About Mary

The KC Swim Academy has taught hundreds of swimmers since being founded by Head Coach Mary Jo Klier in 1984. Initially a competitive swimming team, the KC Swim Academy began a small learn to swim program in 1992 at the request of our membership. This program continues to grow and is now under the direction of Suzanne McCullough, wife of one of our swim coaches and former state champion swimmers Eric McCullough.

In the Spring of 2013 the KC Swim Academy began offering Infant Aquatic survival lessons. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death for children five years and younger. Through this program young children six months and older are taught life saving skills if they would ever have an aquatic emergency. This program is currently being taught by our Head Coach Mary Jo Klier at the Blue Springs Y (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Paul Henson Y (Prairie Village, Kansas).

Coach Mary Jo began competitive swimming at 12 years and swam throughout college where she was captain of her college team, Syracuse University, and a NCAA qualifier. In 1972 she joined the staff of Olympic Coach Dan Gambril as he prepared swimmers all over the world in preparation for the Munich Olympics. In 1973 she began coaching the JETS swim team developing district, regional and national swimmers. In 1989 she coached her first National USA swimming champion in the 100 butterfly (Dirk Marshall) with one of the fastest times in the country.

In 1984 she left the JETS to start the KC Swim Academy. She named the program "Swim Academy" to emphasize her dedication to developing strong swimming technique. Coach Klier is a strong proponent of HS swimming and her swimmers have helped area HS teams win numerous State Championships!

This Spring Olympic and World Record Holder RYAN LOCHTE, through the sponsorship of KC Swim Academy, Speedo and Swim Things, conducted a fundraiser to help raise awareness to the problem of drowning and how we can prevent it by education and learn to swim programs. The KC Swim Academy and our senior high school swimmers conduct clinics throughout the area stressing aquatic safety and encouraging Learn to swim programs. Through "Project Zero" our goal is to eliminate drowning from our community.

If you have a pool or are around water it just makes sense to enroll your child in a program that will give him/her a lifelong skill and enable him/her to love the water. It is the goal of the KCSA to provide the KC families quality results oriented swim instruction. We advance students from water safety to confident water enjoyment. Your child is only as safe around the water as their skills allow them to be. For additional information on our programs-survival, learn to swim or competitive check out our website: kcswimacademy.org.

Mary Jo Klier is a certified Infant Aquatics Instructor.