Coaches and Board Members
John Fodell enters his 13th year as Head Coach of the Grosse Pointe Gators. While with the Gators, John’s swimmers have won numerous State, Sectional, NCSA, and Junior National titles, and dozens have continued their swimming careers collegiately at Division I, II, and III Universities and Colleges. In 2016, the Gators had 2 swimmers qualify for the Olympic Trials. One of those swimmers swam in the semi-finals of the 200 Breast and moved on to swim for Team USA in the 2016 Junior Pan Pac Championships, in which he won the 100 Breast. This was accomplished under John's tutelage. During John's tenure as Head Coach, the number of JO, State, Sectional, Junior National, and National level swimmers has grown dramatically. John was named the Michigan Swimming 2016 Coach Of The Year and 2018 MISCA Coach of the Year for South Girls.
John has been coaching for 15 years. He has served as Head Coach for the Grosse Pointe Shores Sharks in the LFSA League, where he was also the Parks and Recreation Director. He then became Head Coach at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in the MICSA league. John is in his second year as Head Coach of the South High School girls and boys swim teams after assisting the teams for 10 years.
John earned his masters degree in adaptive physical education from Western Michigan University in 2007 and completed his degree in Physical Education from Albion College in 2006. As a Grosse Pointe South High School graduate, John was a member of the National Honors Society and was Student Athlete of the Year in 2002. At Albion he earned four varsity letters in swimming and three in tennis. Swimming at Albion John held five school records, served as team captain and was named MVP for the 2005-06 season. John was also a three-time All-MIAA swimmer and honored as a NCAA Division III All-American swimmer in 2006. John served as a graduate assistant at Albion, teaching college recreation classes, as well as overseeing the healthy lifestyles program for the developmentally impaired.
John is the lead coach for our Senior and Bronze groups.
Ben is starting his first year as a coach with the Gators. He started swimming in the Lakefront Swimming Association when he was 8, and joined the Gators when he was 13. Ben enjoys helping others understand more about the sport, and loves seeing hard work and dedication pay off. He is currently studying engineering at Macomb Community College.
Ben assists with all groups.
Liz has been involved with swimming her whole life. Her love of swimming began when her mom signed her up to swim with an AAU Swim Club, where she competed for 10 years. In a career that has spanned over 25 years, Liz has served as a coach for Pointe Aquatics, Aquatic Supervisor for Grosse Pointe Community Education, the inaugural coach for the University of Ligget HS Swim Team, and Assistant Coach for the GP North HS Swim Team. Liz is currently the Pool Manager and Head Coach for the Country Club of Detroit in the MICSA League.
She believes it’s very important for all people to be physically fit, and she spends a lot of her free time pursuing an active lifestyle: running, swimming and letting off a "little steam" in the weight room are some of her favorite pastimes.
