We are so pleased to welcome Coach Jess back as our Narwhal Head Coach! Jess started swimming for her summer swim club in NJ at age 5 and finished her career as a co-captain of the UMass Amherst Women's Swim Team in 2011. While at UMass, Jess coached the Triathlon Club's swim workouts and was an assistant coach at the school's summer swim camp. She spent 1 year as an assistant coach for the Circle C Select Swim Team in Austin, TX.

Jess joined BLUE as an assistant coach for all age groups in the spring of 2022 and is now the lead coach for BLUE's 8&under group during the school year. We are so happy to have her playful spirit on the summer pool deck!

Coach Seth Urffer is joining us for another summer of fun and looks forward to helping Narwhal Head Coach, Jess, have another successful season. 

Coach Seth is currently the Head Coach/CEO of BLUE and brings his years of experience to the summer pool deck.

Help us welcome Coach Amy to narwhals this summer! She started swimming at 8 years old for her USA Swimming team and has been a part of the sport ever since. Coach Amy started coaching at 15 and has been a certified USA Swimming coach since she was 18. She has been on deck for summer league, YMCA, High School competition, and USA Swimming spread across Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. For the past three years, Coach Amy was Head Coach of KIDS in Northampton. She brings a wide range of experience and expertise to our pool deck and we are excited to have her join us this summer!

We are so happy to welcome Brenek back for his second year as a Narwhal coach. Brenek has been on the pool deck with BLUE since its beginnings. He has been a competitive swimming medalist on multiple levels - summer league, Middle Atlantic USA championship, PIAA High School District XI and PIAA State championships. Brenek has a great demeanor on deck bringing patience and a genuine love of the sport to the swimmers he works with. He is excited to share all he has learned and experienced over his career!

We welcome Ava Palochik back to the pool deck for her second year as Coach for the Narwhals. Ava is no stranger to the Narwhals as she was on the team since its very first season. She was part of the BLUE USA team from its beginning in 2012 as well. Ava is a favorite among BLUE’s Lesson Instructors and truly enjoys passing on her love of the water to the kids she instructs.

Ava has earned many competitive accolades from USA swimming, PIAA high school competition and the summer leagues. She is a Middle Atlantic Championship medalist, PIAA District XI medalist and state qualifier, Nazareth High School record holder and summer league medalist.

Ava is in her first year at East Stroudsburg University majoring in clinical psychology while swimming on the University's women's swim team.

Julia is a BLUE USA Swim Team alumni and we welcome her back to us this summer!

Julia began swimming in 2010 with Belvidere Barracudas summer league and continued there until she graduated from high school in 2023. Her love for the sport grew quickly, joining Penn Jersey Aquatics in 2011 and then the BLUE USA team in 2013, once again up until 2023. She has been a swim instructor at the Belvidere Regional Pool since 2020 as well. Julia is currently a student at the University of Connecticut studying Animal Science and is on the Women’s Rugby Team.

Julia is a multi-record holder at Belvidere High School, a medalist in summer league, as well as a state qualifier in the NJSIAA Tournament with Belvidere High School.

"My favorite memory on the pool deck as an athlete is when I broke Belvidere High School’s 200 freestyle record my freshman year. Hearing my friends and coaches from the water motivated me to push harder to the finish, and seeing the time clock proved to myself that I could do it despite my nerves." Julia's favorite part of being an instructor is watching the swimmers grow to love the sport; seeing their confidence rise as they learn how to face their fears and do new things.