I began swimming at age 13 for the Pine Tree Swim Club (PTSC) in Portland, Maine.  After a couple of years there I joined a new team slightly closer to home in Cape Elizabeth that was founded by what was to become a Maine state swimming legend.  I have roughly 12 years of competitive swimming experience (AAU, USS, High School & College) and have been an assistant coach and head coach for roughly 15 years while working for several USS, YMCA and High School teams in Maine.  Although not a star swimmer myself, I was lucky enough to be team mates with some very talented individuals and learned that hard work and dedication can pay off.  I started coaching as a college freshman to help earn a few extra dollars and was “hooked”.   I spent 4 years as the assistant coach of the Nautilus Swim Club in Cape Elizabeth, ME before becoming the team head coach.  In my first year as head coach of the program, we won the state title in both the short course and long course seasons and sent a team record (at that time) half dozen swimmers to zones.  After a year off from coaching, I worked several years as both the boys & girls assistant coach at Cape Elizabeth High School in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  During this time I helped to establish and implement the team’s first dry-land training program.  In 1984, the girl’s team was ranked #1 in the nation by NISCA Power-Point Ranking.  

I worked several years as an assistant coach on the Pine Tree Swim Club (Portland YMCA) in Portland, ME.  During this period, the team sent over a dozen swimmers to the YMCA Nationals.  I also worked a season as the head coach of the Cheverus High School in Portland, ME.  The team was on the brink of being cut by the AD and I was able to start a rebuilding process, which lead to the team winning its first Western Maine championship several years later.  My last coaching position was as the head coach of the Sea Coast Swim Club in Cumberland, Maine.    

The high point to my coaching career was working with a Maine Swimming legend, Don Richards of Cape Elizabeth, ME.  Don taught me that swimming should be fun, whether you are the coach or the swimmer.  I have a “hands on” approach to coaching especially with younger swimmers and enjoy getting into the water as often as possible.   I also enjoy the teaching aspect of the sport and strongly emphasize stroke mechanics and the fundamentals of competitive swimming.