Three days before the start of the 2021 girls’ season, Dave Modzelewski announced he was stepping down as head swim coach of the girls’ team at Chesire High School in Chesire, Connecticut.
Modzelewski accepted a position as the new associate head coach at the YMCA North Shore Swim Club in Beverly, Massachusetts, and will be replaced by Matt Traub at Chesire.
Modzelewksi took over the girls’ program in 2018. In his three years with Cheshire, he led the girls to three unbeaten regular seasons with a 31-0 dual meet record. In addition, he led Cheshire to three Southern Connecticut Conference titles and two state championship titles. In 2018, the girls won the “L” class state title, and in 2019 they won the “LL” class title after being promoted a division.
In 2019, the girls also won the State Open, a title they hadn’t captured since 2004 (the 2020 state meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Modzelewski also worked with the Cheshire YMCA/Sea Dog Swim Club as an age group coach. He started coaching with the Ridgefield Aquatic Club and Brookfield YMCA, where he coached the developmental groups and assisted with the age group teams. After that, he was the head developmental coach of the Wilton Y Wahoos for five years.
Shortly after Modzelewski’s resignation, Traub, 24, was named the new head girls’ coach of Cheshire High School. Traub has familiarity with the area, having swum for and attended Torrington High School and the Cheshire YMCA. While at Torrington, he primarily focused on sprint freestyle/backstroke events and was a state champion during his sophomore season.
Traub went on to swim for Boston University and served as their team captain. After graduation in 2019, he trained with Texas A&M’s post-graduate team up until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of note, Traub also coaches at the Cheshire YMCA, which is the same club for which Modzelewksi ran the age group program. Modzelewski stayed for the first few days to assist Traub with the transition at the high school but has already made his move up to Beverly. While Traub’s coaching experience is light, he looks to use his experiences as a high-level athlete to continue Cheshire’s legacy in the pool.
