Meet the Coaches

Christian Bahr, Head Coach & Director of Ensworth Aquatics

For more than 30 years, Coach Christian Bahr has competed, coached, or covered every level of the sport, from age group swimming to the Olympic Games.

Coach Bahr started swimming year-round when he was eight. He went on to swim in high school and college, where he was an NCAA All-American and multi U.S. Nationals finalist. Coach Bahr represented the United States at the 1997 World University Games.

Coach Bahr came to Ensworth in 2012 after more than a decade of coaching with The Bolles School and Bolles School Sharks in Jacksonvlle, Florida. His swimmers have: set state and national records, made the U.S. National Junior Team, qualified for U.S. Olympic Trials, and swum in the Olympic Games. Coach Bahr has coached on deck at meets ranging from local club meets to Olympic Trials and the 2012 Olympic Games as a coach with Brunei Darussalam.

Contact Coach Bahr.

Coach Bahr on Development

“Our duty is to consider the person before we worry about developing the athlete. That means creating a path within our sport that keeps the kids engaged rather than push them along a path that squeezes the best out of them as quickly as possible.”
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Coach Bahr on Success

“I have been fortunate to help athletes qualify for meets such as the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games, but at the same time I worked directly with athletes trying to get their first Sectional or Junior Nationals time standard. Swimmers I have worked with have broken state and national records, while others were training their hardest just to make it to the State Championship Meet. For me, success is not about being at the pinnacle of our sport; it is the willingness to strive with and for your team every day in practice and, by doing so, being prepared to be your best when the time comes.”

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Coach Bahr on Team

“Swimming may be an individual sport but no one races alone. Promoting a TEAM culture means creating a humble, gracious, dedicated and supportive team atmosphere. We are all part of the team: coaches, athletes, and parents alike. The more we believe in that, the further we will carry each other.”
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Coach Bahr on the Olympics

“Coaching at the 2012 Olympic Games was a once in a lifetime experience. The swimmer I coached got dead last in the 200 Freestyle, but he dropped more than two seconds off his best time and, in doing so, lowered his own national record. To do that on that stage at 16 years old? Few other Olympians could boast of greater success. I am incredibly proud of him.”
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Joe Goeken

Joe Goeken brings decades of experience to Ensworth Aquatics. The early part of his coaching career was spent with the Nashville Aquatic Club. Later, Coach Goeken went on to become the head coach at The Baylor School, leading them to eight state championships. His other coaching credits include stops at the University of Florida, The Bolles School, and the Greater Pensacola Aquatic Team.

Coach Goeken has trained athletes at the highest level of the sport, coaching for Brazil at the 2000 Olympic Games where two of his swimmers earned medals in the 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay. That experience, combined with his commitment to helping athletes at all levels succeed, is a great asset to both the team and the greater Ensworth community.

Contact Coach Goeken

Glenn McCall

Coach Glenn McCall has been part of competitive swimming either in the pool, on the deck, or as a parent for more than 40 years. He started competitive swimming at a later age when he was 12 and wasn’t very fast. But he learned the basics, was passionate about the sport, had fun, worked hard and went on to enjoy a successful competitive swim career at SwimAtlanta and later The University of Texas at Austin.

During his time at Texas, he was a multi-year NCAA finalist, All-American, and U.S. Swimming National finalist in backstroke. In the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, he finished sixth in the 200m backstroke, earning a Top 25 in the world ranking and was a member of the U.S. National Team. He was also a member of the U.S. Junior National Team that competed in a U.S. vs. USSR Dual Meet.

Aside from a career in human resources, Coach McCall has coached summer league, middle school and master's programs in Austin, Texas, and Nashville, most recently with Nashville Aquatic Club. He is married to former swimmer and fellow Longhorn Claire Sanders McCall and is father to Will and Rob.

Coach McCall is passionate about swimming and believes in active coaching, giving direction, and complimenting effort regardless of level. In addition to the fundamentals of the sport, he values a healthy atmosphere of inspiring young athletes to reach their potential while having fun and balance in their lives. He believes there are no limits for an athlete’s goals in the water and in the classroom, and feels there are so many life lessons learned through swimming.

Coach McCall's favorite movie? Rocky because it embodies passion, hard work, grit and a dream.

Contact Coach McCall.

Marli McIntire

Marli McIntire’s appreciation of athletics and hard work stems from nearly 20 years of classical ballet training. After pursuing dance in college and graduating with a nursing degree from Samford University, Coach Marli became a pediatric trauma nurse. She discovered her love of swimming when her own children took up the sport, and she began swimming with Masters. She quickly realized that coaching provided an opportunity to interweave her interests in medicine and kinesiology with the artistry of body awareness and control.

Coach Marli’s passion is exploring new information about the science and art of swimming and coaching. She loves to carefully choreograph her practices to camouflage their challenging intensity. It brings her joy when swimmers complete a practice saying, “That was so HARD – but so much FUN!”

Coach Marli believes that through consistent development and reinforcement of proper technique, every athlete – regardless of innate talent – can learn how to swim correctly, setting the stage for achievement. She seeks diligently to ensure that lessons presented to swimmers can translate into enduring character-building principles in real life.

Coach Marli’s commitment to excellence and detail has allowed her to develop dozens of Age Group Sectional swimmers and Age Group Championship top 10 finalists, multiple Southeastern LSC champion swimmers and numerous high point winners and runners-up. She has coached several previous 10-and-under age group teams to consecutive First Place Southeastern Team Championships.

Contact Coach McIntire.

Coach McIntire's Coaching Philosophy

My goal is to help athletes perform at their highest potential using my best effort to:
* TEACH the importance and mastery of proficient strokes, starts, turns, and finishes
* INSTILL the value of hard work and help athletes apply consistent work ethic; and
* ENCOURAGE athletes to compete with healthy, competitive, classy attitudes.
Coach McIntire on Swim Parents

I believe that partnerships with parents are critical to coaching effectiveness. Parents know their children best, and they often help me recognize personality traits and learning styles unique to each swimmer. I enjoy coming alongside parents to support their swimmers and encouraging them as they allow their athletes to claim the sport for themselves.
Coach McIntire on Learning

I am committed to personal development through exploration of innovative teaching methodology. I LOVE studying different disciplines to find new swim applications. I strive to listen to and learn from swimmers, coaches, and families. I am an ASCA Certified Stroke Technician, and I completed the courses and tests for ASCA certifications through Level 4, and U.S. Masters Swimming Coach requirements for Level 2.