COACHING STAFF

Doug Nist, Head Coach, Swimming
Coach Doug is in his first year as Jackson's Head Coach. His past coaching started with one year as Student Assistant as West Virginia University. He also served two years coaching at Perry Aquatic Club, one year head coach at North Olmsted High School and six years as head coach for the Paul & Carol David YMCA Phantoms swim team.

His swimming career started with four years at Massillon High School, graduating in 1989. He was a four-year team captain, four-year district qualifier, and two-year OHSAA state qualifier. He then went on to attend West Virginia University where he was a four-year letter winner and team captain during his senior season. He Graduated from West Virginia in 1994. In total, he competed for 18 years as a swimmer. In 2009, Doug was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame.

Doug currently resides in Jackson Township with his wife Cheryl. They have three children: Victoria, Holden and Lauren. He enjoys spending time with his family. As the new head coach he is most looking forward to working with a great group of swimmers and helping them to achieve their goals while striving to build a strong swim program at Jackson High School.
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​Phil Barr, Head Coach, Diving
Coach Phil Barr is a lifelong resident of the Canton area. A 1980 graduate of GlenOak High School, he grew up swimming and diving competitively from an early age. He began to coach diving in 1999 when his son, Justin, joined the diving team for GlenOak. He coached several divers on other high school teams as well as at the University of Mount Union but continued with GlenOak up until 2017. That same year he was asked to help with the diving programs at Jackson and Perry.
  
He has had numerous sectional qualifiers and one sectional winner; several district qualifiers, and a few state qualifiers. His state qualifiers have placed as well as 6th, 7th, and 9th in the state. In 2015, his team with the University of Mount Union men’s divers won the NCAA OAC Championships in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. These days, Phil continues to coach the Jackson High School divers. In the off-season, he is busy growing and developing new divers in the area with his Panther Diving Academy.

In his spare time, Phil enjoys exploring the back roads on his motorcycle, golfing, and spending time with family, friends and his five grandchildren.

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​Mikayla Dearing, Strength Coach, Swimming
Mikayla Dearing is in her second year as assistant coach for the Polar Bears. An ISSA certified fitness trainer, she develops and oversees strength training for the team in addition to coaching. Mikayla is a School Counseling graduate (Master’s Program) of Walsh University where she majored in psychology during her undergrad and was on an academic/athletic scholarship for their track and field team.

Besides coaching at Jackson, Mikayla is an assistant varsity soccer coach and track & field coach for Sandy Valley Local Schools as well as their Elementary School Counselor. Mikayla is also owner/fitness trainer for Full Circle Fitness. She is a 2013 graduate of Perry High School where she was a member of the track and field team and girls’ soccer program. While at Perry, she set the current Stark County record for the 4x4 relay team, took first place state championship for the 4x4 relay team, was state qualifier two years in a row in the 400 meter dash, 4x2 relay, 4x4 relay, First Team All-County/District, was named Female Federal League Athlete of the Year, and was a four-year letterman for both track and soccer.

Her thoughts on coaching the swim team: I am super blessed to have the opportunity to coach these athletes for another year. Not only is it my job to push and motivate them but they do the same for me. Never did I think I would wake up for a practice before 7:00am but seeing the drive and dedication these athletes have is so rewarding. When I was asked to help coach the swim team, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I have loved every second of it and now look at the team as family. I am excited to see what each swimmer will bring to the table this season and wish them all nothing but the best.


Michael Biclawski, Assistant Coach, Swimming
Michael Biclawski is a first-year assistant swim coach for the Polar Bears. He is a 2016 graduate of Jackson High School and swam on the team all four years. During his high school swimming career, Michael was named captain his senior year, earned All-Ohio distinction three times, All-County four times and was an Academic All-American.
He went to Northern Michigan University and swam for the Wildcats for four years. Michael helped his team maintain a 3.6 GPA, be consistently ranked in the Top 10 nationally for Division ll and win the Calvin College Mid-Season Invite in 2018. He recently completed his studies at NMU majoring in Elementary Education with a focus on Math and Science. Michael student taught in the Perry School District and will be applying for his teaching certification in Michigan.

In addition to being an assistant coach for the high school team, Michael is also a swim instructor and assistant coach for the David YMCA Phantoms. When asked how he sees himself as a coach for Jackson, he said he hopes to be an outstanding role model for the team and teach lessons in and out of the water.