Rich Rogers

Head Swimming Coach

Florida Atlantic Aquatics (FAA) is happy & excited to welcome Coach Rich Rogers to our newly built Team. FAA, formed in 2023, has already reached incredible heights under his leadership. There have been scores of Quad A swims by his age groupers, many LSC Championship finalists and champions as well as a third place Mens finish at the 2024 LC Age Group Championships. In addition to this in water success, the staff is solidifying, the team is growing and we are consistently adding new opportunities for education and training at every level. FAA looks to  continue to grow and reach new successes with Coach Rich’s help and leadership.

Rogers has a long history of success growing nationally recognized swim programs. His success is not limited to the elite level, as he has successfully worked with athletes of all ages and abilities. Coach Rich is excited to bring his knowledge and experience to Florida Atlantic Aquatics.

“I am thrilled to be a part of such a young, growing and dynamic swimming organization like FAA.

I want to thank Coach Lara, and her staff, for entrusting me with this great honor. I look forward to working with everyone involved to help build a world class aquatics program right here at FAA. Let’s work hard, work smart and have a lot of fun along the way!”

The Rogers Record

Coach Rich is a program builder. He has built clubs from the ground up to become large, multi-facility organizations as was the Program Director for a USA Swimming Gold Medal Club as well as the Founder & Head Coach of Tampa Bay Aquatics; a team that won the USA Swimming 2006 Long Course Combined Junior National Championship. As an age group coach, Coach Rich has guided swimmers to hundreds of USA Swimming National Age Group (NAG) Top 16/10 swims and over a dozen NAG National Championships & Records. His age groupers have earned numerous New York, Louisiana and Florida H.S. State championships and All American statuses as well as both NCSA and USA Swimming Junior National Championships; including a Junior National qualifier in every event and a Junior National champion in every stroke. His age group swimmers have made finales at USA Swimming Nationals, made National Teams and have gone on to hold NCAA, US Open, American records and win Olympic Gold.

Rogers has had success in the college ranks as well, working with athletes at both the University of Tampa (DII) and at the University of New Orleans (DI). Rogers helped those athletes achieve lifetime bests and implemented strategies that saw some of those athletes go home to their native countries and win National titles. Coach Rich shined as a Masters coach as well, and helped many adults swim faster than they did as age groupers or collegiate athletes; earning many Zone, National and World Masters titles along the way.

“I love swimming. It has been a blessing to me and my family for many years. Helping people reap the benefits of engaging in a healthy, lifelong activity is my main motivator each day. Putting together programs and training plans to meet that goal is a skill that I have honed over the years. All things are possible with a clear vision, a solid plan and the willingness to get up and do the work, day in and day out.”

Coach Rich and his late wife Andrea, happily worked together to raise three Elite Athletes; two swimmers and one hockey player. Coach Rich understands how important each child is to their family and works hard to ensure that each one gets the attention they need to not only develop properly as an athlete but enjoy their time in the sport and grow as a person. Coach Rich knows that this is important regardless of the swimmer’s abilities or goals in the sport. He also knows the importance of constant communication with every members, so the families all understand and internalize the vision and mission of the programs we run here at FAA.

While these may seem like obvious high priority concerns, Coach Rich has witnessed far too many coaches and programs take their families and swimmers for granted. This is especially true as programs grow and get larger in scope. For Florida Atlantic Aquatics to have true long-term success, he and his staff will work to ensure to instill a sense of family and fun within the culture of the organization. Making this mindset an integral part of the organization's DNA has been the cornerstone of most of Rogers’ successes over the decades; especially as his past programs have grown in size and scope.

Coach Rich feels that he has been fortunate to have seen the sport as an athlete, novice coach, age group coach, senior coach, collegiate coach, Masters coach and parent. This unique 360-degree view of swimming allows him to help design programs that are developmentally appropriate for swimmers of all levels to meet or exceed their goals; whether those goals are to stay fit or to make a national team.

Coach Rich feels that his experiences have helped him create environments that empower swimmers and their families to take ownership of their process. Rogers past teams have been recognized nationally for swimmers who have strong technical skills, vast time improvements and, most importantly, for having happy, long term scholar athletes stay in the program and the sport.

“I try to pass on my love of the sport to my athletes and their families. We do this by fostering an environment where the individual is appreciated and the on-deck atmosphere is fun, yet focused. Goal setting is a priority as is proper technique, dryland, race strategies and all aspects of mental training. Addressing all these concerns throughout the course of each season is a major part of my philosophy. An educated swimmer (and family) will be successful and happy for many years, both in and out of the pool.”

Kim Kovasala

Lead Age Group Swim Coach

Coach Kim

With coaching stints at University of San Francisco, San Jose State University, Northwestern University Aquatics, Pine Crest Swim Club, Dolphins of the Desert Academy and Boca Raton Swim Team, Kimberly Kovasala joins the Florida Atlantic Aquatics staff with a wealth of experience and passion for the sport.

FAA's newest deck member and assistant coach is a graduate of the University of San Francisco where she began her coaching career assisting with US Masters and USS age-group swim teams. 



In addition to coaching swimming, Kovasala has also logged many years of teaching physical education. Her experience has provided her the opportunity to pursue other teams and develop her coaching skills.

Kovasala is thrilled to be a part of the FAA family and looking forward to helping build this new program. 

" Let's dive in, work hard, establish friendships and be a part of something special that you will have for the rest of your life." she says.

