Coaching

Nothing has a greater influence on the quality of children’s sports than the excellence of the coaching. Unfortunately, well qualified and knowledgeable youth coaches are hard to find.

PDST coaches are the cornerstone of our swimming program. Our coaches are experienced national level coaches as well as a competitive swimmers from youth. Both Coach PeiYong Li and Coach XiaoWei Xu were either national or provincial champions during their competitive swimming era in China. Following university graduation specializing in physical education and coaching, they became excellent and proven swimming coaches with demonstrated ability to identify, teach, develop, and train swimmers of various ages and ability levels through their 30 years of swimming coaching career in China. Their consistent deep understanding and caring attitude towards their swimmers have been the keys to the successes in their careers. In addition, Coach PeiYong Li and Coach Ren Xu are also experienced managers. Both gained their respective managing experience through professional training and through their work in China and in US. Their management skills will provide our team with a sound foundation in operation and in turn provide a positive, well-organized training environment for the team.

The coaching staff defines success as improvement in four areas; positive attitude, effort, skill mastery, and time improvement for each swimmer. We believe that there are no good or bad swimmers, but rather many swimmers who are at different levels of development. Our aim is to provide a successful developmental experience for all who enter our team.

All our coaches also hold Red Cross certification in First Aid, CPR and Safety Training and the certification from US Swimming in swimming coaching.

Brief Biographies of Team Coaches

Head Coach PeiYong Li: Coach PeiYong Li swam with the Sichuan Men’s Swimming Team & China National Youth Swimming Team during the 1970’s. Over the course of his competitive swimming career, he won gold and silver medals in China’s National Swimming Championship meets (200 meter and 400 meter individual medley (IM) in 1976, and 1974). After retiring from competitive swimming, he graduated from Beijing Physical Education University (top ranked university for Chinese athletes to attend and trained for future coaches). He became a coach of the Sichuan Women’s Swimming Team after the graduation. He was a coaching member of the China National Swimming Team for the 20th European Swimming Championship in 1998 and the National team coaching member for China during the 12th Asian & Pacific Swimming & Diving Championship in 1998. Coach PeiYong Li received China’s National Level 1 Swimming Coach certificate (highest level in China) and was awarded the National Outstanding Swimming Coach Award by China National Sport Bureau. He has more than 26 years of professional swimming coaching experience in China. Coach Li has mentored and coached many outstanding Chinese swimmers, such as women swimmer Zhao Jing etc, he personally identified, and coached Zhao Jing for many years. Zhao Jing won gold medals in 20th European Swimming Championship in 100m free style, 100m back stroke, 200m individual medley, and 100m butterfly representing China Junior National Swimming Team in 1998. She was also a gold medalist in 200m & 400m individual medley, and 200m backstroke of the 13 & 14 age group in 12th Asian and Pacific Swimming and Diving Championship in 1998.

As a coach, he has published many articles discussing his views on modern swimming training methods, and advanced training techniques used by other countries. His publications and presentations emphasize the importance of more individualized training and discuss how to achieve it. He was a member of China National Swimming Association Amateur Coach Advisory Committee providing swimming training guidance and supervision from 1996 to 2004. Coach Li immigrated to USA in the fall of 2008 as a “National Talented Swimming Coach” under US immigration law, and is looking forward to contributing his excellent swimming coaching skills to this team and will take on head coaching position in the team.

Coach PeiYong Li is an US Swimming certified head coach (level 3 or equivalent). 

Coach XiaoWei Xu: As a swimmer at Chengdu Women’s Swimming Team, Coach XiaoWei Xu won five Gold medals at Sichuan Provincial Swimming Championship in 1974 (200m and 400m IM, 800m free style, and anchored in two 4 x 100m relays). After graduating from Chengdu Physical Education University, she began coaching in 1978. Since then, she has coached at Chengdu Women’s Swimming Team and was the Age Group Head coach of Chengdu Swimming Sporting School in Sichuan, China before moving to the US. With her outstanding coaching work, she was awarded China’s National Level 1 Swimming Coach, the highest-level swimming coach certificate in China. She was also granted the National Outstanding Amateur Swimming Coach Award by the Swimming Management Center of China National Sport Bureau. She has 30 years of amateur, youth, and competitive swimming coaching experience. She has recruited and personally coached many leading Chinese swimmers in China including Huang Xin: National Champion in 100m Butterfly in 1998 and 200m Bronze medal winner in the World Short-Course Swimming Champ in Paris in 1996. Huang Xin was a member of Chinese National Swimming Team & currently a coach of Sichuan Swimming Team in China. Other swimmers brought up by Coach XiaoWei Xu included Xu Jie (male), 1500m free style gold medalist at age of 16 in the 1st National City Swimming Championship in 1988. Song Dong (male), 400m free style silver medalist at age of 16 and Guan Xuemin (male), gold medalist at age of 12 at the National Age Group Swimming Championship in 2000 etc. She had an outstanding swimming coaching career and demonstrated excellent skills to work with young age kids in early swimming learning and training stage in China. Her immigration to USA was also granted in the fall of 2008 under US “National Talented Swimming Coach” immigration category. Coach Xu looks forward to applying her outstanding swimming teaching and coaching skills with her new swimmers.

Coach XiaoWei Xu is an US Swimming certified swimming coach (level 1 or equivalent). 

Coach Ren Xu: Ren enters swimming coaching field as an already dedicated swimmer’s parent and an experienced manager with a degree in business administration (MBA). Coach Xu will dedicate himself to providing operational support for the team. He looks forward to using all his skills to work with our two outstanding swimming coaches, all parents, and swimmers to enable our swimmer’s to achieve the best they can be. Ren will also represent the team in all meetings and team development with USA Swimming, PNS, pool management members, and other PNS swim teams, as well as assist other two coaches at all swimming meets. In addition, Ren will work closely with our team booster club to ensure our team operate in seamless condition to support the development of our swimmers.

Coach Ren Xu is an US Swimming certified swimming coach (level 1 or equivalent).