- Sign In
- More Information

Coaches & Directors

Coaching Staff

Nancy Hennessy

Head Coach

Nancy Hennessy is now in her third year with Gator Swim Club. Nancy began her swimming in Louisville , KY swimming participating in summer league then progressing to year round swimming with the Lakeside Seahawks. She was a national level athlete furthering her career at Vanderbilt University graduating with a degree in Elementary Education.

She began coaching with the Nashville Aquatic Club in 1994. Her four years in Nashville gave her the exposure of working with every group in the program. There she grew as a coach in learning how athletes develop and progress through a program from the novice to elite level athlete. She was the Senior Assistant Coach for two years and then was the Head Age Group coach.

In 1998 Nancy moved to Jacksonville , Florida to become the Head Age Group Coach with the Bolles School Sharks. Under her direction the age group program more than doubled in size, won several Florida Swimming Junior Olympics Championships. She was given the opportunity to work with many top caliber coaches, which enriched her knowledge and fueled her passion for swimming.

Nancy has developed athletes that began at the local level only to move on to state champions, zone champions, Top 16 rankings, junior national qualifiers, senior national qualifiers, NCAA Division I athletes and students, NCAA Champions, and Olympic athletes. Her contributions and achievements with USA Swimming includes: a member of USA Swimming age group panel, guest speaker at the National Age Group Clinic on age group planning and designs, Florida Swimming Board of Directors as Age Group Vice-Chairman and winner of the Age Group Coach of the Year in Florida Swimming.

In her free time Nancy enjoys spinning, yoga, reading and cooking, but mostly spending time with her husband, Chris, and their twin seven year old boys, Cameron and Ty and 18 month old daughter, Lacey.

Chris J Oliver

Senior Head Coach

Bryan A Woodward

Head Age Group Coach

Bryan comes to Gator Swim Club after serving as the Head Coach for the Glens Falls YMCA from 2007-10. In his three years the team had 14 YMCA National Qualifiers, 2 YMCA All-Americans and 1 YMCA National Champion. The team was the 2008 and 2009 team champions of the North Country Swim League marking the first time in team history the program won the League Championship two years in a row. The team also had three top 5 finishes at the New York YMCA State Championships including 3rd in 2008 and 2009 and 5th in 2010.

`In the summer of 2009 Bryan was selected to the coaching staff of the Longhorn Swim Camp where he worked under Olympic coaches Eddie Reese and Kim Brackin at the University of Texas. He also got to work along side 9 Olympians and current and former World and American record holders.`

From 2004-2007 Bryan was the Head Junior Coach and Assistant Senior Coach with the Bay and Ocean State Squids. He worked with all levels of swimmers, from the age-grouper to Olympic Trial qualifiers. In three years Bryan helped lead the Squids to eight top-3 finishes at the New England Championship meet, including 1st place finishes in the 2006 New England Long Course Open Championships and the 2007 New England Short Course Boys Age Group Championships. Swimmers coached by Bryan have held a number of New England Age Group Records.

`During the 2005-2006 season, Bryan also worked as the Assistant Swim Coach for Brandeis University Men’s and Women’s Swim Teams. Brandeis swimmers broke 4 school records and finished 2nd at the Division III New England Championships.`

`Prior to 2004, Bryan was a swim coach for the Middleboro YMCA Sea Devils in Middleboro, MA. He was an Age Group coach from 2000-2002 before becoming the Senior Coach in 2002-2004 and in that time the team had 6 swimmers qualify for the YMCA National Championships.`

`Bryan grew up in Assonet, MA where Bryan’s parents still reside today. He graduated from Bridgewater State College with his Physical Education degree in May 2004.`

Kristin Gilliam

Alligators Coach

Kristin comes to Gator Swim Club after completing her collegiate swimming career at the University of Florida. Kristin is a local Gainesville resident and attended Buchholz High School where she was a four-time individual event State Champion and a two-time State Champion as a member of the 200 & 400 Freestyle Relay.

Kristin was a member of Gator Swim Club since age 15. From the age of seven, she was a member of Florida Aquatic Swim Team of Gainesville which was later acquired by Gator Swim Club.

Kristin has been a swim lesson instructor with Pinecrest Swim Team of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and is a current swim instructor with Swim America here in Gainesville.

She comes to Gator Swim Club with tremendous swimming experience and enthusiasm!

Adam Goldstein

Bull Gator Coach

Dustin H Koch

Orange and Blue Coach

Katie Buck

Sun Country Coach

Katie is very excited to be a part of Gator Swim Club. Her passion for swimming goes back to when she was 5 years old on the Indian River Community College summer league team. Katie swam competitively for 10 years until she moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University.

It has always bee a dream of Katie's to be a swim coach and she was fortunate to have the opportunity right out of college. She has experience coaching a wide range of age groups from small children to high school kids. She also has experience teaching swimming lessons. Although she loves being a part of this great swim club, it's tough for a Seminole to say - Go Gators (swim club that is)!