Meet the Team!
Mikayla and Brandon Haefner
Co-Owners
Haefner Swimming has been in the family since 2003, and Mikayla and Brandon Haefner have taken the lead with the program since 2024.
Mikayla has a background in secondary education and has a total of 12 years of experience working with children and young adults. She knows that dedicated coaches can help build confidence in swimming from a young age, which can last a lifetime. Mikayla manages all operations at Haefner Swimming.
Brandon Haefner has been in the competitive swimming world since age 5. During his swimming career, Brandon climbed the ranks alongside his siblings and took home titles such as Arkansas Freshman Swimmer of the Year and four All State/All Conference wins. Now, in between his job at Newell Brands and construction contract work, Brandon shares his swimming knowledge by teaching private swim lessons. Brandon will be leading Intro to Competitive Swimming this summer.
Mikayla and Brandon are dedicated to the mission of guiding children to become lifelong learners and proficient swimmers at Haefner Swimming. They believe in the importance in water safety for all children and wish to offer skills training in NWA for years to come.
Becca Ferrell
Lead Instructor
Becca has been teaching swimming lessons year round for just shy of a decade. She is WSI certified, CPR certified and has a BA in Child Development. She learned through her education that providing an encouraging and safe learning environment is key for children to excel in any skill. Becca practices positive coaching with her students and aims to make lessons fun while still progressing in endurance and technique. She can not wait to meet her students this summer!
Becca will be leading Learn-to-Swim and Mommy & Me classes this summer.
Colin Luken
Swim Instructor
Colin Luken is a senior at Bentonville West High School. He's been swimming for 9 1/2 years in Norfolk, Virginia and now in Bentonville, Arkansas with the NWAA Sharks and for the BWHS swim team. He thinks swimming is the best sport because it requires dedication to improve your own time. Colin's favorite event is 200 IM, and his favorite stroke is breaststroke. Outside of swimming, he excels academically, is working towards becoming an Eagle Scout, and enjoys playing multiple musical instruments. He also helped coach younger swimmers with the NWAA Sharks and believes in working hard, having fun, and celebrating improvement. He is certified in Red Cross CPR and as a lifeguard.
Ross Luken
Swim Instructor
On the NWAA Sharks swim team since 2020, Ross, 17, a Bentonville West High School senior, started swimming at 7 in Norfolk, VA. He swam for Haas Hall Academy his freshman year, then BWHS Swim Team for the next 3 years. Aside from swimming, he excels academically, ranking top 5% in his class. He also tutors in math and serves as a teacher's assistant in AP Calculus. Additionally, he has recently earned his Eagle Scout award! Ross looks forward to teaching kids in NWA how to swim, inspired by his own swimming mentors.