2025 NEW ENGLAND ZONE TEAM 

A person in a white cap and black sweatshirtAI-generated content may be incorrect.HEAD COACH, ANDY SHIELDS

Originally from Essex, England, Andy moved to America in 1999 to attend Elon University in North Carolina to study Health and Physical Education.

Coach Andy took over the position of Head Coach of the Tritons in 2018 after relocating to the Northeast to be closer to family. Since then the Amherst Tritons has progressed and grown rapidly from a REC based program to one of the top USA swim team programs teams in Western, MA & New England swimming.

During his time at ATST, Coach Andy has helped the Tritons win back to back NE 10 & Under Age Group Championships and coached multiple swimmers to the Zone, Sectional, Futures, Winter Junior and Summer Junior levels. 

Prior to moving to New England Coach Andy spent  8 years in the Georgia LSC both as Head Coach (Atlanta Swim Academy) & Head Age Group Coach (Chattahoochee Gold) where he coached numerous State, Sectional & Zone Champions.

Along with his responsibilities as a club coach, Andy has been a member of the Georgia and New England Zone coaching staff for more then 7 teams and has been part of winning teams in both LSC's. In 2024 & 2025 Coach Andy was named the Head Coach of the NE Zone Team.

In addition Coach Andy is also involved with the NE LSC Age Group Committee where he was named the NE Age Group Chair in 2024. He has spent time as is a USA Paralympic travel coach who helped introduce, guide and coach National Paralympic team member, Olympic Gold Medalist (2021 & 2024) and world recorder holder Gia Pergolini. 

 

A person in a blue shirtAI-generated content may be incorrect. PATRICK FOLEY

I am incredibly happy and grateful to represent the Northeast Zone Team this August at Eastern Zones Championships.  I currently work at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC), as the Assistant Head Swim Team Coach.  I look forward to working with your athlete at the upcoming competition.

I spent my early years and adolescence moving around the country, but one constant that followed me each time I moved, was swimming. Each time we relocated, my parents always helped me find a swim team, lake, pond, ocean, or river to soak it up, float around, swim up and down, what have you!

Swimming is my favorite sport to participate in and my favorite one to coach as well. I have been a team member on summer league swim teams, YMCA’s, various sized club teams, and in college, swam for Oakland University and The University of Hawaii, at Manoa.

My goal as a coach is to work with you and your swimmer in a positive manner to help them reach their full potential as athletes and teammates at The Eastern Zone Championships.

 

A person smiling at the cameraAI-generated content may be incorrect.LAUREN GALE

Lauren's first official job was working as a lifeguard and teaching swim lessons after swim practice in high school. Lauren swam for one year at Plymouth State University then transferred and swam at Bridgewater State University. Lauren taught the Swim for America program at BSU, was the head life guard and the captain for three years. After graduating from Bridgewater, Lauren coached at the South Shore YMCA, when she realized that coaching was even more fun than being in the water. Lauren recently went back to school and earned another Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Wellness.

Lauren has always been active in working with children and expressly interested in the interaction between a healthy lifestyle and positive outcome later in life for children. Lauren firmly believes that swimming is a life skill, as well as a great sport to stay healthy and active.

Lauren has been coaching for 15 years. She became the Head Coach of Karishim Swim Club in 2018. This is Lauren’s second year coaching the New England Zone team.

 

A person smiling at cameraAI-generated content may be incorrect.RYAN PITCAIRN

Ryan grew up swimming in the North Shore of Massachusetts. After attending Bates College he moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State for his masters in education. After spending time teaching in Arizona and New Hampshire Ryan moved back to Massachusetts where he began coaching at Charles River Aquatics.

 

A person wearing glasses smilingAI-generated content may be incorrect.XAVIER RIVERA

Coach Xavier swim competitively from the early age of 5 in the Western Massachusetts area. During his high school swim experience he served as a 2 year Captain of his team at Palmer High school. He began teaching swim lessons at age 15 and took over as the lead coordinator for that program 2 years later. This experience afforded him the opportunity to work with swimmer at all age and swim levels, from learn to swim programs to swim team members. 

Xavier joined the Tritons in the spring of 2022 as an Assistant before taking over as the lead Senior and T-AG1 coach in the Fall of the same year. During this time he has coached multiple NE age groups qualifiers, NE age group event winners, Zone qualifiers and assisted in coaching athletes to achieving Sectional and Future cuts

 

 

A person standing in a poolAI-generated content may be incorrect.JACK VAN METER

Coach Jack is the Associate Head Coach for the YMCA of the North Shore Sharks and has been coaching in New England for the past three years. During his time with YNS, he has worked with multiple New England Age Group Qualifiers and Champions, as well as qualifiers for the Eastern Zone Championships, YMCA Nationals, and USA Swimming Futures.

He is passionate about fostering growth through positive encouragement and is committed to helping swimmers become the best version of themselves—both in and out of the water. Coach Jack takes great pride in the team-building efforts he and his colleagues continue to cultivate within the Sharks, and he looks forward to helping build a strong team culture for New England.

Before moving to New England, Coach Jack began his coaching career in Iowa as the Interim Head Coach at the West Des Moines Age Group site for the Greater Des Moines YMCA Marlins. He was a member of the program’s inaugural team and is proud to have come full circle by giving back as a coach. As an athlete, he swam in the Iowa LSC for 12 years and represented the state as part of the Iowa All-Star and Zones teams. He continued his swimming career at Allegheny College where he competed all four years and was a conference finalist.

Coach Jack is thrilled to work with athletes from across the LSC and looks forward to providing them with a positive, memorable experience.

 

 

A person in a carAI-generated content may be incorrect.FAYE ZOU

Faye is the team manager and assistant coach for the 10&U Age Group at ARCT since 2021. She coached and supported young swimmers in building their path into competitive swimming.