Meet the Coaches

Julie Odegard - Head Coach

While Coach Julie will be entering her 3rd season with the Elks, she has been a part of the Elk River Swim and Dive program since her oldest daughter joined the team as a 7th grader in 2009. Since then, Julie hasn’t left the pool and has had two daughters go through the program, Taylor and Hailey with her youngest, Gabby, currently on the team.

Julie began swimming at the age of 9 ½ and continued with it through college. Julie was a backstroker and freestyler and earned All-State and All-American honors throughout high school and college. Julie began coaching girls at the high school level after college with her alma-mater, Coon Rapids High School, and was a teacher at Fred Moore Middle School. Julie coached for 14 years and only "retired" from the position when she was completing her educational leadership degree and was pregnant with Gabby. Julie has really never left the pool deck as she has stayed active in running section meets and is a current MSHSL official. Julie is currently in her 14th year as an Assistant Principal at Elk River High School and often worked the table or on deck as an official at high school swimming and diving meets before taking on the head coach role in 2021. Julie is excited for the upcoming season and to work alongside Doug, Jill and Eric and the Elk River Girls Swimming and Diving Team members and parents.

Doug Bloom - Assistant Swimming Coach

EMAIL: Douglas.Bloom@isd728.org

Coach Bloom is in his 28th year teaching math at Elk River High School and his 38th year as a swim coach. He has had several (overlapping) coaching stints with various clubs and programs; Assistant Coach Moundsview Swim Club (10 years), Northern Shores Masters (4 years), Assistant Coach Moundsview High School (4 years, girls and boys), Assistant Coach Elk River Swim Club (3years), Assistant Coach Mac3 Flyers (2 years), Assistant Coach Elk River Girls (1994-2012, 2019-present), Assistant Coach Elk River/Rogers /Zimmerman/Spectrum Boys Swimming and Diving (2017-present). Coach Bloom has been named Section Assistant Coach of the year six times (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2020, 2021).

Coach Bloom and his wife, Laura, have been married for 20 years (he coaches at the pleasure of his lovely wife) together they have two children MacKenzie and Carter.

Jill Bush - Assistant Swimming Coach

EMAIL: Jill.Bush@isd728.org

Hi! My name is Jill Bush and I am thrilled to be coaching the Elks again this year! This is my fifth year as an assistant swimming coach with Elk River High School. I am originally from South Saint Paul, MN. My swimming experience started when I was 7 years old and continued through college at UW River Falls. My coaching experience includes both high school and middle school, boys and girls teams in Woodbury and Shakopee, MN. I have also been named Section Assistant Coach of the Year. My favorite thing about coaching is working with student athletes to reach their goals and achieve more than they ever thought possible!

I teach Physical Education and Behavior Intervention at Ivan Sand Community High School in Elk River. This will be my 8th year in the School District, 13th year teaching and coaching overall. I have been married to my husband Joe for 6 years. We live in Elk River and have a daughter Emmy (5 years) and a son Ryan (3 years). We enjoy sports, going to the lake, and staying active outdoors.

Eric Tester - Diving Coach

EMAIL: TBA

We welcome Eric to the team as our new diving coach!

I am the proud father of seven kids and as of May of 2020, a resident of Zimmerman. I have a passion for coaching athletes to their highest potential by building trust and cresting a fun and relaxed atmposphere while still challenging them to push past their self-imposed limitations. I live to see athletes laugh and smile because they achieved more than they thought they could.

As far as myself, I am a two time state qualifier and finalist in Indiana. I have coached 7 seasons of Men’s and Women’s Diving in Burnsville. During my Burnsville tenure, three school records were broken and athletes qualified for state six times. I was also a three year Burnsville High School track and field throwing coach with three state finalists and one school record set.