Brinks joined Justin Vasquez's coaching staff prior to the 2022-23 season. The Hudsonville native has been a member of the Grand Rapids Aquatics coaching staff since January of 2011. His primary objectives are to help age group swimmers to develop as young student-athletes and to provide children living in the south Grand Rapids area with preliminary exposure to the sport of swimming.
While in high school, Brinks taught swim lessons for Hudsonville Public Schools from 2002-05. He spent the next four years swimming and studying at Oakland University (OU), and from 2005-08, Alex was a lifeguard/swim lessons instructor for the OU Rec Center throughout the school year as well as for Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation during the summer time.
In 2009, after graduating from OU with a B.A. in English, Alex began coaching and substitute teaching for Grand Rapids Public Schools. During the 2009-10 school year, he assistant coached the Ottawa Hills High School girls and boys teams and also coached the West Michigan masters group at Grand Rapids Community College.
From 2010 to the present, Brinks has been the head coach for the Ottawa Hills High School girls team. Â He head coached the South Middle Schools (Alger, Gerald R. Ford and U-Prep Academy) coed swim team from 2010-14. He is an ASCA Level 2 coach and lifeguard instructor. From 2010-11, Alex worked as a pool supervisor at the Salvation Army Kroc Center and an assistant manager at Martin Luther King Park.
A native of West Michigan, Alex was born in Grand Rapids and grew up in Hudsonville. He started swimming at seven years old with the Hudsonville Dolphins and Jenison Wildcats Community swim teams. Brinks went on to swim for West Michigan Swimmers (WMS), Hudsonville High School and Oakland University. In his 16 years as a competitive swimmer, Alex has been an age group state champion, high school All-American, and earned Academic All-Conference honors all four years in college.
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