Shawna Ghausi

Shawna started her coaching career at USD, with head Coach Michael Keeler in 1999.

After her first two years, she spent a season as the assistant swim coach at Rice University, and the next year at UC San Diego, as the women’s water polo assistant coach. In 2003, Shawna returned to USD, where she spent the next 5 years helping build the Torero program.

After getting married and having a son, Shawna left USD in 2008 to raise her family. Shawna returned to coaching at local Steele Canyon High School in 2019. There, she was responsible for the girls and boys swim program, as well as the junior varsity girls water polo team. During the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shawna provided an outlet for her athletes to be physically active, emotionally supported, and socially interactive. The 2021 accelerated season highlighted best times for every swimmer, both on the JV and Varsity teams. More importantly, that experience allowed for connection and movement during a very isolating time.

Shawna has worked with some of the best swim coaches in the country. She spent a summer at Stanford University, working with the men’s swimming coach, Skip Kenney, as a camp coach. The next summer was spent at The University of Michigan coaching with Jon Urbanchek and Jim Richardson. The following summer she was the head counselor at UCI, working with head coach Charlie Schober. These experiences strengthened her coaching skills and taught her the importance of professionalism in elite level competitive swimming.