After spending 40 years as the head coach of Maine’s Long Reach Swim Club, Jay Morissette has announced his plans to retire at the end of the summer swim season. Training out of the Bath Area Family YMCA, Morissette has helped build the team into one of the most successful in the state; under his leadership, the team won 37 YMCA state championships, including 35 straight titles.
“Forty years has flown by so quickly, but I remember each season like it was the last,” Morissette said in the Bath Area Family YMCA’s announcement. “I have been so fortunate to have been able to work with some amazing people and some amazing kids. They have helped me to stay young at heart and relish the joy that life can bring. I will miss that the most.”
In addition to the 37 YMCA state titles, 16 LRSC swimmers have become national champions, with two setting YMCA national records. Further, LRSC has won 16 of the last 21 U.S. League Winter State Championship titles. Morissette has also coached multiple athletes to the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Morissette has cemented himself as a fixture of the Maine swimming community, even beyond his successes with LRSC. He currently serves on the Maine Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame Committee and is himself a member of the Hall. In 2023, he received “The Mainsail” Award from the Morse High Liaison Community Council, located in Bath, Maine. The award is given to “people who made outstanding contributions to benefit the youth of the greater Bath community.”
Morissette is the only American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 5 certified coach in the state and one of a select few USA YMCA coaches with that certification level. He spent his college career at the University of Maine at Orono and trained at the Kennebec Valley YMCA before his college career. He set records at both programs that stood for over three decades.
“Jay Morissette’s legacy at the Bath Y and in the greater swimming community is truly remarkable,” said Roby Gray, CEO of the Bath Area Family YMCA. “His passion for coaching and his unwavering dedication to our athletes have shaped generations of swimmers, instilling in them the values of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. His contributions will be felt for years to come.”
What a career! I’ve never met Jay but I hope I’ll some day have the privilege. It’s always cool to learn about a coach that has spent so many years making such an impressive difference in many, many lives.
Great coach and even better guy! Congrats on a super career! By the way, did you start coaching when your were 10? All the best!