Eddie Fernandez

Stroke Coach

"COACH EDDIE"

Meet our esteemed Stroke Coach Eddie Fernandez, a dedicated and experienced professional with a passion for swimming.

With 25 years of coaching experience, Coach Eddie has consistently helped swimmers of all ages and skill levels achieve their goals in the pool. Despite facing career ending injuries for what would have been a promising NFL career, Eddie turned adversity into opportunity and emerged as a successful entrepreneur.

Eddie’s coaching journey includes six influential years as the head coach of the Irockets USA swim team in Vermont and currently coaching at the YMCA Peter Blum Family of Boca Raton.

He is known for an impressive track record of coaching recreational swimmers to Junior Olympics and NCSA Championships, as well as enhancing the performance of multiple high school Teams; through his dedication, expertise and ability to inspire swimmers.

Thank you Coach Eddie !!!

Lara Preacco, PhD

Owner, CEO, Program Director FAA & FAU College Head Coach

Former Florida Atlantic University swimmer Lara Preacco, PhD, joined the men's and women's coaching staff in May of 2012 as an assistant, and two years later, was elevated to head coach. Preacco is in her tenth season at the helm of the program, a position she has held since 2014.

Preacco swam for the Owls from 1994 to 1998 when the University was in the early stages of Division I status. She was also an assistant coach for the team from 1998-2001, while earning her master's degree, in Mental Health Counseling. While she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from FAU, she went to Western Michigan University to obtain her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.

She represented both FAU and her home country of Switzerland at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and was inducted into the FAU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Preacco is the second member of an FAU coaching staff, along with former swimming assistant coach Oliver Agh, to be both an FAU Athletics Hall-of-Famer and a former Olympic competitor.

Prior to coming to FAU, Preacco set five Swiss national records and captured 38 gold medals while competing at the Swiss National Championships from 1983 to 1997. At FAU, she was team MVP in 1995-96 and team captain the following season.

Besides her impressive résumé in the pool, Preacco also earned Honorable Mention in the All-American Scholar Excellence rankings, while placing on the FAU Dean's List four times and President's List three times.

Preacco’s Head Coaching Highlights

• Thirty-Seven Conference Champions
• Three NCAA Championships participants
• Thirty-four school record holders
• Two C-USA Newcomer of the Year awards
• Two C-USA Freshman Diver of the Year awards
• Two CCSA Diver of the Year awards
• Two CCSA Scholar Athlete of the Year titles
• Five CCSA post-meet awards (CCSA Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet and CCSA Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet)
• 16 CSCAA Scholar All-American Team distinction for women’s swimming & diving
• Nine CSCAA Scholar All-American Team honors for men’s swimming & diving
• Eight CSCAA Scholar All-American Honorable Mention recipients
• Five C-USA All-Academic Team recipients
• Nineteen CCSA Swimmer of the Week and 22 CCSA Diver of the Week award winners
• Seven C-USA Swimmer of the Week and eight C-USA Diver of the Week awards

Under Preacco's leadership

- the women's team marked the best finish for the Owls at the C-USA Championship, as well as the best placing at a conference championship since 2007-08 when the Owls were a part of the Sun Belt Conference.

- the men's team was the runner up at the 2019, 2020, 2022 & 2023 CCSA Championships. This runner up feat marks the best finishes in a Conference Championship for FAU in over 20 years.

Ryan Bubb

FAA & FAU Assistant

Swim Coach

Assistant Coach Ryan Bubb joined the Florida Atlantic University swimming & diving team in the summer of 2021.

Bubb comes to FAU after serving as the founding head coach of the Midland University’s men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs. As the head coach from 2016-21, Bubb had three teams compete at the NAIA National Swimming & Diving Championships. The men’s and women’s team competed at the NAIA Championships in 2018-19 and the men’s team brought home back-to-back Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Championships in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Prior to Midland, Bubb spent two seasons as the head coach at Lincoln Southwest High School (2015-17). At Lincoln Southwest, Bubb’s women’s team earned back-to-back Nebraska State Championships while setting 10 state swimming records (seven individual and three relay). The Silver Hawks were ranked in the top 10 nationally in both of Bubb’s seasons as the head coach. During his year at the school, Bubb was the head age group coach at Heartland Aquatics.

Bubb was a four-year varsity letterman and a part of a four-time Big Ten Championships-winning team at Ohio State University from 2010-14. He left Ohio State with a myriad of top 10 times across numerous events in the program’s all-time record book. As the team captain in 2014, Bubb was also a two-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete and two-time Big Ten All-Academic Team choice.

In 2012, Bubb participated at the Olympic Trial Qualifiers in the 200-meter butterfly. He also competed at the 2016 Olympic Trials in the 50-meter freestyle.

Bubb graduated from Ohio State with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in art and technology in 2015 and his Masters of Business Administration in Strategic Leadership in 2021.

Meredith Riegler

Admin   (Swimming/Masters)

Lindenwood University (2019-23)

• Qualified for 2022 NCAA Division II Nationals
• 2022 individual scholar all-american,
• Four-time member of the Dean’s List 

High School

• Swam for Bridgewater-Raritan High School under coach Chris Levin
• Member of Scholastic All-America team
• Part of 200 medley relay in the top 100 of the country (2019),
• Four-time state champion 
• Four-time MOC qualifier
• 200 medley relay school record holder 

Personal

• Born in Toledo, Ohio
• Pursuing a masters in exercise physiology
• Daughter of Lori and Steve Riegler 
• Professional goal is to become a strength and conditioning coach
• Hobbies include painting, doing gel-x nails, and working out