Head Coach:  Steve Mainini

My name is Steve Mainini and I am so honored to be joining the Stingray family in a very familiar role as your new/old Head Coach next season. I started swimming competitively at the age of 13 with a small local rec club Canyon Swim Club in El Sobrante, and fell in love with the sport. When I was 15 I joined the Pinole Seals, and continued swimming competitively through high school (De Anza), and college (Diablo Valley College, Chico State).

I first started coaching for the Pinole Seals at 17 as an Assistant Coach and continued coaching for the next 6 years. At 23, I was offered the Head Coaching position, and I held this position for the next 7 years. I left the Pinole Seals to pursue coaching positions with Diablo Valley College, and The Walnut Creek Aquabears ( USA Swimming). I chose to leave coaching to start a family and focus on my career as a Visual Arts teacher in the WCCUSD and my other passion in Art.

My wife Leslie and I decided to move our family to beautiful Benicia in 2007, and the following year my daughter’s Alyssa and Ava joined the Stingrays. In 2012, I decided to dip my toe back into the coaching profession, and was offered the Co-Head Coaching position with the Stingrays. I coached the Stingrays until 2020, and then the pandemic hit, and I decided I needed to take a break from coaching to refocus on my Art career.

Over my decades of coaching, I feel so lucky to have built so many special bonds and memories with the swim team families I have been fortunate to coach and work with, and I look forward to building new memories and relationships with you all.

GOOOOOO STINGRAYS!!!!

Assistant Coach:  Miguel Vargas

Coach Miguel is very excited to be a part of the Stingrays! He started swimming competitively in high school and continued in college where he broke a few school records, won a few championships, and competed at the national level. Today he is a coach and educator for the fitness company TRX. His favorite part about the Stingrays is watching the kids make friends, have fun, and swim fast! He looks forward to coaching and cheering for all the swimmers this season and watching their love for fitness and swimming grow!

Assistant Coach Karissa Hammerquist

Hi Stingray Family!! I'm Coach Karissa and I’m excited to be back on deck, behind the blocks yelling at kids, but in a “Kick Harder!,” “GO Faster!,” coach kind of way. This is my first season officially coaching the Benicia Stingrays. I grew up recreationally and competitively swimming (against the Stingrays, LOL) for the Hercules Piranhas, and have “just kept swimming” ever since. I kicked off my itch for coaching as a Jr. Coach and eventually became the Head Coach for the Hercules Piranhas Swim Team and the Hercules High School Swim Team. I went on to swim for Diablo Valley College, when I realized I was a better student than an athlete. Fast forward after two degrees, a career in pediatric physical therapy, and creating a beautiful family with two young athletes, I wanted to give back to the wonder of youth sports. I volunteer and coach any activity my kids immerse themselves into. My goal with any youth sport is for a child to have a fun and positive experience, make new friends, learn commitment and teamwork, and hopefully, learn a little baseball, basketball, football, or swim along the way. The swim team holds a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to share and develop that same passion in any swimmer.

GOOO Stingrays!!!

Assistant Coach Elias Richter

My name is Elias Richter, I am 19 years old and have been a competitive swimmer my entire life. I grew up in Long Beach, New York in a house that was a 5 minute walk from the ocean. My swimming career started as learning ocean safety but quickly became the biggest part of my identity. I’ve worked with and taught children in Long Beach to surf as an instructor at a well known local surf camp. I currently work in Half Moon Bay State Beach as a California State Lifeguard. I’m beyond excited to start coaching kids and sharing my passion with each of them.

Assistant Coach Aden Li (Summer 2024!)

My name is Aden Li and I am 17 years old.  I first started swimming at age 5 and joined the Stingrays around age 6.  I stayed with the Stingrays until I was 10, winning high point at County Championship Meet and then moved to year round swim.  I currently swim with the Terrapins and compete at the national level.  I have experience with coaching and private lessons and I'm very excited to help coach the Stingrays this summer! 

Editor's note:  Aden holds the Benicia High School all time records for 100 backstroke, 100 fly and 200 medley relay.  He has additional all time top 10 BHS times in many other events!  

Assistant Coach Elian Salindong (Summer 2024!)

Hello Stingrays! My name is Elian, I’m 22 years old, and I’m excited to be back at my home team after 5 years! I was a junior coach here for 5 years and I swam for 7 years. Oh has time flown by. Since I’ve been gone, I swam my first year at Diablo Valley College but my season was cut short due to COVID. During that time my focus shifted from swimming to my career and I decided to peruse an Associates Degree in Fire Science. After completing a grueling 5 month fire academy, I was ready to start my first job at Cal Fire! The work was not easy and was quite possibly the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life but helping people made it worth it. Although I enjoyed my time there, after 1 season at Cal Fire and 1 year of volunteering at Benicia Fire Department, I decided that being a fire fighter was not for me. However, the fire service made me realize how much I enjoyed the medical side of things. That’s when I focused on becoming an EMT which is my current job title! I’ve been working at Medic Ambulance for almost 1 year and I’m currently on a path to become an ER Technician at Kaiser. When I’m not working I like playing basketball, working out, and hanging out with friends. On my off days I’ll be here helping coach. Now with all that being said, Go Stingrays!!!