Head Coach Aaron Mullican
Coach Aaron has over 14 years of elite athletic experience and more than a decade of coaching within the paddling community, Aaron is a passionate and dedicated leader at Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club. As Head Coach since 2021, Aaron draws on a wealth of diverse experience to lead and mentor athletes of all levels, from beginners to high-performance/international competitors.
At LCKC, Aaron has held a variety of roles, including Day Camp Counselor, Beginner Racing League Coach, Dragon Boat Coach, High-Performance Coach, and has also served as a Board Member.
Aaron is committed to guiding athletes through a comprehensive coaching philosophy that prioritizes technique, fundamentals, and personalized attention.
Developmental Training Coach Erika Medveczky
Erika will oversee all of the Developmental programs.
Erika is from Hungary and has been kayaking since 1997. She is a 4th place Olympian and an 8-time World Champion.
Besides her sports career, Erika managed a club in Hungary where she also coached children of a similar age group.
Canoe Training Coach Peter Gorunovych
Petro Gorunovych began his paddling journey in 1977 in the USSR, where he achieved a 2nd place finish in the USSR Student Championship (college division). He graduated from Ternopil University in 1985 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Science.
Since 1985, Petro has dedicated himself to coaching, guiding numerous athletes to international success. His impressive coaching record includes three World Champions and a multitude of World Cup and European Championship medals. He also served as the Head Canoe Coach of the Ukrainian Junior National Team.
Masters Training Coach Walker Peck
Walker is a Senior at UNG studying Biomedical Science. He has competed Nationally and Internationally for many years and placed 8th and 11th at the ICF Canoe and Kayak world championships.
As Head Coach of LCKC’s Masters team, Walker is committed to ensure the team is satisfied with their training, teammates, and competitions. He has been instrumental in organizing our athletes to compete at Nationals and World Championships.
Walker has also competed in the Olympic Hopes regattas in Czech Republic and Slovakia and placed 11th in the U23 World Championships K2 1000m.
His favorite hobbies are playing guitar, fishing, golfing, and really enjoys coaching kayak technique to kids and adult athletes.
Dragon Boat Coach Drew Deppe
Drew has been paddling at LCKC since 2011. He started out in the beginner racing league and eventually moved up to the development and high performance teams. During his kayaking career, he competed in three national championships and garnered several gold, silver, and bronze medals.
In 2018 he competed on the United States National Dragon Boat Team to compete in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championship. That event has definitely been the highlight of his paddling career and his team won four golds, in addition to others, and won the international title.
Assistant Coaches
Caleb Collins - Assistant Coach
Caleb is an athlete and coach who has spent the past eight years competing in flatwater sprint kayak, earning two national titles and seventeen national medals. Caleb’s passion for watersports extends beyond his personal achievements; he has been coaching both dragon boat and sprint kayak for over four years.
As the coordinator for the Beginner Racing League and the assistant Masters Coach at the LCKC, Caleb fosters new talent and shares his love for the sport across the US through competitions and races. Outside of paddling, Caleb is a photographer and graphic designer.
JacksonHutton - Assistant Coach
Jackson has been a part of the LCKC family ever since he was 12 and he always felt like he belongs.
He trained on the developmental and high-performance teams learning discipline, respect, social skills and self-confidence through physical ability. He is glad to able to return and coach the team that he used to be a part of hoping to pass on the same lessons that he was fortunate enough to learn and hopefully make a difference in these kids lives.
Benji Ingram - Assistant Coach
Benji started at the club with the Beginners Racing League in 2018 and has been on the High Performance Team since 2021.
Since then, he’s represented the United States of America for three years in a row in both Olympic Hopes Regatta and Junior/U23 World Championships.
He has also won many national championship titles over the years. Currently, He is assistant coaching the Canoe team and coaching Beginner Racing League teams in season.
He is a student at UNG studying Engineering and Physics, wanting to one day do research at a National Laboratory.
Edward Surles - Assistant Coach
Edward has been paddling with LCKC since 2013 and coaching since 2022. He currently serves as an Assistant Coach for the Olympic Canoe Program.
He recently graduated from the University of North Georgia with a degree in Biology, and plans to pursue a career in medicine in the future.
He has many paddling accomplishments including National Champion in C1: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024.
