Member 2009 - Present

USMS Pool All Star - 2018
USMS All American Honors – 12 years, 27 Individual
USMS Top Ten Achievements – 122 Individual
USMS Long Distance All American – 2 years, 2 Individual
NE LMSC Individual Records – 3 Current, 14 Lifetime

Swimming is my refuge, and I’ve swum best when I’ve had a great team or partnership starting with my Dad.

My father shared stories from his brief swimming career while making me chase after him in the pool. I laughed and swallowed gallons of water. His voice boomed, “turn your head to the side.” When you're five, Dad is everything. Sink or swim lessons made my muscles burn. I love that burn.

On my first team, I was so small I barely came to the thighs of the timers on deck at the Watertown Boys and Girls Club. Swimming was an escape from an otherwise turbulent childhood. We moved 13 times in 14 years.

At age 14 I met two mentors. Coach Roger Fickenscher swam with us in the morning under the direction of Tim Allen. Roger introduced me to Master’s Swimming and worked to make me a better teammate. Childhood had the side effect of making me fiercely independent, and since little else went well, I was cocky at the pool. Roger and Tim helped me navigate those shortcomings.

Tim Allen was retired from the sport for 20 years when he met me at a rec swim. We raced. I lost. He became my coach. I hung on to his every word. Tim taught me to trust, because Tim was there for me till 9 p.m. every weeknight for a year. Tim taught the gallop stroke before Phelps made it popular. We called it the ‘kick rhythm.’

Swimming led me to Springfield College with help from both my Aunt, who worked there, and coach John Taffe. At Springfield, I swam for the joy of being on a team. Few moments in my career match the pride and joy I felt watching teammates make national cuts, or eking out close dual meet wins.

Like Roger, I practiced with my athletes during morning lap swim at Wilbraham & Monson Academy. We’d do all kinds of sets from 10X500 to the ‘poor man’s power tower,’ tying belts to pull each other across the pool. Special thanks to Kevin Lambert, Ania Axus, and Wenjun Chang who collectively kept me swimming for eleven years.

The process leading to the 2014 World Master’s Championship was transformative. Six weeks prior, I trained with Fritz Bedford under the direction of Barbara Hummel. Barbara and Fritz reenergized my training. Fritz and I were complementary pieces. I needed speed, and I hope Fritz benefitted as much from my distance background.

Shortly after Worlds, I formed a new partnership with Coach Erik Mandel. Erik runs morning workouts at the high school where he has coached for 20+ years. We collaborate on workout modifications and have long conversations trading the latest swimming fads and debating which will stick. Whenever I need company, Erik is at the pool, usually with a couple Masters athletes and a cadre of High School and College swimmers keeping swimming new and exciting even as I near 40 years in the sport.