Coach Michael is in his first year with Huntsville Swim Association. He is excited to start his first year as the Head Age Group Coach of HSA and work with great swimmers and coaches. He will be the lead coach of our Apollo 3 group and also work with Discovery 1 as well.
Michael was the Head Age Group Coach with Birmingham Swim League for 11 years from 2014-2025 and during his time they had multiple 8-Under Age Group Championships, multiple 10-Under Age Group Championships and the 11-12 Girls Age Group Championship in 2023. He was named Southeastern Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year in 2023, and he has also coached numerous Southeastern Champions.
Prior to BSL, Coach Bottchen worked with Hoover Blue Thunder from 2010-2014. During this time, HBT won multiple Medium Team Division Championships for Southeastern Swimming, along with the 11-12 Boys Age Group Division at the 2012 Short Course Southeastern Championships.
Before his arrival at HBT, Coach Bottchen spent 5 total years attending Indian River State College where he was a part of multiple Junior College National Championship teams as a swimmer and as a volunteer coach for the college team and an age group coach for the River Rats in Fort Pierce, FL. While coaching at IRSC, Coach Michael had the privilege to learn under the guidance of former Florida State University Head Coach Frank Bradley and Texas A&M University Coach Duncan Sherrard. Under their teachings he was able to coach swimmers who were beginning their first practice all the way to Olympic athletes.
