Coaching Staff
Bridget Burkot, Head Coach / Jaelyn Jones, Assistant Coach / Tess Andres, Assistant Coach / Harrison Neuhaus, seasonal
Coach Bridget graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Psychology. She continued on to graduate school and completed all courses for a MED in Sport Psychology, under the direction of the famous Sports Psychologist Bob Rotella. She has been coaching for many years and in several locations. Starting her coaching career in Reading Pennsylvania, with her local summer team, she continued to coach in Charlottesville, until meeting her husband and former British Olympian Martin Edwards (Munich 1972) at a BOD meeting. From there she went on to coach in Duxbury, MA (Bernal’s Gators Swim Club with Olympic Coach Joe Bernal, Seoul 1988); Portland, ME (Portland Porpoise Swim Club, home to Ian Crocker, Olympian); Paso Robles, CA (North County Aquatics), and then back to Virginia in 1999 with her 2 young children, Jeremy and Quinn. She continued to coach in Virginia Swimming from 1999 until the present time. In fact, Bridget was the Head Coach at the JCC with the Dolphin Club from 2003 – 2007. Her name at the time was Bridget Edwards and her son Jeremy still holds an 8 and under record on the board.
Bridget has coached beginning swimmers up to Olympic Trial Qualifiers.
She has coached an Olympic Champion and World Record holder (Ian Crocker, PPSC) when he was an age group swimmer in her program. She has coached state champions, state record holders, and has coached a #1 in the country swimmer when he was 12 (locally).
She is a Level 4 ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association) Coach, recipient of a full scholarship to UVA for swimming, was named the Head USA Swimming Zone Select Camp Coach in 2022, and was the Head Zone Coach for Virginia swimming for 5 years. She has coached at many Zone meets as an assistant coach in Virginia Swimming, New England Swimming, and Maine swimming. Her knowledge is extensive and she has coached and trained with some of the top coaches in the country. Growing up, she swam at Foxcatcher Swim Club on John Dupont’s (former) estate in Philadelphia under the direction of Head Olympic Coach George Haines.
Bridget’s philosophy is that the “whole is stronger than the parts”, meaning it will take everyone in the program to make is successful. The wheel does not turn if a spoke is not working correctly. Bridget believes in working with every swimmer in the pool so they can reach their individual potential, which then contributes to the team’s success. The concept of “team” is paramount to success in any program.
Bridget will work with the lesson programs, camps, pre-school, and summer team at the JCC, to build the team from within. There is a progression in swimming, and the Weinstein JCC is the perfect place to grow a team from the programs already in existence. So please come out and check out the Dolphin Club for your swimmer and your future swimmer.
Jaelyn Jones, Assistant Coach, Pre-Fin Coach, RVDC Head Coach
Coach Jaelyn swam competitively for most of her childhood. She was an Age Groups and Zones swimmer. Coach Jaelyn started teaching swim lessons when she was in high school. She also coached a summer league dive team for almost 10 years, where she worked with all ages of athletes. In addition, she coaches our summer league swim team RVDC. Coach Jaelyn is excited to work with all levels of swimmers, and is thrilled to be working with the JCC and The Dolphin Club.
