Coaches and Directors
Coach Jay grew up in Jamestown and started swimming when he was five years old. He was a breaststroker who swam with both Swim GSA and High Point Swim Cub. Jay started coaching his senior year of high school at Sedgefield Swim & Racket Club (now Grandover), where he coached all through college.
After college, Jay had a variety of roles including banking, commercial real estate, dock door sales and as a residential advisor. He finally ended up teaching math and social studies at Kernersville Middle School. It was there that a friend approached him about helping coach Oak Ridge Swim Club during the summer. After several years coaching at Oak Ridge and realizing there was a need for more teaching based club in the Triad, Jay and Chris Compton started Star Aquatics in 2002.
Coach Jay says he wants his swimmers to enjoy the sport. He loves seeing them grow up and mature as people, learning life lessons through swimming. His favorite part of coaching is the relationships he develops with his swimmers. As a coach, Jay believes that accountability is critical, saying “We can coach & teach but the athlete has to take ownership and apply that to their swimming if they’re going to succeed. Taking ownership in what they do is something they’ll use for the rest of their lives.”
Jay has been married to his wife, Lori, for twenty five years and they have three children. The eldest is in graduate school at VCU and the next is at GTCC, studying aviation engineering. His youngest son will be graduating from Wesleyan in 2023. In his personal life, Jay enjoys Orange Theory fitness, being outdoors, cooking, golfing and playing with his dogs.
Coach Ed was born in Mexico City and started swimming there when he was five. His favorite stroke was breaststroke but at age thirteen, he switched to playing football. Ed first visited Greensboro in 1995 but went back to Mexico to finish college, finally moving here permanently in 2000.
Ed started teaching swim lessons and coaching in Mexico City and his first coaching role in Greensboro was at Friendly Pool in 2001. After a stint at Swim GSA, Ed joined Star Aquatics in 2012 and has been here ever since.
Coach Ed says that he enjoys coaching because of the connection between the coach and the athlete which allows the swimmer to develop to their full potential. He adds that he gets to do the things he liked as a swimmer with his kids now and changes what he didn’t enjoy. Ed believes that swimmers need to have a really good understanding of technique if they’re going to excel in the pool. He also tries to help them be positive to achieve their goals. Ed says, “Every athlete is different so I need to get to know the person in order to help them succeed.”
When he’s not coaching swimming, you can find Ed in the pool, participating in other sports or watching TV and movies.
Cell 336-508-8055
Coach Taylor grew up in Greensboro and began swimming summer league for Grandover when he was six. He swam year round for Swim GSA, smecializing in butterfly and sprint free. Taylor has a degree in business management from ECU. While he was in college, Grandover called and offered him a coaching role, which he did for three years before moving to Star to coach the Senior 1 and 2 groups.
Coach Taylor describes his coaching philosophy as swimmer-first: "Meet them where they are and take them where they want to go." He believes that the actual coaching is only a small part of what he does. "For me, it's a lot more about the swimmer, getting to know them, forming a personal connection and learning how to motivate them."
Outside of swimming, Taylor is a Crossfit enthusiast and a self-described sports fanatic, rooting for the Panthers and Tarheels basketball. He and his fiancee are getting married in September of 2023 in Banner Elk.
Cell 336-549-4682
Cell 336-880-6175
Coach Katye grew up in Greensboro and also started swimming when she was five. She was primarily a sprint freestyler and swam for Forest Oaks and Southeast Swim Club before swimming for Star. Katye recently graduated from UNC-Greensboro with a Batchelor’s in Kinesiology. She’s currently working on her observation hours, with a goal of attending graduate school for athletic training.
Katye has been coaching for six years, first as the head coach at Southeast Swim Club and Southeastern Guilford High School before coming back to Star Aquatics as a coach in 2021. She says that she loved her swimming experience as a child and wants to share the sport with others. “Whether they’re competitive or not, everyone needs to know how to swim. It’s a great skill and a great sport,” says Katye. With her groups, Katye focuses on sportsmanship and enjoyments so they will continue on in the sport.
In her free time, Katye is a physical fitness nut. If she’s not at the gym, she’s doing hot yoga or training for her first open water event in Wrightsville this spring.
Cell 336-521-5301
Cell 276-730-4587
