Coaches and Directors
Coaches and Directors
Coaching Staff
Coach Ray grew up in
Orangeburg, NY (Rockland County) where he swam competitively at
Tappan Zee High School '78-'81. During his HS swimming career
Tappan Zee compiled a record of 72-1. He was selected Captain
his Senior year and was first team All County selection. He was a
member of the 1980 record breaking Section 9 400 freestyle
relay and was voted by his peers as the most dedicated
swimmer. He went on to attend Saint Peter's College in Jersey
City, NJ ‘81-‘85 on a Division One swimming scholarship
and was named freshman of the year for his overall outstanding
swimming performance.
He currently is an ASCA
level III coach, who has had a tremendous amount of success at the
High School level. He landed at his Alma mater Tappan Zee
High School in 1999. In his 14 years coaching both the Boys &
Girls teams, he produced State, Section & League Champions and
two State team Championships. He coached 12 All American swimmers
and a National Gold medalist, as well as two Olympic Trial
Qualifiers. Ray has sent over 25 swimmers onto Division One
Colleges with scholarships. He had an overall winning percent-age
of .761 during his tenure at Tappan Zee.
Ray also coached a highly
competitive USA team working with the New York Sharks swim team for
two years. He also coached a Competitive Summer league team for 13
years starting the program with just 30 swimmers and he finished
with close to 100 swimmers ranging from 5-18 years of age. Each
year all his swimmers have improved their personal best times and
stroke techniques.
Ray comes from the Hunterdon County YMCA in Flemington, NJ where he was also the Competitive Aquatics Director/Head coach since 2014. Ray was responsible for working with about 110 swimmers. He sent many swimmers to the state and national meets and really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of YMCA swimming while maintaining the core values of the YMCA…Honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. . Ray brings a passion of swimming that he instills in all of his swimmers, and makes it fun for everyone. He is a strong communicator, and has wonderful people skills that makes him easy to get along with.
Ray has been the head
Coach of the program since August of
2017.
Ray enjoys spending time with his wife; Suzanne and their four children, Chelsea (34), Meagan (32), Sean (32) and Katie (29) and his three beautiful grandsons! He loves to travel, and is a lifelong Yankee and Giant fan. He resides in Hamburg, NJ
Coach Alexis started her swimming career at the Cruiser Club, now
known as the Lake Mohawk Pool, when she was 4 years old. It was
there that she developed a deep passion for the
sport.
Alexis started swimming year round at Lakeland Hills YMCA when she
was 8 and qualified for YMCA Nationals five years in a row and
left Lakeland Hills YMCA with multiple individual and relay
records.
Alexis also swam for Sparta High School and holds five team
records.
Alexis continued her swimming career at Bucknell University in
central PA, where she was a member of the record-holding 200 medley
and 200 free relays. She also achieved the program's second-fastest
times in the 100 and 200
butterfly.
Alexis was enthusiastic about continuing to pursue her passion for
the sport after graduating college. She embarked on a coaching
journey at the Sussex County YMCA in 2022, where she remains
dedicated to coaching.
Alexis is a graduate student pursuing her doctorate in occupational
therapy. Additionally, she actively contributes to raising her
three cousins.
We are thrilled to have
Sarah as part of our coaching staff. Sarah's first
coaching job was as an assistant for the Highland Lakes summer swim
team in 2000-2004.
After graduating from
Ithaca College, Sarah was a grad assistant with Montclair State
University from 2004-2007. She taught physical education in
Paterson from 2007-2015 and took a break from coaching during that
time.
Sarah got back into
coaching in 2016 when her oldest started swimming for Aqua Gems.
She coached at Aqua Gems in Orange County, NY from
2016-2022. Both of Sarah's daughter's are part of our
swim team now as well!
Casey Murphy swam at William Paterson University. She is on the record board there for top ten most points of all time. After graduation, she helped coach William Paterson’s swim team and the Akrug Aquatic Club. Casey has eight years of coaching experience. She is currently the head swim coach at Pequannock Township High School. Next year will be her ninth season coaching and teaching swim lessons at Lake Stockholm. Casey is in her second year (2022) coaching the Swordfish. We are thrilled to have Casey on our coaching staff!
Shane Schwarz Coach
Board of Directors
