SPY :: Springfield YMCA Swim Team - 2009-2010 SPY Coaching Staff

2009-2010 SPY Coaching Staff

	Head Coach Bruce Patmos Entering into his fourth season with the SPY, Bruce Patmos brings to the SPY team a rich swimming background and a wonderful coaching resume. Coach Patmos takes the reigns of the SPY program and is very excited to be back in Springfield to coach “this is where I first started coaching and first started swimming year round.” He will work with all age groups of the program focusing on the 13 and up age group, and given his previous accomplishments he plans to “take ownership and build a swimming powerhouse!” We will be training with the latest techniques and drills used by Olympic and World champions that Coach Patmos has trained and has been in contact with over the years. Video analysis will be introduced as well as a comprehensive dryland training program. We also introduced a new Masters program so that we can serve the adult swimming community as well as the youth in our city and surrounding areas! Read Coach Patmos's Resume (pdf)

	John Bishop – Assistant Coach (8 and Under Age Group) John has worked up through the SPY program as a swimmer and currently a coach. John is a dedicated coach who takes on the 8 and under age group with a smile. “He loves to see their faces light-up as they achieve their personal bests. Working with young kids is an awesome experience.” John grew-up in Springfield and began swimming at age 9 for SPY. He swam as a member of the SPY National Team and has been recognized with awards as the Most Improved, Most Valuable and received the Jack Eddy award. John swam for Springfield North High School and was MVP, Captain and all-league. He also competed at the State level. His mentors are Dave Johnson and Pat McClain whom assisted John his wanting to become a coach. John began in 1988 as a volunteer coach and was hired in 1991 working full-time with the SPY program. John’s 8 and under group has brought him five Southwest Cluster AA Championships. He was named Southwest Cluster Coach of the year and was nominated to the Hall of Fame for the league. In his free time he assists with the other age groups and is the summer swim coach for the USS Long-Course program. He has also devoted time to coaching at Springfield North High School where the girl’s team won the league and he was coach of the year.

	Mickey McNeil – Assistant Coach (9-12 Age Group) Mickey has been coaching YMCA swimming since the fall 1991 and previously coached local summer league teams 1982-88; 91-92. She was awarded the Southwest Ohio YMCA League Coach of the in Year 2002. Her coaching mentors are Larry Figgins and Dave Johnson. Mickey is a Kenton Ridge High School graduating in 1982. She then attended Miami University where she earned her BS in ED in 1986. Mickey attended the Central Ohio School of Massage, Therapeutic Massage Education and Training 1995 and became an Ohio Licensed Massage Therapist in 1995. She is a member of Ohio's AMTA Sports Massage Team since 1995;currently Membership Chairperson. Along with her jobs of massage and coaching Mickey’s hobbies include fitness activities, such as Adventure Racing (24 hour to Multi day team events) and Triathlons (off road and road). She received Ohio's Multi-sport Award for Female Adventure racer of the Year, 2004. Prior to all of this she lived and traveled by bicycle through Western and Eastern Europe between Sept.1988- Dec. 1990. Mickey, her brothers, sister, all swam for SPY as young kids and she was on Kenton Ridge's First Swim team in 1979.

	Larry Figgins - Assistant Coach Larry started his coaching career in September of 1982 with SPY, the same night that Coach Patmos began with SPY. At the time, new head coach Dave Johnson was assembling his new staff to begin his career with SPY. In 1983, Larry was working with our 8 and under swimmers and was able to qualify 2 of the youngest 10 and under Zone swimmers ever, Jeff Bell at age 7 and Drew Hazelton at age 8. By 1984, Larry’s 8 and under boys had won AA’s 3 years in a row and had the high point 8 and under boy each year. Also, in 1984 Larry’s 8 and under girls were the AA champions. In 1986, Larry produced his first 2 Zone champions, Jeff Bell and Jason Collier. From 1987-1992 Larry was the SPY head coach, at times running the entire program by himself. During his tenure as head coach, Larry’s swimmers won numerous Zone individual titles, set many stat records and won the 11-12 boy’s Zone title in 1988. Larry started the USS program within SPY in 1986 and was a USS summer Zone coach for Team Ohio in 1988 and 1989. In 1992, Larry’s final year as head coach, almost all the national relays for that spring was comprised of just 13-14 year old swimmers, a rare accomplishment at such a high level of competition. Since 1993 Larry has been assisting on a very limited basis due to the demands of his full time job, owner of Figgins Plumbing. Larry brings a wealth of instructional knowledge to the team and will be used mainly as a stroke coach.

	Blair Pinson - Green & Yellow Assistant Coach Blair swam for SPY, starting in 1994, under coaches Bishop and McNeil. As a 13-14, Blair received the "Most Improved" award from then Head Coach Dave Johnson. During Blair's high school career at Kenton Ridge, he earned both the "Coaches Award" and the "MVP" Award. In 2003, Blair became a lifeguard at the Springfield Y and also started teaching swimming lessons to many of our current swimmers. Now starting his first coaching position with SPY, Blair is dedicated to stroke education and refinement. Working with mostly 9 - 12 year olds, Blair is hoping to use the guidence of his mentors to help with the development of the kid's strokes and also help them to develop a deep passion for the sport.

	Manoj Abeysinghe - Volunteer Senior Group Assistant Coach

	Kimber Porter - Strength & Conditioning Coach Since 2008, Kimber Porter has been the dry land training facilitator for 13-18 year old swimmers at the Springfield Family YMCA. She earned her Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from Cedarville University and her Masters degree in Exercise Science from the University of Dayton. She has been a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of SPOJtsMedicine (NASM) since 2005 and in 2009 she became a Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM. She was a personal trainer at Five Seasons Sports Club before coming to the Springfield Family YMCA.