Good morning Swim Team Families,

I am so excited to share some wonderful news with all of you—please join me in giving a warm YMCA welcome to our new swim coach, Coach Chris Shoup!

We are incredibly fortunate to have someone with such an outstanding background and passion for both swimming and developing athletes. Our new coach has been an Art Teacher and Swim Coach at Columbia High School in Dekalb County for 25 years, with a specialty in sculpture and painting—and even experience working in a bronze foundry alongside well-known artists.

In the pool, his experience is just as impressive. He was named Indiana State High School Coach of the Year, coached at Swim Atlanta where he worked with 6 Olympic swimmers and 2 world record holders, and has personally held 3 world records himself (with his sights set on a fourth!). At Columbia, he led 15 undefeated seasons and, over the last 5 years, only lost one meet. He has also helped 7 swimmers go on to compete in college on scholarship.

Most importantly, he brings a passion for growing swimmers of all levels and building a strong, positive team environment—and I know our swimmers will benefit greatly from his leadership.

👉 As we welcome him to the pool deck, this is the perfect time to get involved! Our swim clinics are underway over the next two weeks, and we would love to see all of our swimmers there. These clinics are a great opportunity to build skills, stay conditioned, and get to know our new coach before summer swim league begins.

Spots are limited and fill quickly, so please be sure to register for the weeks that work best for your family. If you have any issues with registration, just shoot me an email and I will assist you. 

Thank you all for your continued support, energy, and commitment to our program. After our big celebration last week and seeing all of your smiling faces and families, it is recharging and even more exciting to include our new coach. I truly believe the best is ahead for our team, and I cannot wait for you all to meet him on deck!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

See you at the pool,
Caroline