Head Coach and Co-Founder of Race Swami Matt Finnigan grew up in the swimming hotbed of Northern California's Bay Area. Swimming competitively for more than 16 years for clubs straddling the Bay Area's peninsula, Matt's most notable tutelage in the sport came under the direction of the late Kevin Perry, whom he competed for for six years at the Los Altos Aquatic Club. "Swimming for Kevin Perry, I learned more than just about swimming," Finnigan recalls. "I learned about life. 'KP' had a way of drawing every ounce of talent out of every one of his athletes, all the while teaching them lessons about hard work, dedication, effective communication, learning to work together... and striving for excellence no matter who you were or what you were going to do with your life... I think I learned more from KP than I ever learned from any of my high school teachers. That's just who he was. He wasn't just a swim coach... he was a life teacher."  Under the guidance of Perry, Matt was named an All-American as a flyer and distance freestyler. He continued his swimming career at Florida State University. As a coach, Finnigan has been named UHSAA Coach of the Year four times, a Western Region Coach of the Year once, and led Judge Memorial Catholic High School Girls' teams to seven state titles over nine years (two 2nd place finishes). Many of Matt's graduates continued their respective swimming careers at college programs from coast to coast. He has coached several All-Americans and graduated nearly 200 athletes during his tenure at Judge Memorial. Matt is an ASCA Level III coach, is Race Club (Florida) certified, and currently serves as Utah Swimming's Diversity Coordinator as well as Executive Director at Race Swami.