Competitor Coach of the Month: Dave Ferris

Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.

Head coach Dave Ferris and the rest of his staff have had an incredible month of July with the Long Island Aquatic Club (LIAC), first sweeping the team titles at the Metropolitan Senior Championships before having several swimmers perform exceptionally at U.S. Nationals.

At the Metropolitan Swimming SeniorMets LC Championship meet in East Meadow, New York, LIAC finished atop the standings for both men and women, with Sean Green and Tess Howley leading the way with three gold medals apiece.

A few weeks later at the U.S. Summer Nationals in Irvine, California, the small but mighty LIAC squad put up the sixth-most points among clubs overall and ranked third in the women’s standings.

17-year-old Cavan Gormsen had a standout meet, earning four top-five finishes in the women’s 200 (1:58.87), 400 (4:08.38), 800 (8:35.48) and 1500 free (16:30.65), setting new lifetime bests in all of them.

Gormsen added a best time in the 100 free (55.79), and also swam to new PBs in the 200 fly (2:15.05) and 400 IM (4:54.16) at the Metropolitan Champs earlier in the month.

Howley, also 17, had a breakout swim in the 200 fly at Nationals, placing third in a lifetime best of 2:08.07 to move into #6 all-time in the 17-18 age group. She also set bests in the 200 free (2:00.86) and 200 IM (2:15.84) at the Metro meet.

Also scoring big for LIAC in Irvine were collegiate swimmers Chloe Stepanek and Jason Louser, who scored some new bests of their own and combined for 63 points to help lift the club in the standings.

As the calendar turns to August, Ferris and co. are now coaching a roster of nine swimmers at the U.S. Junior Championships in Irvine, including Green, Nationals qualifier Sophia Karras and Cavan’s younger sister, Lily Gormsen, all of whom have already put points on the board (Green was notably the runner-up in the 1500 free on Monday).

About Competitor Swim

Since 1960, Competitor Swim® has been the leader in the production of racing lanes and other swim products for competitions around the world. Competitor lane lines have been used in countless NCAA Championships, as well as 10 of the past 13 Olympic Games. Molded and assembled using U.S. – made components, Competitor lane lines are durable, easy to set up and are sold through distributors and dealers worldwide.

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