Evan Charles Maczka
Head Coach
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Coach Evan was born and raised in Leverett where he spent most of
his early life playing with legos, studying Native American
history, and playing basketball with friends. It wasn’t until
he was 12 that he discovered his passion for competitive swimming
on our very own Tritons Swim Team.
In his tenure as a swimmer, Evan swam on the East and West Coast
– locally with the Tritons and Amherst High School, and with
Team Santa Monica and the Santa Monica City College team. He earned
JR College All-American status as part of several relays and also
set some of his personal best times in the Master’s program
that he swam in post-college.
During his swimming career Evan trained under some influential
coaches. He was trained by Stu Blumpkin, former coach of Olympian
of Lenny Krayzelburg, who focused on fundamentals and form. He swam
another stint under Coach Sean Clark, or “Clarkie” as
they called him, who was big on making sure his athletes understood
the science behind
why
they were training the way they were. Coach Clark taught Evan that
it wasn’t about
more
work, it was about
better
work – a lesson that would eventually mold Evan’s own
coaching philosophy.
As Evan’s career shifted from competitive swimming to
coaching both high school and club, he also started his own private
swim lessons business. During his early coaching years and while at
Notre Dame Academy, he had the opportunity to bring on Rada Owen to
help with the program—Owen was an Olympian in the 2000 games
and she was another believer in quality over quantity. Evan also
collaborated with Eric Shanteau, a retired US national team member
and part of the world record in the 4 x 100 MR. Eric taught high
school swimmers about the importance of having
“affirmations” – beliefs that empower us to make
our words a reality. Eric held that people need to state their
goals with conviction and heart in order to make their dreams a
reality – and this lesson affected Evan as much as it
impacted his high school swimmers.
As the coach of Tritons, Evan prioritizes quality over quantity and
encourages swimmers to believe in themselves. Many athletes have
experienced success under his leadership; including two Division 1
College swimmers, a JR national qualifier starting his freshman
year at Kenyon College (one of the most competitive D3 programs in
the country), and a New England record holder. Evan is a
certified Level 3 ASCA coach and looks forward to continuing his
career coaching the very same team he started on – while
incorporating some of the important concepts he has learned from
coaches, co-workers, and athletes he has met along the
way.
In his free time Evan enjoys staying in shape, swimming, and trail
hiking/running.
Favorite Food: Watermelon and Maple syrup, they count
right?!?
Favorite Swim Memory: So many of them, but one that stands out is
being part of ARHS’s only boys WMass championship
team.
Color that describes him best and why: Red, a color of passion and
triumph! (Interesting fact about red, countries with red in
their flag have won more Olympic medals than countries with any
other color in them)
Jennifer "Jay" Yankowski
Assitant coach
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Sol Albertine
Assistant Coach
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Hi, I’m Solomon, but you can call me Coach Sol. I’m 19
years old and I go to school at Greenfield Community College. I
swam on the tritons swim team for 7 years before I graduated high
school. I really love swimming, and I think it’s awesome that
I get to help other people get better at
swimming.
Neel Sekar
Assistant Coach
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Coach Coach Neel was born in Natick, MA and grew up around the
Natick area. He spent most of his early life doing sports and began
swimming lessons from infancy. He has always been fascinated by
science and engineering which began with his love of Legos. In
addition to swimming, Neel also played basketball, baseball,
soccer, ultimate frisbee, and skateboarding while growing up. He
originally tried out for the Hockomock Area YMCA Lightning at age
7, and made the team when he was 8, before transferring to Bluefish
Swim Club at age 13. Neel swam competitively until 18 when he
decided to attend UMass Amherst, however he has gone back to swim
for his team every summer since.
Despite no longer swimming in college, Neel still keeps in touch
with some of his former teammates and coaches as well as regularly
going back to visit and practice with them.
After deciding to attend UMass, and not to swim at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, Neel decided to try triathlons as he had
also always been a decent runner. In summer 2016 he participated in
his first event, the Westboro Sprint Triathlon. He plans on
continuing competing in triathlons and hopes to one day do an
XTerra and a Spartan Race.
Neel is currently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in
Amherst, where he is pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering
with a minor in Chemistry. Outside of coaching, he spends most of
his time studying and working out. In his free time he enjoys
ultimate frisbee and sleeping.
Neel has been lifeguarding for 4 years, and began teaching lessons
this past summer to a small group of 8 year olds. Before then, he
would often help coach the younger groups at Bluefish Swim Club
(usually consisting of his younger brother and
friends).
