Ardavan Jamalifard joined the Raptor senior coaching staff as Director of Athlete Development in 2024. Ardavan brings two decades of professional, national team, and international water polo experience as both a player and coach to the club.
A native of Iran, Ardavan was a selected to their Junior National Team at age 15, playing on that squad for four years (2000-2004), winning silver medals at the Junior Asian Championship in China (2002) and medal in Macao (2003) before advancing to Iran’s Under 23 National Team (2004-2007). He played on the Senior National Team from 2006-2011, during which time he won silver (2006) and bronze (2010) medals in the Senior Asian Water Polo Championship, silver (2010) and bronze (2009) medals in the Asian Club Water Polo Championship, and silver medals in both the Croatia International Water Polo Tournament, and the Iran Water Polo Championship (2007). He played in Iran’s professional Senior Water Polo League for thirteen years.
Ardavan became the Head Coach of Iran’s Fars Province Water Polo Team from 2007-2012, leading his players to the Iranian Water Polo Championships each year and earning the U14 Bronze Medal (2007), U16 Bronze Medal (2007), and U18 Gold Medal (2011). In 2012, four of Ardavan’s players were selected to Iran’s Junior National team, with one being crowned Best Player of Asian Championships. He also served as the Chair of the Fars Province Water Polo Committee from 2014-2016.
Ardavan’s family then fled Iran and landed in Ecuador, where he became Head Coach of Swimming and Trainer of Open Water and Ironman for Quito Tenis Y Golf Club. He directed training and skills development for 600+ swimmers aged 1-12 years old in Ecuador’s Acuakid and Aquatix programs, where he also led a team of 20 coaches.
In 2023, Ardvan and his wife Zhara relocated to Okemos with their now 10-year old daughter, Parva. He received his M.Sc. in Physical Education from Shiraz University (Iran) in 2008 and is fluent in Persian, Spanish, and English.
Coach Tom hails from sunny Southern California. Surfing and swimming led him to water polo as a freshman at Los Alamitos High School. As a senior he led his team in goals winning the competitive Orange County Empire League and reaching the CIF Southern Section 3A state finals where they fell 7-9 to league rival and defending state champions El Dorado High School.
High School Player Honors:
- All American Honorable Mention 1987
- All California CIF Southern Section 3A 2nd team 1987
- All Empire League 1st team 1987
After high school Tom joined the USC Trojan Water Polo Club where he played on the 1988 Junior Olympic championship team. He later attended USC as a walk-on, earning a spot on the 16-member varsity squad as a sophomore. The following year, as a redshirt junior, he decided it was time to hang up the suit and cap.
30+ years later Tom added “Coach” to his name as a member of the St. Xavier High School (Cincinnati) varsity boy’s water polo team as assistant coach for the Fall 2021 season.
For the fall of 2022, as head coach, Tom led the Sycamore High School (Cincinnati) varsity girls water polo team to a 3rd place finish in the Ohio State Championships. The Lady Aves finished the season 21-7, earning Coach Tom the honor of Ohio Girls’ Coach of The Year.
Currently, Tom is head coach for the Michigan State University men’s club team and assists with the East Lansing High School girls’ teams.
MSU Coaching Honors:
- Big10 Champions
- Big10 Coach of The Year
- 4th Place Club National Championships 2023
- Big10 Runner-ups 2024
A former Los Angeles-based advertising executive and small business operations consultant, Coach Tom now resides in Dewitt, Michigan with healthcare marketing superstar wife Kara and twin daughters Rae and Gus.
Brian Fickies has been involved with the sport of water polo since 1986. As a player he was a high school All-American, a member of the US National Youth Developmental Team and played collegiate water polo. As a coach he has had the privilege in developing several high school and collegiate All-conference and national All-Americans. Coach Fickies believes the key to developing robust water polo players is establishing a strong foundation in basic skills, balanced with dynamic drills that mirror game like situations.
Water Polo Coaching Experience: Head Coach Michigan State University Men's Team (1997-2007), Head Coach Okemos Girls Team (1996-2007), Head Coach Okemos Boys Team (1996-1997), Head Coach of Former Okemos/Capital Area Water Polo Club (1996-2007), Head Coach US Water polo Midwest Zone Men's 18 and Over team (2005), Volunteer Assistant Coach US National Youth Developmental Team (1998).
