UC Davis with a lifelong love of the sport and a strong coaching foundation built through competitive swimming and athlete development. Her competitive coaching experience comes through Northern Sierra Swimming (NSS), and she also brings hands-on experience providing private swim lessons, working closely with swimmers to build technique, confidence, and skill progression.
Haley is USA Swimming–certified and is passionate about running structured, intentional practices while maintaining the fun, encouraging spirit that defines a great summer rec team. She’s also a Water Otters parent—her two children, ages 8 and 10, will be swimming on the team this summer—giving her both a coach’s and a parent’s perspective on creating a great experience for swimmers and families.
Assistant Coach:
Theo Van Vacas Gagnon
Theo Van Vacas Gagnon was a Water Otter for 7 years before joining a competitive high school swim team. After high school, he served as the Head Coach of Water Otters. After a brief sabbatical, he is excited to be back coaching the Water Otters! During the off season, he is a history education major at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Assistant Coach:
Kami Prescott
Kami has been with the Water Otters since 2013 (starting as an otter herself!), and brings an energy and enthusiasm for the team that is often unmatched! She was an Assistant Coach in the 2025 season, and is looking forward to returning to be with your kiddos! During the school year, she is a student at California State Monterey- where she is even an otter during our off season.
Volunteer Parent Coach:
Laura Bruner
Laura brings a lifelong love of swimming and coaching to the Water Otters as a parent coach volunteer. She began swimming at age five and went on to compete at the national level, earning All-American honors and qualifying for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
Laura swam and played water polo at Purdue University, where she also gained coaching experience working with youth swim and dive programs. She enjoys helping swimmers build strong technique, confidence, and a love for the sport.
She will be helping at Friday practices with a focus on meet preparation, supporting swimmers with race skills, confidence, and readiness, and is excited to contribute both on deck and within the Water Otters community.
Volunteer Parent Coach:
Elsie Wenger
We’re thrilled to welcome Elsie as one of our parent coach volunteers this season. Elsie brings elite-level experience, a deep love of aquatics, and a passion for mentoring young athletes.
Elsie is a two-time Olympic water polo medalist, earning silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold at the 2012 London Olympics as a member of Team USA. She played collegiately at UC Berkeley and was later inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame for her contributions to the sport.
As a parent coach volunteer, Elsie will support swimmers with skill development, teamwork, confidence, and meet preparation—bringing a championship mindset while keeping the focus on fun, growth, and community. We’re incredibly lucky to have her as part of the Water Otters coaching team!