Brent Arckey

Brent Arckey is an American swimming coach, head coach of the Sarasota Sharks club since 2014, and CEO of the club since 2017. He is a member of the coaching staffs for the U.S. national team at the Junior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Biography

Brent Arckey was born on. He earned a degree in sports management from the University of Florida. He showed an interest in coaching from an early age, taking his first steps in the profession in youth summer leagues. He gradually built a career in leading swimming clubs in the United States.

Career

From 2005 to 2010, Arckey worked at the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Florida, where he coached both age groups and the Masters category. Here, he gained experience that allowed him to move to a higher level of work with young athletes.
In 2010, he joined the Sarasota Sharks club in Florida. Since 2014, he has been the head coach of the club, and since 2017, its CEO.
Under his leadership, the Sarasota Sharks has become one of the strongest clubs in the United States, regularly winning youth and national championships. Arckey has created a sustainable training culture focused on technical excellence and long-term athlete development. In a 2023 interview, he emphasized the importance of "conscious volume," an individualized approach, and working on leg technique as the basis of swimming speed.
Since the late 2010s, Arckey has been actively involved in the coaching staff of the United States national team. In 2019, he led one of the groups at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, and later became one of the personal coaches of athletes who qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, including Emma Weyant, a silver medalist at the Games.
In 2022–2024, Arckey continued to train elite swimmers as part of the U.S. national cycle and participated in the selection for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Under his leadership, the Sharks club reached a record level in the number of athletes who made it into the U.S. national teams in age and elite categories.
In 2023, he was the subject of several major podcasts and articles in specialized publications such as SwimSwam and Swimming World, where he shared his training philosophy and strategies for developing athletes from a young age to world-class level.

Notable students

Summer McIntosh – multiple Olympic champion, holder of multiple world records, including in individual medley and freestyle. She has been training under Brent Arckey at the *Sarasota Sharks* club since 2022. In 2025, she departed from the club to team up with Bob Bowman, who coaches both Michael Phelps and recently, León Marchand.
Emma Weyant – Olympic medalist, multiple medalist at the World Championships, trainee of the *Sarasota Sharks* club and student of Brent Arckey.
Ryan Murphy – four-time Olympic champion, multiple world champion, former world record holder.
Alexa Revill – medalist at the U.S. National Championships and participant in the Junior World Swimming Championships.
Katie Shanahan – U.S. champion in her age category.
Nick Foster – NCAA medalist, participant in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Achievements and awards

In 2017, Brent Arckey was named Junior Coach of the Year by USA Swimming.
Under Brent Arckey's leadership, athletes from the Sarasota Sharks club have repeatedly won national and international competitions among juniors and adults.
Brent Arckey was inducted into the Florida Swimming Hall of Fame for his contribution to the development of swimming at the local and national levels.
In 2022, he was awarded an honorary certificate from Swimming World Magazine for his significant contribution to the training of Olympic champions.
He is regularly included in lists of the best coaches in the United States according to various specialized publications.

Coaching philosophy and methodology

Brent Arckey is known for his individualized approach to each athlete, emphasizing technical precision and psychological preparation. His methodology is based on a thorough analysis of movements and continuous monitoring of progress using modern video analysis technologies.
In the training process, Arckey emphasizes the development of endurance and strength with a balance of techniques to prevent injuries and burnout in athletes. He also pays close attention to fostering team spirit and motivation, which contributes to achieving high results at international competitions.
Arckey's philosophy is based on the idea that success is achieved through the harmonious development of the physical, technical, and psychological components of an athlete.

Personal life

Brent Arckey is married, and his wife actively supports his career and participation in swimming events. The family has two children, whom Brent strives to raise with a love for sports and a healthy lifestyle.
In his free time, Brent enjoys fishing and traveling, often combining leisure with attending various international sporting events.
He is also actively involved in charitable and educational projects aimed at supporting youth and developing swimming in the United States.