Although he’s not sure what his career path will be, Neel is
sure he will continue to teach in one form or another for the rest
of his life.
Favorite Food: Not sure, but I don’t like ice cream or
chocolate.
Favorite Swim Memory: At Sunkissed National Invitational, I had a
teammate start a 50 early in a 400 MR which we were favored to
win.
Color which describes him best: Dark blue, because it can be
calming or intimidating depending on the surrounding colors, and I
like to be multifaceted.
Carolyn Hall
T0 coach
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New to Western MA and the Amherst Tritons Swim Team, Carolyn has
over 15 years of competitive swim experience. She enjoys
continuing her lifelong love of the water through coaching swimming
to all ages and ability levels. From helping first time
swimmers to overcome a fear of the water, to coaching competitive
stroke and skill development poolside, her goal for all her
swimmers is to become more confident and comfortable in the
water.
Carolyn continued her swimming career as a four-year Varsity
Student Athlete at Keene State College, graduating in May 2015 with
a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Health Science: Health
Promotion & Wellness, Community Health Education and a Minor in
Addictions. Previously, a dedicated member of YMCA of the
Northshore Sharks Swim Team from age 8 to 18 where she later
assisted coaching part-time throughout summers during her college
years.
Today, she is working towards a graduate degree in School
Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Motivated to help swimmers to reach their full potential both in
and out of the pool.
Favorite Swimming Stroke: Butterfly and IM.
Favorite Activities: Learning. Running.
Adventuring.
Favorite Food: Too many. Does coffee count?
Favorite Swim Memory: College Training Trips to Boca Raton, FL
during winter break. Long days of challenging workouts and
training outside in the fresh air and
sunshine.
Color: Aqua. It makes me happy. Plus, it reminds me of the
ocean.
Steph Mattrey
T1/T2 Coach
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Jenn Albertine
T1/T2 Coach
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Coach Jenn was born and raised in Central MA. Her mom enrolled her
in swim lessons at age 3, where her love of the water became
apparent immediately. She swam competitively for 12 years
both in the New England area and Maryland. She continues to
enjoy swimming with a local Master’s team. She has
passed on her love for the sport through coaching for the last 13
years. In addition to being an assistant coach for the
Tritons, Coach Jenn is the Head Coach of the Amherst High School
Swimming and Diving Team and is an Assistant Coach with the UMass
Championship Swim Camp.
Coach Jenn is also Dr Coach Jenn where she holds a PhD in Plant and
Soil Science from UMass. She teaches classes in Environmental and
Public Health Sciences at Mount Holyoke College. Her research
focuses on the impacts of climate change on human health,
specifically how environmental changes impact plant biology and how
that then feeds back to impact human health, whether through our
pollen allergies or our ability to grow food.
Sadie Anne Logan
T2/US assistant
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Coach Sadie was born in Amherst, MA, and attended Amherst public
schools. She began swim lessons at a young age at Amherst College,
and started swimming competitively shortly after that. Sadie now
attends Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, and swims for the
Continentals. Over the summer and other breaks from college, Sadie
comes back and swims with the Tritons to keep up with her
training.
For most of her life, Sadie would spend her summers in Canada,
where her father grew up. Over the summer Sadie spent most of her
time in the water, taking swim lessons as a child and lifeguard
classes as she got older. Sadie has been a certified lifeguard for
four years, and has taught swim lessons to children both in Canada
and during the school year at Hamilton.
Sadie swims backstroke and some sprint freestyle on her college
team, and in her freshman and sophomore years, has competed in two
NESCAC Conference Championships. She’s also involved in the
Aqua Stars program, which is a Special Olympics swim team that
practices at Hamilton. Sadie also coaches the local club swim team,
the Clinton Cudas.
At Hamilton, Sadie is pursuing a degree in Creative Writing. She
isn’t sure what she wants to do after college, but she has a
couple more years to think about that!
In her free time, Sadie likes to host radio shows for
Clinton’s local station, play club water polo, and volunteer
with her team in the neighboring community in
Utica.
Favorite food: Sadie’s mom makes a really amazing chocolate
chip banana bread
Favorite swim memory: When she was first learning to swim,
Sadie’s grandma offered her $10 to jump in and swim over to
the ladder. Best $10 she ever made.
Color that describes her best: Maroon. It’s bold but not too
overwhelming, and reminiscent of her days at
ARHS.
Josie Connor
T3 coach
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