Coaches and Directors
Rob, who joined the Water Rat coaching staff in spring of 2015, currently serves as our Head Developmental Coach. Rob's main practice group is Discovery II, where he transitions swimmers comming out of the 8/under program- which he also oversees. Rob previously served as the Head Coach of the Stratford YMCA (BSY) Swim Team from 2012-2015. During the summer, Rob is the Head Coach at the Black Rock Yacht Club, which competes in Division 5 of the Fairfield County Swim League (FCSL). He also coaches boys High School swimming at Fairfield Prep, where he serves as the Head Assistant Coach. Rob loves working with swimmers of all ages and abilities. In Rob’s free time he enjoy sports such as softball, and cheers for both the New York Jets and Mets.
Omar joins the Water Rat family as an assistant with the senior practice groups. Most recently, Omar spent 15 years as Head Coach with the Zeus Swim Team where he has had much success on a local, regional, and national level. Omar left ZEUS as he has become managing partner of Executive Real Estate Premier Properties, a real estate business in Westport. Helping with the senior team a couple of days a week allows Omar to continue to follow his passion of coaching, but also to spend the time needed to be successful with his real estate business and more importantly, to spend time with his family.
Level 3 ASCA Certification
2015, 2016 Connecticut Zone Team Coach
Kristen, who joined the Water Rat coaching staff in 2012, currently
serves as the Lead Coach for our Discovery I group and works with
our senior group. Kristen previously served as the Head 8/Under
Coach and head of the team's pre-competitive programs. She started
working at the Family Y in 2006 as a swim instructor, spending
eight summers working at the Y’s Hafaday swim program. In
2015 Coach Kristen was selected as a member of the Connecticut Zone
Team Coaching Staff, which she served on for 2 years. Kristen
was also an assistant coach with the Staples High School Girls'
team for 3 years and currently serves as the Assistant Swim
Coach with Sacred Heart University.
Kristen is a 2011 graduate of St. John’s University with a
degree in Biology. She began swimming competitively at the age of
six and continues to train with the Water Rat Masters and competes
annually at YMCA Masters Nationals Championships.
Michelle joined the coaching staff in the Spring of 2019, working with our 8/unders and 9/10 and 11/12 year olds. She has a degree in Math from Carnegie Mellon, and then worked at Intel Corporation in Santa Clara before staying at home to raise her three children. Michelle swam and competed at all levels of swimming including with a club, in High School, College and at the Masters level including open water swims. Michelle was a USA swimming official for 11 years and is currently a High School Swim official for Fairfield County, Certified Masters coach, USA Swim Coach and runs the swim fit group at the Y.
Olivia has joined the Water Rat coaching staff in the winter of 2021, primarily working with the Blue, Red, and White teams and filling in where needed. Olivia swam through the collegiate level, with 4.5 years at Western Connecticut State University and also played 2 years of college volleyball. Olivia continues to swim to this day, and you’ll often see her at the Y swimming laps. She has a coaching background with both high school JV and varsity volleyball teams and has worked closely with swimmer’s ages 8-14 preparing them for club team tryouts. Olivia will be around to help through the spring, and will be leaving the Water Rats for medical school in fall 2022.
