The start of the 2010 - 2011 winter season marks the beginning of Coach Bickner’s seventh year as the Senior Coach of DCST. In his first sixteen years, DCST has had 1 Combined Illinois / Missouri Area State Championship, 2 Boys Illinois / Missouri Area State Championships, 2 Girls Illinois / Missouri Area State Championship, 62 YMCA National Qualifiers, 28 National All-Americans in 113 individual and 33 relay events, 78 Illinois / Missouri Area State Champions, 15 North Central Illinois Conference Team Championships, 15 Illinois Area State Age Group Team Championship and 1 Deaf Olympic Games Qualifier (3 Gold and 1 Bronze Medal). In those sixteen years, DCST has grown from 67 swimmers in his first season to its current size of over 175 swimmers.
Before coaching with DCST, Bickner was an Assistant Coach with the Ann Arbor Swim Club Y. He also spent two years working with the University of Michigan Football Team during their 1992 and 1993 Rose Bowl years. Bickner swam competitively for DCST for eleven years while growing up in Sycamore. He represented DCST for three years at the national level in the 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 50 Free, 100 Free and on numerous relays. Coach Bickner’s wife, Amy, is also a former swimmer and coach. Brian and Amy have three girls Ava (6),Callie (5) and Brooklyn (1). In addition to swimming, Brian enjoys water skiing, fishing and scuba diving.