Coach Heath Edwards Head Coach/Team Owner

Coach Heath Edwards was born and raised in Columbia, SC. He began swimming year-round in high school and had a very successful age group swimming career. In his junior year at Irmo High School, Heath won Junior Nationals in 200 fly and finished top two in the country in two other events. 

After graduating from Irmo, Heath began his college swimming and academic career at the University of Georgia (UGA). Coach Heath had a very decorated swimming career at UGA, collecting 14 All-American Honors, Academic All-American Honors, an SEC Championship Title in the 200 Fly and the UGA record in the 200 Fly. His team awards included the Hardest Worker Award, Most Improved Award, and the Jeff Poppell Award, given to one senior whose “career achievements and leadership qualities set him apart from his teammates and peers.” 

Between Heath’s junior and senior year at UGA, he took two years off to serve a full time mission for his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After returning to UGA from his two year hiatus, Heath was voted Team Captain and led his team to a national placement at the NCAA Swimming Championships. 

Coach Heath started Palmetto Aquatics in 2001, and it has developed into one of the strongest swim programs in South Carolina. Coach Heath has coached swimmers at all levels, from Novice all the way through Nationals.

Heath has three beautiful boys, Emerson, Tanner, and Sawyer, and is married to his best friend, Kim.

Associate Head Coach Jason Kendall (Novice, Blue, Silver) 

Coach Jason Kendall was born and raised in Columbia South Carolina where he graduated from Richland Northeast High School. He briefly pursued a college football career at the University of South Carolina and then at North Greenville College before relocating to Sarasota, Florida to attend and graduate from Ringling School of Art and Design. While in Florida he began his “competitive” swimming career where he was a Master’s Swimmer, competed in several open water races and participated in numerous triathlons.

 

After Art school, Coach Jason moved to Brooklyn, New York to work for Dia Center for the Arts in Manhattan. In 2003, he became the Aquatics Director at The Brooklyn Sports Club, where he founded and developed their highly successful and well-known Learn To Swim Program. This program laid the foundation for the club’s competitive swim program known as The Brooklyn Sports Club D-Team (Developmental Team), of which Jason was the Head Coach, and the USA swim club, the BSCAT Swordfish (Brooklyn Sports Club Aquatic Team).

 

After attending graduate school at NYU, Coach Jason split his time between being an artist, teaching art at NYU and coaching swimming until March 2009 when his wife gave birth to twin girls. As of July 2009, Coach Jason Kendall and his family have permanently relocated back to Columbia, South Carolina where they are now a part of the Palmetto Aquatics family. During the High School swim season, Coach Jason is the Head Coach of Cavalier Swimming at Richland Northeast High School.

 

Assistant Coaches

Wills McVicker - Novice II, Blue

Katie Vazquez - Novice II, Blue

Ryan Baker - Novice II, Blue

Connie Henderson - Novice II

Samantha Campbell - Novice II