Coaches
Lois Daigneault
Team Founder and Head Coach
Lois Daigneault has dedicated her life to providing athletes with the opportunity to perform at the highest level of excellence. A two-time member of the Canadian National Swim Team and an Olympic Trial qualifier herself, she also excelled in swimming at the University of Miami, Florida winning 13 All American awards. Her twenty-three year professional experience includes coaching at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia as the Head Coach of the Macedonian Olympic Swimming Team; Head Coach of the Chateauguay Aquatic Club, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Head Coach and owner of Peak Performance Swim Camp in Orlando, Florida; and currently owner of DNA Performance Group in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Coach Daigneault has run several swim camps all over the world including Brazil, Macedonia, Jamaica, Bahamas, France, England, Bermuda, Venezuela, Canada and the USA. She also ran high-altitude training camps for 5 years at the 50-meter pool in Los Alamos during which time she fell in love with New Mexico. Since relocating to Santa Fe more than four years ago, she founded DNA Performance Group and has been working with a variety of highly motivated athletes that have competed on the local, state and national levels. Athletes that have worked with Coach Daigneault have qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2008 and have competed at the Senior National Swimming Championships, US Open, Grand Prix and Sectional Championships. Coach Daigneault has also coached several New Mexico State Champions.
Lois Daigneault uses her background as a sports medicine/psychology major to enhance her coaching skills. Daigneault, who coached Canadian and Macedonian swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta has had the opportunity to work closely with renowned swimming biomechanics technician Rein Haljand from Estonia, Finland. This work, as well as the above and below filming of her athletes in the water, has provided the very important technical assistance that is needed to perform at the highest levels of excellence.
Coach Daigneault also believes in providing an opportunity for every swimmer to “be the best they can be”. To accomplish that goal, coach Daigneault has developed an individualized nutritional plan and psychological preparation plan that enables every athlete to achieve peak performance. Attention to the quality of training with emphasis on the very important details, such as stroke mechanics, nutrition, flexibility, weight training, dryland program and psychological preparation are the crucial components of swimming that Daigneault believes are the keys to success.
Lois lived most of her life in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and has an 18 year old daughter, Tanya.
Atiba Wade
Assistant Coach
Atiba comes to us with a tremendous amount of experience as both a high level swimmer and an experienced coach. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa., Atiba began swimming for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (PDR,under Coach Jim Ellis ) Swim Team at 6 years of age. The story of his swim team was later made into the movie “PRIDE” where Atiba appears as a double in that movie. Atiba’s swimming career at PDR included 2 national age group records, several top 16 rankings, High School All-American recognitions, several Junior and Senior National qualifying times as well as being named one of the nation’s top high school recruits.
After graduating from high school in Philadelphia, Atiba received a full scholarship to the NCAA Division I University of Georgia (under NCAA Championship and Olympic Coach, Jack Baurle). Accomplishments at the University of Georgia included All-American, All-American Honorable Mention status, a member of the highest placing University of Georgia Men’s swim team at the NCAA Championships ( 3rd ) as well as receiving the honor of Men’s team captain in 1999. Atiba graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Studio Art.
After competing in the 2000 Olympic Trials, Atiba left the University of Georgia and started a career as a high school art teacher in Orlando, Fl. While teaching, a number of Atiba’s students were recognized for their art work at national art shows hosted in Orlando. He also coached high school swimming and water polo and worked for Peak Performance Swim Camp as a counselor in the summer swim camp program. Along with coaching, Atiba continued swimming, hosting clinics, and speaking nationally and internationally as an athlete and ambassador for the sport of swimming in South Africa, Canada, Bahamas and Bermuda.
Still wanting to compete, Atiba set his focus on the 2008 Olympic trials and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he and his coach (Olympic Coach Lois Daigneault) established a high altitude( 7,000 ft ) training camp (DNA Performance Group), providing an opportunity for local, national and international swimmers to train at altitude. Atiba won several individual USS State Championship titles, set several state records and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in 3 events. Atiba was also the boys and girls Head Swimming Coach for the Santa Fe Preparatory School and Assistant Coach and strength trainer for the DNA Performance Group. Atiba is ASCA certified and a certified personal trainer.
Mary Uhl
Assistant Coach
Mary Uhl started competitive swimming at age 10 and competitive running at age 12. She swam with an age-group swim team for 7 years and also swam for one of Indiana’s top high school swimming programs. She also played tennis for her high school team.
Mary began competing in triathlons after her freshman year at Purdue University. In her first triathlon, she was 4th overall, 1st in her age group. As an age-group competitor, Mary competed in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship eight times and was 1st in 1989, 3rd in 1995 and 4th in 1988 in her age group. She was second in her age group at the short course USA National Championships in 1986. She was first overall at the USA National Long Course Triathlon in 1993.
Mary also competed as a professional triathlete for 8 years. As a professional triathlete, she was 2nd at Ironman Lake Placid in 1999 and 4th in 2000; 2nd at the Maizuru (Japan) Duathlon in 2000; represented Team USA at the World Long Course Championships in Nice, France in 2000; 3rd at Ironman Canada in 2002; 7th at Ironman New Zealand in 2003 and 2nd at Ironman Wisconsin in 2004. She placed in the top 5 at many 1/2 Ironman distance triathlons.
Mary was previously the assistant swim coach for Santa Fe High School and has been certified as a Level 1 Triathlon Coach with USA Triathlon. She has coached triathletes for many years.
Mary has a B.S. and M.S. from Purdue University in Atmospheric Sciences. She works for the New Mexico Environment Department as the Bureau Chief for the Air Quality Bureau, overseeing air pollution regulation and measurement throughout the state. She is married to triathlete/swimmer Mike Schneider and has two children, Oscar and Axel.