Alexis has been with TYS for 18 years!

Alexis is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and although has been in Tampa for a long time, is still a true Philly sports fan! Alexis is married to her husband, Andy, and has 2 children. Her daughter has been a longtime Stingray and her son swam for his high school. She attended undergraduate school at Millersville University and swam for 4 years, where she served as the team captain her senior year and was part of the PSCA winning relay team! She continued her education at Wilmington University and completed the MBA program while working as a Marketing Analyst for several different banks.

Not being far from the pool deck, Alexis swam Masters and coached at the local YMCA in Wilmington, Delaware. Looking for sunnier weather, Alexis and her husband relocated to Tampa in 2002 due to her husband's job. After having her children, she looked for something she could do with a flexible schedule and began coaching the Developmental swim team. Since then, she has coached at every level of the TYS program and has been with the team for 18 years.

What do you like about coaching for TYS? I love the TYS coaching staff and feel excited for the growth of our program!

Matt has been with TYS since 2013!

Matt is originally from New Paltz, NY. He is married to his wife, Marissa, and they have 3 children. In high school, Matt played three sports - football, baseball, and swimming. He swam for all 4 years of high school and then went on to swim at The College of Saint Rose for 4 years as well. He graduated with a bachelors degree in secondary education and is currently a middle-school Civics teacher.

After college, Matt coached his local club team for 3 years. He also coached for one season at Villanova University before making the move to Tampa. Matt started coaching for TYS at the Bob Sierra site and is currently coaching at the New Tampa site. He primarily runs the Senior and Gold groups at New Tampa.

What do you like about coaching for TYS? I like teaching athletes life lessons through the sport of swimming. I want to give back to the sport that has provided me with many lifelong mentors, coaches, friendships.

Kenny's favorite stroke is butterfly!

Kenny comes to TYS from New Jersey. He attended William Paterson University where he swam for three years. Kenny graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in History. A great personal achievement is that Kenny is an Eagle Scout!

Kenny has been coaching for 5 years. During this time he has achieved an ASCA Level 3 certification, coached at the 2017 Eastern Zones Championship, and at the 2018 YMCA Long Course Championships.

What do you like about coaching for TYS? My favorite part about coaching with TYS is hard work is rewarded and recognized in a positive way. Swimmers and coaches are encouraged and supported in their journey to success.

Kareem has been with the Tampa YMCA for 17 years!

Kareem comes to TYS from Puerto Rico. While nobody in his family swims, they are very active and are pickle ball fanatics! Luckily for TYS, his sister got him into the sport of swimming.

He began his undergraduate at University of Puerto Rico, and finished at University of South Florida with a major in Marine Science. Kareem then went on to get a Dual Masters in Chemical Oceanography and Wastewater Management. Kareem swam briefly at University of Puerto Rico, but didn't really pick up the sport until later in his life. He began to compete in triathlons and open water marathon swimming when he came to Florida.

Kareem has been with the Tampa YMCA since 2005 coaching the Developmental and Masters programs at the Northwest YMCA. He began with TYS Competitive in the fall of 2018 at the Bob Sierra site.

What do you like about coaching for TYS? To watch them grow and utilize what they learn not just in, but out of the water. I enjoy imparting the skill and knowledge, and the passion of competitive swimming I have with our Stingrays. I learn from them just as much as they learn from me.

Marissa has been coaching with TYS since 2013!

Marissa is originally from Toms River, NJ. She is married to her husband, Matt, and they have 3 children. She swam for her club team at the local YMCA, the OCY Tiger Sharks, for 8 years. Her mom is still a coach there! Marissa also swam all 4 years in high school and then went on to swim at SUNY New Paltz for 4 years. She was a Division III Nationals Qualifier and team captain for 3 years. She completed her undergraduate in Elementary Education and is currently a Reading Coach in an elementary school.

Marissa started coaching for her summer swim league program after graduating high school. She then coached for the local club team and high school team while completing her undergraduate studies. After graduating college, Marissa coached for a club team in Pennsylvania before making the move to Tampa. Once in Tampa, she began coaching at TYS and has coached at all levels of TYS. 

What do you like about coaching for TYS? I love watching the swimmers grow as both athletes and people throughout the years. Swimming gave me some of my best memories and friends, and I hope I can do the same with the swimmers I work with.

Welcome Maria back to TYS - Maria was part of the Stingrays as as swimmer at Bob Sierra Y!

Maria is a Tampa native that has 10 years of coaching experience ranging from infant swim lessons to senior athletes. Full time, Maria is a Doctor of Physical Therapy primarily in home health care, but also on staff with USA Swimming Sports Medicine. Her favorite races are in open water, being on the Florida Swimming Zone Team staff for 5 years and participating as an athlete in the 5K. She’s also been selected as a coach for USA Swimming’s National Open Water Select Camp and participated on the Florida Swimming Board of Directors for 8 years as an Athlete Representative. Maria is a Bob Sierra Tampa Y alumnus and swam competitively from age 11 to 22.

Emma started competitively swimming at the age of four and swam Division I at Florida Atlantic University.  Emma graduated with a major in Criminal Justice and a certificate in Environmental Studies.  Throughout her swimming career she had many accomplishments such as achieving her Olympic Trials qualifying time in the 10K open water, competing in the Orlando Grand Prix and volunteering on USA Swimming and Florida Swimming boards as an athlete representative.  After finishing up her swimming career in 2015, Emma started coaching for a competitive swim team in South Florida.  During the Summer of 2017, Emma moved back to Tampa to continue her swim coaching and start on her professional career path. Emma’s passion is coaching and teaching young athletes the sport of swimming!