Coaches and Board of Directors

Coaches and Board of Directors

Coaching Staff
Shawn Walsh Head Coach

Coach Shawn took over as head coach of the GILLS in the summer of 2015. He has been instrumental in building the club to where we are today. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our club with prior coaching experience including the Oak Forest Barracudas, Gannon University, Union City High School, Union City, PA, Presque Isle Aquatic Club, Erie, PA, and Villa Maria High School, Erie, PA. Under Coach Shawn the GILLS have had and have more championship meet qualifiers than any other time period in GILLS history.

Colleen Palermo Assistant Coach
Hey Everyone!  My name is Colleen Palermo and I look forward to working with your swimmers this season.  To tell you a little something about myself...I come from a swimming family and grew up swimming for the Tinley Park Sharks since the age of 6 til the age of 17.   I have 3 amazing kids and I'm happy to say that 1 of them swims!  I have been coaching GILLS since 2017 and absolutely love it.  A few of my goals for the season are to have fun and to help your child become a better swimmer; and I am confident that we can achieve both of those goals!  
Michael Forsythe Assistant Coach
I have been coaching for over 10 years. I coached as Head Coach for the Oak Forest Swim Association for 3 year and produced 23 Regional Qualifiers, 2 State Qualifiers, and 5 Open Water State Qualifiers. During my tenure, we were responsible for 8 Pool Records being broken. I coached as an Assistant Coach for the Oak Lawn Swim Association for 5 year under my father- Head Coach Wally Forsythe. I coached as an Assistant Coach for the Burbank Swim Association for 2 years.
 
Over these years, I have developed myself and have adapted to different age groups and skill levels. I am a perfectionist for technique and demand excellence. I look forward to utilizing my skills to help our swimming achieve their goals.
 
I am a Level 2 certified ASCA Coach. As a swimmer, I specialized in Breaststroke and Freestyle. I pride myself on attention to detail, technique, and intensity. I look forward to working with our coaching staff to produce some outstanding results.
Kelsey Brittain Assistant Coach

Kelsey Brittain swam competitively for Lockport High School and played water polo all four years.   Kelsey has been swimming ever since she was very young.   S he was a breaststroker in high school.  Coach Kelsey began her coaching career with GILLS the summer of 2015. She is enthusiastic, energetic and loves in-water instruction.  She believes it is the key to a young swimmer’s success.

Anthony Bartolotta Assistant Coach

Biography coming soon!

Chelsea Becker Assistant Coach

Biography coming soon!

Alexandra Malmborg Assistant Coach
I swam competitively for 12 years. I swam under Wally & Mike Forsythe on the Burbank Stingrays & then OLSA lightning. I pursued Division 1 College Swimming at Indiana State University. My main events were the 50 & 100 freestyle. While at ISU I was named all MVC in the 50 freestyle, MVC swimmer of the week, MVC all honorable mention & our team was named the top program in the nation for GPA for CSCCA Scholar All America.
 
Swim has been my life since I was 10 years old, & now I look forward to the new adventure of being a “swammer” & dedicating my time to coaching!
 
I’m graduating in May 2020 & plan on pursuing Critical Care Nursing!
Board of Directors
Michael Lynch President
Gina Sherman Treasurer
Aimee Schatz Public Relations and Timing Systems
Lauren Hammerschmidt Secretary
Chris Galietta Vice President