Head Coach Ed Kelly

As head coach, Coach Kelly brings a unique and exciting perspective to our program. He believes each and every swimmer, given the right coaching and motivation, will reach potential beyond expectation. Through his own determination and conviction, Coach Kelly teaches each swimmer to set goals and to dream big. The character that is developed in his swim program carries over into every aspect of life, developing the skill and discipline in each swimmer to Be the Best You Can Be.

Coach Kelly brings over 30 years of experience in coaching to HSC.  He was instrumental in starting the Hurricanes and was the founding coach of the team in 1977.  In addition to coaching the Hurricanes, Coach Kelly has been the head coach of Northshore High School for over 15 years and helped lead the NHS girls team to 5A State Champions in 2008 and 2009

Coach Kelly retired from the military after a career of 26 years.  He and and his wife, Mary Lou, live in Slidell.  They have five children, Colleen, Kathleen, Mary Shawn, Mike and Patrick. He also has 10 grandchildren, ranging from 10 to 21 years of age.

Email Coach Kelly at hscflyer@bellsouth.net

Assistant Coach Chris Prator

Coach Chris has been with the Hurricanes for the past two years as assistant coach but has over 23 years of coaching experience. His responsibilities include working with the Red, White and Blue practice groups.  Coach Chris focuses his attention on perfecting the technique for these younger age group swimmers.  He believes that this will provide the swimmers with a foundation for future success as swimmers as well as well-rounded individuals.

Coach Chris has been associated with the Hurricanes for over 30 years. While in high school, he was one of the founding members of the Hurricane Swim Club and was responsible for selecting the name for the team.  While attending Picayune High School, he swam with HSC and continued swimming with the team during summers and breaks from college.

Chris received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg and a Master's Degree from Northeast Louisiana University.  He was a member of the swim team at USM and was a USM graduate assistant coach while in graduate school.  When he graduated from college, he coached at the Metairie YMCA.

Chris is married to Shannon who is an RN and also is a swim coach.  He has two older children:  Austin, who swam with HSC and is now a student at LSU and Brittany, who recently graduated from LSU.  Chris also has two younger children, Andrew and Mia who enjoy swimming with Franco's Fins.  Chris and his family reside in Mandeville.

Email Coach Chris at cpratorswim@aol.com