Matthew David Baxter
Head Coach & Executive Director
Email
Matt Baxter has been coaching
competitive swimming for 20 years and 13 of those have
been with the Porpoises.
He began his coaching career in September 2000 as an Assistant
Coach at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY with the USA
Maverick Swim Club, becoming head coach in 2001 until
2005. From 2005-2008 he assistant coached with the South
Eastern Virginia Aquatic club, as well as head coached the GPSA
Kiln Creek dolphin summer league team. While coaching with the
Maverick swim club and the South Eastern Virginia Aquatic club
he worked with swimmers that qualified for the Eastern Zone
meet, Sectional meet and NCSA Junior National meet.
Prior to his coaching career, Matt
swam competitively for 17 years. His swimming experiences at
Rochester Recreation Swim Team, Fairport Area Swim Team, Monroe
Community College, and the University of Buffalo provided many
positive influences and memories for him. At Monroe Community
College he set a school record in the 400 IM and earned Junior
College All-American status in the event. In the spring of 2008 he
was inducted into the Monroe Community College Athletic Hall of
Fame for his performance.
Matt moved to Portland in August 2008 to
become head coach of PPSC. Since arriving, the club has enjoyed
many top 5 finishes at the Maine Championship meet: from 2012 -
2014 the club finished 3rd overall, from 2015 - 2017 placed 2nd
overall, and in 2018 took 1st place. For the 2010 - 2011 season
Matt was awarded Maine Swimming coach of the year, an award he
proudly to the assistant coaching staff, the club’s dedicated
board of directors, and the positive, supportive, and family
environment of the club.
During his tenure with PPSC, the club has
had numerous athletes reach the Eastern Zone Championship age group
meet, and many qualify for the Eastern Zone Sectional meet each
year. The Porpoises have also added NCSA Junior National
qualifiers, USA Futures & Junior National qualifiers, as well
as a USA Senior National qualifier to the list of athlete
accomplishments.
Matt received his Bachelor of Science
degree from SUNY Brockport in 2004 in English with a focus in
creative writing. He received his Master of Science in Secondary
Education from Old Dominion University in 2008. Matt lives in
Portland with his wife Jessica and 2 sons.
Brenna Dowd
Lead Age Group Coach & Asst Pre-Senior
Email
Brenna grew up swimming competitively on
Long Island, NY. She went on to swim for Ithaca College where she
specialized in distance freestyle events. Brenna received All-State
and All-Conference honors, was named E8 Sportswoman of the Year in
2015, and captained the team to four undefeated seasons and four
UNYSCSA titles. While at Ithaca College, she was also an assistant
developmental swim coach for Swim Ithaca. After graduating, she
returned to Long Island where she was the head developmental coach
for Hauppauge Swim Club and the Director of Operations for a
NY-based swim school, urSwim. Brenna moved to Portland in November
2021 and serves as PPSC’s Lead Age Group Coach.
Erin Shanahan
Assistant Coach - Pre-Senior
Email
An ASCA Level 2
certified coach, Erin has been an invaluable member of the PPSC
coaching team since 2014. Erin began swimming at age seven and swam
Division ! at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA,
where she was named team captain her senior year. After graduating
in 2001, Erin became a high school teacher and started her coaching
career. She has held assistant and lead group coaching positions at
a number of swim clubs and high schools in the New England LSC. In
addition to coaching for PPSC, Erin teaches high school English at
Kennebunk High School and is mom to four
children.
Haley Markos
Assistant Coach - Senior I and II
Email
Growing up, Haley swam for Seacoast
Swimming Association and Dover High School, and
trained and competed through USA Triathlon’s Junior
Elite program in high school. She graduated from Smith College
in 2020 with a B.A. in engineering. In college, Haley was on the
cross country, track and field, and swim teams, and has
continued swimming with local masters groups and open water. She
has four years of experience coaching K-8 track and field and high
school running camps, and is a USA Track and Field Level 1
certified coach. When not coaching for PPSC, Haley is the head
cross country coach at Memorial Middle school in South Portland and
volunteer coach cross country at Bowdoin
College.
Zach Mullin
Assistant Coach - Senior PM Group
Email
As the former head coach of the YMCA’s Greater Portland
Swim Team, Zach brings a lot of experience to PPSC. For six years,
he developed and implemented training plans for each of the swim
groups, conducted swim and dryland practices, organized swim meets,
and performed various administration and fundraising
responsibilities. Zach is also the Chairperson for Maine
Swimming’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. When
not at the pool, Zach can be found at the Boys and Girls Club of
Southern Maine and King Middle School, where he is the 21st Century
Program Director.
Lauren Cote
Assistant Coach - Age Group II
Email
Lauren
has been coaching PPSC's Age Group II swimmers since in 2014. She
began swimming at the age of five with the YMCA of Lewiston
Maine. She has always loved being near and in water and
trained and competed with PPSC, the Portland YMCA, and Deering High
School. Earning her BS in Biology from University of Southern
Maine, she worked many years in the field of pharmacy, but felt
that something was missing. So, she went back to her first
love of water and now works as our Age Group II coach. Lauren and
her husband live in Limington with their three dogs.
Colleen LePage
Assistant Coach - Age Group I
Email
Colleen helps coach our Age Group I swimmers and is also the
Aquatic Supervisor for the City of Portland.
Her past coaching positions include: Head Coach of KVYMCA
Stingrays, Assistant Coach for Seacoast Swim Club, Co-Head Coach
for TCST, Head Coach for West Roxbury/Roslindale YMCA and
Assistant Coach for Leatherstocking Swim Team.
Colleen's competitive swimming experience includes: Leatherstocking
Swim Team as an age-grouper; St. Michael's College as a DII student
and swimmer; and continues to compete as a member of Maine Masters
Swim Club.
Colleen lives in Lewiston with her husband and two
children.
Sam LaRiviere
Assistant Swim & Dryland Coach
Email
A competitive swimmer for 18 years, Sam grew up swimming for the
Sanford YMCA Titans and Massabesic High School, where he earned
Academic All-American Honors and served as an MESI Athlete Rep. He
continued his swimming career at Springfield College where he
trained for the 200 Fly and 400 IM, and was a four-time
All-Conference team member. Post-college, Sam co-founded a new
swim team in Western MA, PVAA, and lead both the drylands and age
group swim practices. After finishing PT school, he moved to CA to
work with Swimming Science as a Strength and Conditioning Coach for
a number of Bay Area teams. When not coaching, Sam works as a
Physical Therapist.
Erin Anne Gagnon
Drylands Coach
Email
Erin brings a wealth of knowledge in dryland training to PPSC. Erin
graduated from the New England
School of Acupuncture with her Master’s in acupuncture and
Chinese herbal medicine, and the University of New England with a
Bachelors of Science in Occupational Therapy. Erin
owns Brio
Acupuncture Clinic and is a Major with the US Army
Reserves. Her experience and philosophy in teaching young athletes
how to do exercises correctly and soundly are a fantastic asset to
the club. Erin resides in Portland with her husband and two
children, both of whom are PPSC swimmers.
