OUR PRIVATE LESSONS INSTRUCTORS
Darria Chance
Darria joined our swim instructor team in 2019. She is a group instructor and coach with more than 4 years of experience. She is a former swimmer, Basic Life Support Certified and has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Chinese Language and Culture.
Language: Mandarin/English
Hobby: Triathlon training
Student age preference: 4 years old and up
Aquila Pinnix
Aquila joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in 2016 teaching group lessons and then coaching for our TITANS team. She has been coaching and teaching since 2008 in different organizations and towns in North Carolina. Coach Aquila is a former swimmer and had a scholarship through college.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology & master’s degree in Biological & Biomedical Sciences, however her career is a certified personal trainer and she is working on a Nutritionist certification to further impact the lives of athletes of all fitness levels & ages.
Languages: Poquito Spanish/English
Hobbies: swim/bike/run training in hopes of completing a Half Ironman
Student age preference: 5 years old and up
Mariana Pulgarin
Mariana joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in 2018. She started teaching back in her home country of Colombia in 2007. Currently, Mariana teaches group classes and is the Programs Manager in the facility. She is a former competitive swimmer and also practiced Finswimming and Underwater Hockey.
Languages: Spanish/English
Hobbies: Camping, swimming and biking
Student age preference: 3 to 16 years old
Erica Anderson
Erica joined our facility in 2013 as a Lifeguard, and became a Swim Instructor a couple of years after. She now has more than 5 years of experience teaching little ones, kids, and adults.
Languages: Some French/English
Hobbies: Creating pottery and hiking strenuous trails.
Student age preference: All ages
Mary DeMilia
Mary started working at TAC in 2019 as a Private and Group Instructor. She has competed in local, regional, and national competitive swimming events, and also she has practiced triathlon and water polo.
Mary is a cancer survivor and helped raise money towards cancer research by running aquatic events as a volunteer for Swim Across America. She is Lifeguarding, First Aid, CPR & AED Certified. She has a Bachelor in Biology and currently studying for an associate in Cybersecurity at Wake Tech Community College.
Language: English
Student age preference: All ages
Crista Bain
Crista joined TAC in 2020. She has two years of experience as a coach in different swim teams in the Triangle area, and she used to swim in high school. Crista is a Lifeguard/CPR/First Aid/AED Certified and currently, March cymbals at NC State University, where she studies Sport Management with a minor in Coaching Education.
Languages: English/ein bißchen German
Hobbies: Marching band, spending time with friends, and watching Disney movies
Student age preference: 5 to 13 years old
Ahmed Bali
Ahmed is the most tenured instructor at Triangle Aquatic Center. He started teaching when the facility was open back in 2007. However his first experience as an instructor began in 2002. He is Adult and Child CPR certified and Water Safety Instructor Certified.
Languages: Arabic/French/Un poco Spanish
Hobbies: Soccer and traveling
Student age preference: 4 to 13 years old
Helen Chen
Helen started working at TAC during 2018 as a swim coach for the Jr. Titans 11-12 group. However, she has been a member of the TAC Titans Swim Team since 2017.
Helen is Adult CPR/AED and Infant CPR certified and has over two years of coaching and instructing experience. Currently, Helen is an undergraduate student at MIT
Language: English/Chinese/Spanish
Hobbies: Helen loves to play the piano, bike with her sister, and cook!