Water Polo Coaching Honors: Big Ten Champions (2000, 2004, 2005, 2006), Collegiate Water Polo Club National Champions (2000, 2006), Big Ten Coach of the Year (2004, 2005, 2006), National Coach of the year (2000, 2006), Michigan High Water Polo Association Coach of the year (1996)
Greg began playing water polo in the spring of 2006. He played 2 years of JV polo at Okemos High School before starting on Varsity during his Junior and Senior seasons. During his Senior season, the Chiefs placed 6th in the State tournament.
He continued his aquatic career at Olivet College, swimming distance freestyle (500y, 1000y, and 1650y) for the Comets, before transferring to MSU. During his sophomore year at MSU, he and his brother, EJ Kohler, participated in the Intramural University Swim Meet where he placed 1st in the 100y Freestyle, 1st in the 100y IM and 2nd place in the 200y Free Relay.
After a year away from the pool, Greg joined the MSU Club Water Polo team and helped the Spartans to a 2nd place finish in the Big Ten. During his “Super”-Senior year, he was an integral piece of the Spartan’s Big Ten Championship team. At Nationals in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Spartans finished in 11th place.
Unable to every be away from the water for long, Greg would spend every summer during his college career as a Beach Lifeguard on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. He consistently placed in the top 8 during their annual Shore Beach Service Lifeguard Competitions, he peaked placing 1st during his 2nd summer.
Post Grad, Greg works for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®'s corporate office here in Lansing as their Digital Advertising Specialist. Every so often he will suit up with Motor City Polo Galaxia and play in polo tournaments. In the fall of 2017, he joined Coach Andrew Olesnavich as the Assistant coach of the Okemos boy's water polo team.
Andrew first started playing water polo at Birmingham Groves High School where he was a team captain, 1st team all-state and All-American athlete.
Andrew continued his water polo career at Michigan State University where he was a 5 year starter, team captain, and All-American. During his tenure, the Spartans won 5 Big Ten Conference Championships, played in 5 Collegiate Water Polo Association National Tournament Final Fours, and appeared in 3 CWPA National Championship games. They won the National Title in 2006 and 2008.
While pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Human Health Studies, he began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant for the MSU women’s club water polo team. He would go on to coach middle school polo with the Spartan water polo club. In 2009 he was offered a position as the assistant coach for the Okemos girl’s water polo team alongside his former teammate, Greg Jenkins. During their three years coaching together, the Chieftains won back-to-back state championships in 2010 and 2011 with a combined two-year record of 69 wins and 1 loss.
Post-Graduation, Andrew was able to turn his passion for the water and coaching into a career as the owner and operator of a swim school franchise in Chicago. He, along with Greg Kohler, have been coaching the Okemos boy's water polo team since 2017. In their first two seasons at the helm Okemos finished 2nd in 2017, and 1st overall in the state in 2018. He is excited to be back in the water polo community to provide kids in Mid-Michigan the opportunity to grow and develop using the game he loves.
Katie swam competitively for 9 years with both Shillington Streaks Rec. Team and Governor Mifflin Aquatics Program. She played water polo in high school for the Governor Mifflin Mustangs, playing Varsity her Junior and Senior year. During her Junior and Senior seasons, the team placed 7th in the Pennsylvania State Tournament. Katie went on to compete in inner-tube water polo at the collegiate level, her team dominating the league her freshman year. Throughout her college years, she returned home in the summer and volunteered with the Mustangs helping to prepare their new players for the coming school year.
After graduating from Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and History Secondary Education in 2016, she returned home and worked as a volunteer coach with both the girls and boys Governor Mifflin Water Polo Teams for one year. Upon getting hired at East Lansing High School to manage their library, she was gifted the opportunity to coach for the Holt/EL Girls Water Polo Team in 2019 and the Boys Team in 2021 (now the East Lansing Water Polo Club) and has been coaching the high school Mid Michigan Raptor Clubs ever since.
Madelyn has been involved with Raptor Water Polo since 2016 when she graduated from East Lansing High School and started coaching our middle school team. She has moved on down the road to Michigan State University and is finishing up her final year pursuing a degree in Mathematics that she plans on using to teach high school mathematics.
Madelyn has been the head coach to the girls Hotel Water Polo team for the past two seasons and recently joined the Holt HS Swimming coaching staff this fall. She been coaching our boys and girls Raptor high school teams for the past 2 years and is very excited to continue with both teams this year and keep the fun going!