OUR TEAM

JJ Bean has over 50 years of experience working with athletes of all levels of sports and aquatics, including competitive swimming, swim lessons, and aquatic safety in the Charlottesville-Albemarle Community. He has taught and coached at UVA and many local high, middle and elementary schools. He is a level  USA Swimming Coach and a Coaching Ambassador for the American Swim Coaches Association. He is fully certified in Red Cross Water Safety for Coaches, CPR/AED, and Athlete Protection and is a nationally certified Aquatic Facility Operator (AFO). He has coached national level swim teams including the Virginia Gators, the Charlottesville Y Aquatic Club, the Fairview Swim Club and Albemarle High School. JJs passion is helping youth become better citizens through sports and training. JJ’s personal mission is to inspire, enable and teach others to achieve their goals. JJ has a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology and Counseling from the University of Virginia.

Chip Earle founded Dive Connections in 1998 to allow local scuba enthusiasts to expand their opportunities to go diving.  Chip believes that whatever one’s interest in diving – dive travel, dive leadership, oceanography, photography, environmental science, underwater archeology, marine conservation, public safety diving and rescue – that all is possible from right here in Charlottesville.  Over the last 25 years Dive Connections and its sponsored dive club, SeaDevil, have worked to make diving and all its possibilities more visible and accessible.  The mission of Dive Connections is to empower each person to grow in the sport and in life, by facing challenges, actively participating in the community, and helping others grow in the sport.  Dive Connections and SeaDevil have issued more that 5,000 certifications, led hundreds of trips to destinations around the world, hosted over 300 meetings open to the community, with many speakers well-known to the national and international scuba stage, and inspired many people to achieve careers in diving related activities.

Samson Miller has coached diving for the past 10 years and was a member of The University of Virginia swim and dive team. After graduating in 2020, Samson established Alexandria Dive Club South, a nationally competitive year-round diving club based in Charlottesville, VA. ADC South offers everything from Novice and Junior Olympic to Masters level instruction in a safe, positive and energetic learning environment. Although highly competitive, the program truly excels at transforming beginner level divers into confident athletes.

In an area with so few springboard diving facilities, Samson’s mission is to bring as many diving opportunities as possible to Central Virginia. He aims to open doors for the next generation of divers by providing them with the resources they need to compete at a collegiate level and beyond.

Kate Purnell – is the owner of Central Virginia Swim Services – a swim lesson company based in Charlottesville. Kate is a lifelong swimmer and water safety advocate. With over 18 years over of industry experience, she began her journey teaching swim lessons at Lake Monticello. Kate has previously worked in aquatic program management roles and she started CVSS in 2020. Today, CVSS provides private and small group swim lessons to over 500 children throughout Central Virginia. Kate’s mission is to provide the highest quality swim lessons and to help students develop a lifelong love for swimming by providing a safe and fun learning environment.