Meet our talented team of coaches:
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Matt Baxter |
Matt Baxter has been coaching competitive swimming for 22 years and 15 of those have been with PPSC, now Maine Gators. He began his coaching career in September 2000 as an Assistant Coach at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY with the USA Maverick Swim Club, becoming head coach in 2001 until 2005. From 2005-2008 he assistant coached with the South Eastern Virginia Aquatic club, as well as head coached the GPSA Kiln Creek dolphin summer league team. While coaching with the Maverick swim club and the South Eastern Virginia Aquatic club he worked with swimmers that qualified for the Eastern Zone meet, Sectional meet and NCSA Junior National meet.
Prior to his coaching career, Matt swam competitively for 17 years. His swimming experiences at Rochester Recreation Swim Team, Fairport Area Swim Team, Monroe Community College, and the University of Buffalo provided many positive influences and memories for him. At Monroe Community College he set a school record in the 400 IM and earned Junior College All-American status in the event. In the spring of 2008 he was inducted into the Monroe Community College Athletic Hall of Fame for his performance.
Matt moved to Portland in August 2008 to become head coach of PPSC. Since arriving, the club has enjoyed many top 5 finishes at the Maine Championship meet: from 2012 - 2014 the club finished 3rd overall, from 2015 - 2017 placed 2nd overall, and in 2018 took 1st place. For the 2010 - 2011 season Matt was awarded Maine Swimming coach of the year, an award he proudly to the assistant coaching staff, the club’s dedicated board of directors, and the positive, supportive, and family environment of the club.
During his tenure here, the club has had numerous athletes reach the Eastern Zone Championship age group meet, and numerous qualify for the Eastern Zone Sectional meet each year. The Porpoises have also added many NCSA Junior National qualifiers & USA Futures qualifiers, Junior National qualifiers, as well as a USA Senior National qualifier to the list of athlete accomplishments.
Matt received his Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Brockport in 2004 in English with a focus in creative writing. He received his Master of Science in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University in 2008. Matt lives in Portland with his wife Jessica and 2 sons, who also swim for Maine Gators.
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Ellyse Fredericks |
Ellyse joined Maine Gators in 2022, after spending 6 years coaching all levels of swimmers at the Burlington YMCA Dynamos and Winooski Waves. Swimming since a young age, Ellyse has been a part of the New England Swimming Association for most of her life. Ellyse earned a BA in Public Health from the University of Vermont in 2020 and looks to get her Masters in the next few years. She is a Vermont native and grew up competitively swimming and living by Lake Champlain, where she discovered her first passion for all things water related. Ellyse loves exploring Maine and all it has to offer.
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Erin Shanahan |
An ASCA Level 2 certified coach, Erin has been an invaluable member of the Maine Gators coaching team since 2014. Erin began swimming at age seven and swam Division I at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where she was team captain her senior year. After graduating in 2001, Erin became a high school teacher and started her coaching career. She held assistant and lead group coaching positions at a number of swim clubs and high schools in the New England LSC before joining PPSC. In April 2022, Erin was one of 17 coaches in the country selected to participate in USA's Swimming's Women's Leadershp Conference in Colorado. When not coaching, you will find Erin teaching high school English at Kennebunk High School.
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Eva Greene |
Eva grew up in Virginia where she was a National Championships qualifier and All-American swimmer in high school. She continued on to swim at UC Berkeley, where her team won two NCAA and three Pac-12 championship titles during her tenure. Eva has coached on and off since high school, including a stint as a part time assistant coach at Tufts University. Based in Portland since 2023, Eva works in climate impact investing and loves staying connected to the sport by coaching and swimming in her free time.
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Kevin Kane |
Born and raised in Maine, Kevin grew up swimming for PPSC and for Cheverus High School (2016 graduate). He continued swimming with the University of Maine as a mid-distance freestyler and butterflyer, and captained the team his senior year. While at UMaine, Kevin earned his bachelors in psychology and enjoyed teaching lessons with the Black Bear Swim School. Kevin currently swims in a local masters program and volunteers with Southern Maine Astronomers. Joining Maine Gators in 2022, Kevin runs our drylands program and is an assistant swim coach.
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Lauren Cote |
Lauren has been a Maine Gators Assistant Coach since in 2014. She began swimming at the age of five with the YMCA of Lewiston Maine. She has always loved being near and in water and trained and competed with PPSC, the Portland YMCA, and Deering High School. Earning her BS in Biology from University of Southern Maine, she worked many years in the field of pharmacy, but felt that something was missing. So, she went back to her first love of water and now works as our Age Group II coach. Lauren and her husband live in Limington with their three dogs.
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Zack Mullin |
Zack joined the Maine Gators coaching staff in 2020, when the YMCA of Greater Portland ended their swim team program. As the former head coach of the Portland Y team, Zack developed and implemented training plans for each of the swim groups, conducted swim and dryland practices, organized swim meets, and performed various administration and fundraising responsibilities. When not at the pool, Zack can be found at the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine and King Middle School, where he is the 21st Century Program Director. You may also find Zack DJing at local venues.
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Isaac Weaver |
Hailing from Northern Maine, Isaac joined Maine Gators in early 2024. Before his time coaching, he swam for the DEFY Dolphins, where he qualified for YMCA Short/Long Course Nationals. Additionally, he clinched two state titles with the MDI High School swim team during his tenure. Isaac continued his swimming career collegiately at Maine Maritime Academy. Now a student at the University of Southern Maine, he is studying Exercise Science with aspirations of pursuing graduate school to become a Physical Therapist. You'll see Isaac mentoring and coaching our DOLPHIN division swimmers.
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Sam LaRiviere |
A competitive swimmer for 18 years, Sam grew up swimming for the Sanford YMCA Titans and Massabesic High School, where he earned Academic All-American Honors and served as a Maine Swimming Athlete Rep. He continued his swimming career at Springfield College where he trained for the 200 Fly and 400 IM, and was a four-time All-Conference team member. Post-college, Sam co-founded a new swim team in Western MA, PVAA, and lead both the drylands and age group swim practices. After finishing PT school, he moved to CA to work with Swimming Science as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Since moving back to Maine, Sam is a Physical Therapist and owner of Grandeur Movement.
