Where did you attend college? Why did you choose to go there?

The University of Virginia I fell in love with the beauty of the Shenandoah mountains and the campus and felt that it would challenge me both athletically and academically.

When did you realize you wanted to be a coach?

Coaching started as a hobby for me. I was traveling the world and bartending for a few years after college. I always thought I had gained so much from the sport of swimming, it was almost my obligation to pass that knowledge on. In my late twenties I had a choice to make, take on my first club team, the Westbrook Seals, or move to Alaska to work in a fish processing factory. Needless to say, I never went to Alaska and never looked back.

Who is (was) your biggest influence as a coach?

Mark Bernardino was my college coach at UVA. He was in your face and took no BS. I learned so much from him as an athlete and have tried my best to take what he taught me and pass it on.

What is your most memorable moment as an athlete?

My most memorable moment was our first ACC title in 1999. UNC had won the conference for the past 7 years and we were able to win the conference by only 6 points. It worked out that if one person on our team had dropped a place in anything they swam we would not have won. Though we had some studs, we were not the most talented. It was the best example I have ever witnessed of a team being greater than just the sum of its parts.

What is your most memorable moment as a coach?

My very first summer league championship I dressed up like in a purple gorilla suit and coached an entire meet in that suit in the middle of the summer in Virginia.

Your funniest or most embarrassing moment as a coach?

I coached Catherine MacAuley… an all-girls catholic high school in Portland. For their southwestern meet I was trying to come up with something that would first take some pressure of them and second get them excited about our chance to win. I coached the entire meet dressed in their uniform...kilt and all.

Favorites:

Movie(s):  Caddy Shack

Food(s):  always pizza

Musician:  Dr Dre for sure...what can I say I was in HS in the 90's

Professional sports team:  PatsPatsPatsPatsPats

Professional athlete and why: Steve Prefontaine: My dad was a X-Country running coach. I loved his work ethic and to be honest his confidence/arrogance.

Most famous person you've met:

I have met a few: I got to train with Jenny Thompson. I rode an elevator with Michael Phelps and got to hear about his disdain of eating power bars at the 2012 Olympic Trials. I watched Johnny Knoxville fall down a flight of stairs at a club in Philadelphia. I said hi to Dave Mathews at a coffee shop in Va. I went to a party at Sissy Spacek's house.

If you could meet one person, past or present, who would it be and why?

Jack Kerouac or Ernest Hemingway...early in their lives before the drugs and alcohol got to them. Their books put me on a path to explore the world

Something about you that most people don't know?

I hitchhiked the East Coast of Australia after working at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, my first ride was from a guy who lived next door to my high school girlfriend.

Hobbies away from your sport:

Surfing, Hiking, Disc Golf, Regular golf

What you look for in a player when recruiting:

Desire

What do you do in the offseason?

I help run the pool here at St. Joe's and try to hang out with my wife Amie and sons Crosby and Calvin!

How would you describe your coaching philosophy?

High Energy, detail oriented, and under water focused