Tasha Perry Singleton is a third generation swimmer, teacher, and coach from Ocala, Florida. She grew up at Perry's Swim School, which was built in the late 1950s by her grandparents, Newt and Dot Perry. At merely six months old, Tasha learned how to swim in her backyard pool. By the time she could walk, she was climbing the steps to the diving board.
From age six to eleven, Tasha swam for The Central Florida Marlins. She joined Team Orlando Diving at age eleven, winning top honors and rankings on the one-meter board. Following an accident that resulted in three broken vertebrae and surgery, Tasha was told by doctors that she should not return to competitive diving. After a long eight month recovery, Tasha started swimming for Vanguard High School. As a freshman, she broke her first school record in the 100 backstroke and was the only girl from Vanguard High to qualify for State Championships.
Coach Garry Nelson recruited Tasha to swim at Broward Community College in Davie, Florida. In October of her freshman year, Coach Nelson announced that the college was dropping the swim program and he would be starting a new job effective immediately. Due to parents' petitioning, Tasha and her teammates were able to finish the season under the direction of a new coach. Upon completion of her freshman season, Tasha decided to hang up her cap and goggles. She returned to BCC as a sophomore, even though there was no longer a swim team.
For two years, Tasha coached and taught in Davie and Weston, Florida, while trying to decide what the next step was. In the summer of 2001, she moved back home to Ocala and enrolled at the Florida School of Massage. With over 800 hours of practice, Tasha graduated from massage school in March 2002.
While she intended to officially begin her career as a massage therapist that summer, an unexpected phone call from Coach Nelson changed everything. This time he was recruiting her to swim for Cumberland College. Aaron "Pup" Phillips, a Cumberland football player at the time and one of Tasha's best friends in high school, provided Coach Nelson with her phone number. Tasha accepted this second chance and enrolled in the fall of 2002. She became a 26-time All-American and the 2005 NAIA National Champion in the 200 backstroke. At Cumberlands, she remains 3rd in 200 backstroke, 6th in 100 backstroke, 7th in 200 freestyle, 10th in 50 and 100 freestyle. After graduating in 2006, Tasha assisted the women's wrestling team and served as G.A. for the swim team.
Tasha spent five years teaching and coaching Age Group (YMCA), High School and USA swimmers in Morehead, Kentucky. She was voted High School Region 4 Women's Coach of the Year in 2014. Tasha is now Head Coach of the Wilderness Trace Family YMCA Stingrays and assistant coach for the Danville High School Admiral swimmers.
Tasha married her college sweetheart and Cumberlands' alumnus, Kyle Singleton, in 2009. They reside in Danville, Kentucky with their two children, Gus (5) and Gracee (1).
