Coaches and Directors
With over 20 years of coaching experience, Coach Todd has seen success at all levels of swimming throughout his career. While in California, Coach Todd swam for the University California, Irvine. After graduating with a graduate degree in Education, Coach Todd spent 14 years as the Head Coach of the Coto Coyotes, before taking the General Manager position at the Mission Viejo Nadadores. There, Coach Todd worked with Olympic Coach Mark Schubert and was recognized as the 2018 Orange County Register's Swim Coach of the Year. After a successful stint with the Nadadores, Coach Todd went on to coach and manage operations at the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team.
Throughout his club swimming career, Coach Todd concurrently served as the Aquatics Director and Girls swim coach, going 27 and 1 with six consecutive league championships, taking a previously unranked team into a top 15 national spot.
In addition to his various coaching assignments, Coach Todd was also the Head Coach of Southern California Swimming’s All-Stars teams, served as the Orange County Age Group Chair, and currently serves as the Finance Chair on an LSC Board.
Coach Todd is passionate about helping athletes grow and succeed not only in the water, but out of the water too!
Coach Owen has been an avid swimmer his entire life. Starting at age 3 taking lessons at the YMCA, Coach Owen quickly made waves in the pool and became an asset to any team that he swam for. He had the privilege of swimming for Bishop Shanahan High School and the Lionville YMCA until this senior year, when he transferred to UMLY. Coach Owen was a National Qualifier, PIAA High School State Qualifier, and competed at the US Master Nationals in 2013. Although swimming was his life, Coach Owen shared another love for running and competed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on the Cross Country and Track & Field Team. His determination and drive to be a better athlete pushed him to train in swimming again after a couple years off, which led to him making the team during his last year at IUP.
Coach Owen started his aquatic career as the Aquatic Coordinator at the Lionville Community YMCA (“LCY”) in September 2014 and was promoted to Aquatic Director in February 2015. Coach Owen also volunteered his time as a coach at Downingtown West High School for both swimming and diving. In August 2016, Coach Owen became the Head Swim Coach of the LCY Riptides until April of 2020. During this time, he successfully coached swimmers at all levels of competition for both YMCA and USA Swimming. Coach Owen’s knowledge, fun loving, and competitive spirit is showcased in his coaching both on and off the deck. His passion and drive helps to make swimmers not only better at swimming, but also to be one united family and will give this team a new edge.
Dr. James (Jamie) Krull can only be described as a lynchpin of the UMLY swim team and the greater YMCA community. Despite being an active physician, Coach Jamie has found the time to volunteer decades of service to the Upper Main Line YMCA. He was recognized at the 2019 YMCA Short Course National Meet as the YMCA National Coach of the Year.
Years of coaching at the Y: 14th year
Swimming/Coaching Experience:
Born in Germany, I started swimming competitively when I was 10/11 years old. I moved into the fastest group within three years and I was holding a couple of club records (200Free, 800 Free, 400IM). During this time, I qualified for the Junior and Senior German Championships in multiple events. I stopped swimming to pursue my nursing degree but I missed the workout and the fun so I started to play water polo with my younger sister on the team.
After getting married, raising a family of three, and working part time as a night shift nurse, my two daughters showed interest in swimming after playing other sports like track and field and ballet. I took classes to get a coaches certificate and started to be a Junior Coach in Germany.
Our move to the United States in July 2000 interrupted my coaching for more than two years but since then I have coached the Minis, the Junior Yellow and Green Groups, and helped out with the Senior Groups and also the National Groups. I also was an assistant coach for the Boys A and Girls A Team and in charge of the Junior line-ups.
All three of my children graduated out of the UMLY swim program and continued to swim successfully in college.
To this day I still swim in the mornings with my buddies and one of the highlights of the workouts is the “social kick” with fins on.
What I like about coaching:
I like to coach the little kids because they are so enthusiastic about learning, improving, and of course…..having fun at the canon ball contest.
This is Heather's 4th year coaching with UMLY
College: 1993 B.S. Elementary Education Miami University Oxford, OH
2000 M. S. Educational Counseling Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT
Swimming/Coaching experience: At age 8 Coach Heather started summer swim league after she passed all the levels of swim lessons. The swim instructor suggested she try out for the swim team. She cried behind the blocks before her first race. Her dad turned to her and said, “Just try it once, and you will never have to do it again”. She was hooked after her first swimming race!
At age 11 she started year round swimming for Radnor Aquatic Club and then for Suburban Swim Club. She moved to Clearwater, FL at age 15 and continued age group swimming with West Florida Lightning Aquatics. After high school she swam for Miami University.
Heather moved to Fairfield County, CT after graduating college. She began to swim competitively for a Master’s swim program at the Westport/Weston Y. Knowing her education background, the aquatics director asked her to work as a swim instructor at the Y. In the mornings she instructed campers and in the afternoons she taught private lessons in backyard pools. She also taught private swim lessons for 14 years. While she was teaching fourth grade in Weston, CT, she was asked to be the assistant swim coach at Weston High School. Periodically, she would coach an age group session at the Westport Y, while attending grad school and teaching full time. In 1997 Heather met her husband Eric at the Westport Y through the master’s swim team.
In 2009 Heather and Eric relocated to the Philly area. It was during that time that their children Brendan and Delaney started swimming for UMLY. Heather still swims frequently at UMLY. Every year for their anniversary Heather and Eric choose a different open water swim to compete in to celebrate their love of swimming!
Currently, Heather is a college counselor at Delaware County Community College.
What does Heather like about coaching?: Swimming is about getting a swimmer from point A to point B in the quickest and most efficient way possible. The joy of coaching comes from teaching a swimmer the life lessons that are learned, while pursuing that endeavor.
Kristina graduated from Bloomsburg University in May 2016 with a degree in Elementary Education (Pk-4). Since graduating, she has been actively subbing in the Central Bucks and North Penn School Distrcits. Kristina's first experience as Boy's Head Coach was for the SAL team South West Aquatics Club. While coaching at SWAC, she was also apart of the coaching staff at the Central Bucks Family YMCA (Doylestown). In April 2018, Kristina became the Director of Competitive Aquatics for the YMCA of Bucks County (Tri-Hampton YMCA) where she led the Senior, Age Group and Pre Age Group levels through their 11-month season. Kristina is excited to be joining the UMLY team!
Coach Phil grew up in the area, swimming for UMLY on and off as a kid while attending local T/E schools, graduating from Conestoga in 2005. He attended and swam at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and graduated with a degree in History in 2009. After graduating, Phil worked in local T/E schools for a year before going to get his Master's degree in teaching from Towson University in 2012. While in Maryland, Phil headed the Age Group program for local club team Cardinal Gold Aquatics (CGA). Upon returning to Pennsylvania in 2013, Phil began coaching with the Age Group teams, headed up the Girls B team, and in the summers coaches the Varsity team at club called Martin's Dam. Phil has loved his past ten years with UMLY and looks forward to many more.
