Candy was brought to the South Shore YMCA to coach the master’s team.  She was then brought on board with the Strypers, to develop the young swimmers.  Candy spent over 10 years racing Triathlon professionally. She was the 2002 Xterra Triathlon World Champion.

Short introduction for Rachel Horak
I am a lifelong competitive swimmer and I am excited to coach swimming at the YMCA! My family and I have been members of the South Shore YMCA for 5.5 years, and we thoroughly enjoy the YMCA community. I started swim team in Northern Virginia when I was 7 years old and competed at the Division I level with Davidson College (North Carolina). I continue to swim several times a week through the YMCA and compete in open water races. I have 15 years of swim coaching experience, from the learn-to-swim level through the Division I level. My favorite age group to coach is 8 & Unders!
Aside from my swimming, here’s a little bit about me. I earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Georgia Tech, and my scientific expertise involves oceanic microbes, climate change, and research in biology education. My current “day job” involves delivering professional development to undergraduate biology educators around the world through a science society.

I value providing inclusive swimming instruction, such that all children will not only improve their swimming skills but also learn more about themselves through sports participation. I hope that all swimmers both have fun and develop a love for swimming. In full disclosure, my three young girls (Audrey, Ally, and Elena) are in our practice group.

I grew up in Old Saybrook CT where my swimming “career” began around the age of 5 in preschool.  I went to the local YMCA for preschool where I first learned to swim.  It didn’t take long for my parents to enroll me in the “Mini Marlins” swim team program at the Valley Shore YMCA.  I conveniently lived next to a Racquet and Swim Club where I also joined the summer swim team.  I loved competing and improving my technique, and especially loved the social aspect of the sport.  Throughout junior high, I played various sports such as cross country and basketball.  I continued to spend my summers at the Swim and Racquet Club and short course season at the Valley Shore YMCA in CT.  In high school I swam on my high school and YMCA teams and competed in track and field in the spring.  By junior/senior year of high school I knew I wanted to continue swimming in college and started taking some recruiting trips.  I ended up at UCONN where I swam Division 1 for 3 years.  To this day it is still one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences I’ve had.

I pursued my Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at UCONN and later moved to Providence, RI for a master’s internship for 2 years.  In 2018 I moved to Somerville, MA after accepting a job at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Biomedical/Clinical engineer.  In 2019 I then moved to Quincy with my now fiancé.  Last year I decided to sign up for the 2019 Hyannis Triathlon, where I placed 2^nd in my division.  I quickly realized how much I missed training/competing.  I started looking into options for Master’s swim programs soon after, which brought me to South Shore YMCA community! 

After spending many years swimming and learning from many amazing coaches, I would love the opportunity to give back and coach.  This would be my first coaching experience, but with my various swimming experiences and work ethic I feel as though I would make a great addition to the team.

Anne Keane – Coach

Email: [email protected]

Anne Keane is a volunteer swim coach with a lifelong passion for the water. She swam competitively and played water polo at UMass Amherst, where she earned her undergrad degree in Exercise Science. Anne has an extensive background in sports training and instruction, and has completed several Boston Marathons.

Her daughter is a member of the team, and her husband, Tom Keane—also a former UMass swimmer—is a fellow volunteer coach.