The people. The philosophy.
Develop the athlete.
Not just the swimmer.
Athlete centered. Coach driven. Parent supported.
Coaching begins with understanding who you are, and where you want to go.
One AURA
Different pathways.
One philosophy.
Every swimmer brings a different background, body, skill set, personality, and set of goals.
Our role is to understand the athlete in front of us and create an environment where they can develop technically, physically, and mentally. AURA brings together decades of experience across age-group, senior, elite, and national-team environments with a highly individualized approach.
Some swimmers come to solve a technical problem. Some need a more complete development plan. Others are looking for a high-performance training environment built around what comes next.
Technical development & athlete performance
Sophie Lai
Helping swimmers connect what they feel in the water with what they are actually doing.
Sophie brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience across learn-to-swim, age-group, senior, high-school, and elite environments in Sweden, Thailand, and the United States.
At AURA, she leads private coaching and the 12-Week Stroke Development Program, combining technical instruction, video analysis, athlete education, and ongoing mentorship.
Her approach goes beyond correcting a stroke. She wants swimmers to understand their swimming, become more coachable, build confidence, and develop skills that transfer back into everyday training and racing.
Explore coaching with Sophie →
High performance coach · The Collective
Kevin Lai
Understand the athlete. Build the training around what they need to perform.
Kevin brings over 20 years of coaching experience across every level of the sport, from age-group development through to international performance.
His coaching philosophy is built around the individual: how each athlete responds to training, and how physiology, testing, and race analysis can inform a program built around their needs.
At AURA, Kevin leads The Collective, a select group of ambitious swimmers receiving highly individualized training in a like-minded, performance-driven environment. Athletes who want to push beyond the traditional model and pursue national and international-level performance.
Explore The Collective →Athlete & parent stories
Progress you can feel.
“My daughter has loved working with Sophie. In just a few sessions she has progressed from “B” cuts to “AA” cuts. Sophie clearly breaks down and explains the strokes in a way that is easy to understand and apply. Her attention to detail and focus on the “small things” have resulted in huge improvements. My daughter looks forward to racing now as her confidence and skill have improved significantly.”
“Sophie has great attention to detail. She is very patient with small changes that make a big difference. She openly listens and clearly communicates with the swimmer and the parents. It is very obvious that Sophie has a tremendous amount of experience and can relate that to any swimmer level to help them excel.”
“My 12-year-old son absolutely loves working with Coach Sophie. She doesn’t just give him more yardage — they focus on the things that truly matter and make the biggest impact. I really appreciate the mentorship and the way she connects with him. His breaststroke was already solid, but Sophie took it to an entirely new level in just a few sessions, which led to a significant time drop. Most importantly, I see him happy, confident, and with that fire in his eyes every time he finishes a session with her.”
Your next chapter
What does your athlete need next?
A specific challenge. A bigger ambition. A place to begin. Tell us a little about your swimmer and we’ll find a path forward.
Start a conversation