PSC Coaching Staff

 Jeff Faikish: Program Director/Head Coach
 

Jeff Faikish, a Lansdale native, graduated in 1997 from North Penn High School, having led the swim team to a state title that year.   He was an All-American athlete in both swimming and water polo as well as the school-wide MVP.  He continued his swimming career at the University of Connecticut and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Psychology.  Throughout his career, Jeff has trained 5 swimmers to compete at the United States Olympic Team swimming trials, as well as led hundreds of athletes to swim at Division 1, D2, and D3 collegiate levels. As recently as this past summer (2024), his athletes have qualified for USA Junior Nationals and the Toyota US Open Championships.  Under his tutelage, the North Penn High School Swimming and Diving team won 6 state titles, was runner-up three times, and produced many state champions and dozens of All-Americans. He has been awarded the National Federation of High Schools Swimming Girls Coach of the Year and the PIAA Coach of the Year Award twice (most recently in 2023). 

For Jeff, coaching is about more than just teaching stroke technique/mechanics, fast starts, hard finishes, and race strategy; it’s about developing the important life skills of goal-setting, perseverance, resilience, self-understanding and reliance as well as positive thinking that young swimmers can carry with them long after they’ve hung up their goggles–all while having fun. He believes these life skills are invaluable to anyone to becoming positive contributors to their communities, their families, and their lives. His greatest passion in swimming and coaching is bringing every athlete, regardless of age, to realize their full potential– physically, mentally, and emotionally.  

Off of the pool deck, Jeff enjoys finding new music, being outdoors, and traveling; however, above all else, FAMILY is most important to Jeff. He resides in Lansdale with his wife- Jordan, three children- Madeline (also a state champion in the 200 and 500 Freestyle), Jakob, and Daniel, two stepchildren- Cameron and Brennan, and their dog- Fletch.  All 5 children are also competitive swimmers and water polo players!

Assistant Coaches:

Emmie Janis: Age Group Coach
I am a junior at Moravian University and I am studying nursing. I started summer swimming at Kbgh when I was 6 years old and began swimming club in 5th grade. In high school I ran cross country and swam for Central Catholic. I coach swimming at Kay Brook in the summer and I have been coaching PSC for about a year now. I am looking forward to this season! 

Emily Palmieri: Age Group Coach
Emily started swimming when she was 6 for Somerset Valley YMCA. She graduated from, and swam for,  Bridgewater-Raritan High School and East Stroudsburg University. She then joined Masters swimming and competed in the 2010 Nationals in Atlanta. She still tries to do one of the Steelman Open Water Swims each summer, and a pentathlon meet at her home pool in Bridgewater each December. She began coaching with PSC in 2019 and, in the summer, can be found on the decks of Westwood Heights Swim Club. Emily teaches at SGCS in Emmaus, and lives in PSD with her husband Jeff and children Ruby and Leo who swim and dive for Parkland and PSC.

Bill Platt: Senior Group Coach
Bill Platt is excited to be on the PSC staff.    Bill’s swimming experience began at Meadow Pool Swim Club in Emmaus, PA.  He graduated from and swam for Emmaus High School (for Hall of Fame Coach Mike Seip) and continued swimming competitively at La Salle University (for Hall of Fame Coach John Lyons).  While in college, Bill coached the swim team at Millbrook Farms Swim and Tennis Club in Emmaus (now the “Hive”) and was the 8&under swimming coach at the Wissahickon Aquatic Club in Ambler, PA.  While in graduate school, Bill was the assistant swimming coach at Dickinson College under Hall of Fame Coach Paul Richards. 
Bill lives in Parkland School District with his wife Susan, who is a teacher in the District, and two daughters, Sydney and Mackenzie whom both swim for Parkland and PSC. 

