Rapids Head Senior Coach Blake Proffitt has been named the 2023-2024 Age Group Coach of the Year, as announced by Virginia Swimming. Voted on by peers, the award recognizes an outstanding age group coach in the Virginia Local Swimming Committee (LSC) under USA Swimming. With Virginia having 55 year-round swim teams, and consistently remaining one of the fastest and most competitive LSCs in the country, earning this distinction is a notable honor. Blake also makes history as the first SwimRVA coach to be named as a Virginia Swimming Coach of the Year.

“It only takes seconds to feel the presence of Blake on the pool deck”, said Rapids Head Coach Jonathan Kaplan. “His energy and enthusiasm is infectious and inspires everyone around him to want to be better. He has the uncanny ability to get athletes of every age and ability level to believe in themselves and reach heights they never previously imagined”.

Coach Blake has brought a tremendous amount of success to the program as he enters just his third year of coaching for the Rapids. Receiving a recent promotion from Head Pre-Senior Coach to Head Senior Coach in the Spring of 2024, he oversees, guides, and inspires Senior and Pre-Senior level athletes ranging from 11-18 years of age. Blake brings his energetic and enthusiastic coaching style to SwimRVA in a fresh approach that mixes mentality building and technical knowledge to help his swimmers understand their performance and develop a sense of ownership in their results. He encourages swimmers to act with integrity and develop character as teammates, leaders, and future adults.