Aaron Raymar: Age Group Coach
Growing up in New Jersey, Aaron was always in or around a pool! Since he was 5 years old, he was a member of the Somerset Hills YMCA, Brookhill Summer Club, and eventually swam for Watchung Hills Regional High School. After that he went on to swim Division I at Lehigh University for 3 years. Aaron had the opportunity to compete at the Junior Olympics, YMCA Nationals, and Patriot League Championships multiple times in events such as the 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM, 500 Fr, 1000 Fr, and 1650 Fr (he was clearly a distance swimmer). After graduating from college, Aaron served in the Army for 5 years on active duty but always found himself drawn back to the water. In 2014, after a year of training, he completed an IRONMAN in Madison, WI in just over 13 hours. Aaron and his wife have two daughters currently in elementary school at Ironton, one of which is a current PSC team member. Working with PSC and the swim club is Aaron’s first official coaching opportunity, and he is really excited to work with all of the different practice groups whenever he is able.

Dave Yeager: Age Group Coach
Dave was a swimmer at Dieruff High School and Bloomsburg University. He has 20 years of experience as a Lifeguard, Water Safety Instructor and elementary grade swim coach. His most recent coaching role is as an assistant with Summer League Champion Orchard View Otters. Dave recently retired from Guardian Life Insurance and enjoys travelling with his wife Jessie and son Dominic (PSC swimmer).

Bob Nowicki: Senior Group Coach
Bob has been coaching since 2010, he is from a small town near Buffalo NY and moved down to Bethlehem in 2021. He was an Assistant Head coach for Town Wreckers Swim team in Orchard Park NY where he coached kids of all ages and skill, Including but not limited to swimmers who have reached Futures, Junior Nationals, and made Olympic trials cut times. Bob was also a coach for the Girls Varsity at Orchard Park High School where he led them to 6 straight undefeated seasons. He was then the Associate Head Coach for BLUE in Nazareth PA. Bob has taken a little over a year off from coaching but he is excited about bringing his knowledge to PSC to help athletes perform at their highest level. Bob enjoys Marvel and Star Wars movies/shows and likes to play video games or build Legos in his free time.

Allie McPeek: Senior Group Coach/Parkland HS Coach
Swimming has been a part of Coach McPeek’s life since a very young age. She was a club swimmer growing up, was a proud member of the KBGH tiger dolphins swim team during the summer months, swam in high school at Allentown Central Catholic H.S. and collegiately at Loyola University in Maryland. For the last 6 years she has been the head swim coach for the KBGH Swim/Dive team and this will be her 1st year as the head coach for the Parkland H.S. Swim/Dive team. Coach McPeek is a School Counselor at Parkland H. S., lives in the district with her husband Shawn and the younger of her two daughters Kelsey, and is a huge college football fan. 

Chris Barrett: Enrichment Coach
At age 5, Chris began his journey in the world of swimming by dipping his toes in a freezing cold lake for his first swim lessons. Chris graduated from the lake and began competing for the Memorial pool in Bethlehem, PA during elementary school. By middle school, he was swimming for the Bethlehem Aquatic Club and in high school he swam for Freedom. He consistently competed at the District level and especially excelled in both the Breaststroke and 200 Individual Medley events.  In 2007, he began teaching photography and many other art electives at Parkland High School. Both his son and daughter are swimming for PSC and Chris continues to swim when he finds the time!

Brian Bell:

Steve Zamborsky: Parkland Diving Coach
Stephen Zamborsky started his diving career as a young child at Westwood Heights Swim Club. During the summer, he also attended many diving camps at Penn State University and at the former Mission Bay Aquatic Center. He competed for Parkland High School where he won three consecutive District XI diving titles. After graduation from high school, he attended Penn State and was a four-year varsity diver for Penn State’s Swimming and Diving Team. In his senior year, he qualified for the NCAA National Championships on one meter springboard.
Throughout his career at Penn State, he continued to teach at Penn State’s diving camps as well as compete on a national level. After graduation, he was an unpaid assistant for one year at Arizona State University for the diving program. In his free time, he is a practicing lawyer who enjoys auto racing and spending time with his family.

Steve Turoscy: Parkland Diving Coach
I began diving around the age of 10 at Millbrook Farms which is currently The Hive in Emmaus. As a freshman in high school, I joined the varsity swimming and diving team and began competing that same year. I qualified for states both my junior and senior year with a best finish in the top 10. After high school, I dove for Lehigh University all four years and finished with a second place in the Patriot League on one meter my senior year. I currently coach summer league for Westwood Heights and am very excited to join the Parkland Swim and Dive Club!