Dynamo Swim Team

About Dynamo

Dynamo is a three season (fall, winter, spring) competitive swim team for youth and teens. We are an open and balanced team that serves swimmers from first time team members to national competitors. While Dynamos is a competitive team at heart, we want each swimmer to grow at the speed that is right for them. All practices are held at the Pomerleau Family Y in downtown Burlington, Vermont.

We offer clinics during September/October and April/May and short course season from October to March with all meets held in 25-yard pools.

YMCA membership is required to swim with Dynamo. YMCA membership information and fees can be found here or at our Member Engagement desk. 

Questions?  Please contact Head Coach Maddy Kovacs at [email protected].

Stroke Development & Summer Pre-Season Clinics

We are pleased to offer four swim opportunities that will run between April 3 and May 24. All four will meet Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The offerings will include:

Stroke Development, 9 and under
Stroke Development, ages 10-12
Dynamo Summer Pre-Season Practice, ages 9-13
Dynamo Summer Pre-Season Practice, ages 13+


Dynamo Swim Team Practices

Practices for the 2022/2023 season begin October 17 and will take place Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3:30-7:30pm. There will also be a Wednesday morning practice (6:00-7:30am) for our oldest swimmers.


2022-2023 Season Registration

At this time our Dynamo Swim Team is full. 

Stay tuned! Spring Swim Clinic registration will begin in April, with pre-summer clinics running in May + June of 2023.

 

Swim Team Coaches

Maddy Kovacs

Maddy Kovacs

Dynamo Head Coach

Maddy Kovacs was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated from UVM in 2021 with a degree in Environmental Studies. At UVM, Maddy was a member of the D1 Swim and Dive program where she predominantly swam freestyle, and raced at the 2019 CSCAA Open Water Championships. Maddy has been involved in Aquatics for over a decade, as a competitive swimmer from age 7-22, as a head summer league coach, and as a swim instructor in both Arizona and Vermont. This is Maddy’s second season with Dynamo, and she is looking forward to the opportunity to continue to work with such resilient athletes and coaching staff!

Jacsen Callanan

Jacsen Callanan

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Jacsen graduated from UVM in 2005. He grew up as a competitive swimmer on the south side of Chicago and had the opportunity to swim each summer at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor under the direction of Jon Urbanchek. He has been working in aquatics as a guard, instructor and coach for 15 years. He has been the head swim coach for the Northeast Philadelphia YMCA and an assistant coach for the Philadelphia FINS master swimming team. He is excited for his ninth season coaching Dynamo.

Hilary Stanton-Geddes

Hilary Stanton-Geddes

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Hilary grew up in Plattsburgh, New York, where she learned to swim at the YMCA. Her first competitive swim meet was in the early 1990s at the old Burlington YMCA! She swam on the Lake Champlain Waves, and for Peru Central High School in NY — setting many district, meet, pool, and school records. Hillary graduated from Amherst College in 2005, where she was a record holder in the 200 Breastroke. In 15 years of swimming, she competed at NCAA Division 3 championships and countless other meets! 

Flash forward ~ 20 years, Hillary is very excited to start her second season coaching Dynamo. She is passionate about both coaching, and teaching children! Her 3 children are excited to be part of the Dynamo team, along with her supportive, but reluctant, husband.

Anna-Rose Barnes

Anna-Rose Barnes

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Anna-Rose is in her senior year at South Burlington High School. She was on Dynamo as a swimmer for 14 years but had to stop because of an injury. When she was swimming, she specialized in freestyle and butterfly. Since moving on from swim, she runs track at her school and hopes to pursue that in college. She’s excited for her first season as a Dynamo coach!

Dynamo FAQs

Team Mission

Dynamo Swim Team helps create confident swimmers who achieve both individual and team goals through a love of swimming and an environment of excellence.

 

Y Mission

To build a strong community by involving youth, adults and families in programs and activities that develops spirit, mind and body.

 

Team Philosophy: PERC UP

PRIDE

  • We will recognize and celebrate the talents each swimmer inherently possesses.
  • We will show pride in our individual and team achievements.

EXCELLENCE

  • We are committed to excellence. We can do the things we set our minds to through commitment, self-discipline and hard work.
  • Swimming fast is awesome, but swimming with fast with excellent strokes is the best!

RESPONSIBILITY

  • We will challenge ourselves and each other to grow and learn every day.
  • We will take responsibility for our actions. We don’t look for someone else to blame.
  • We will face every challenge or race with the knowledge that we have put in the work needed to achieve our goal.

COURAGE

  • To succeed we will have to take risks.
  • We will not be afraid to try and not succeed because we know that we will learn more each time and get close to our goals.

UNITY

  • We will take opportunities to remind each other when we notice achievements and support each other when we are feeling frustrated or discouraged.
  • Every swimmer is a critical part of the team’s whole.

PERSISTENCE and DEDICATION

  • We will be improving everyday and we will have to put in the work every day to reach our small and large goals.
  • If we do not achieve our goals we will allow ourselves time for disappointment but later we will take a chance to reflect and +develop a plan to work towards our goal again.

Practice Suit: Each swimmer should have a practice suit.  For younger swimmers this may be your team suit.  For older swimmers it should be another suit; the team suit should be saved for meets.

Goggles: Goggles are required. Being able to see underwater helps swimmers to follow the line, see teammates, and watch for specifics of a stroke. It also prevents burning and redness of the eyes. Many styles of goggles are available.  Preference is individual. If you need help adjusting your goggles see your coach at practice.

Caps: Caps are required for anyone whose hair covers their ears. Caps help create a more streamlined swimmer and prevent them from getting a mouth full of hair while trying to breathe.

Water Bottle: A water bottle with water is a must for all swimmers.  When swimming it is hard to tell that you are sweating and need to replace the lost liquid.  The workout time is long enough to dehydrate the swimmer. Swimmers should bring their own water bottles labeled with their names at the beginning of the season and they will be kept in a team locker on the deck so that they are always available. They can be filled at the water fountain at the beginning of practice and emptied at the end.

Race Suit: Race suits are expected for meets. For younger swimmers this can be the same as their practice suit. Race suits decrease drag enabling swimmers to swim faster during meets. There are many different types of racing suits available. Both practice suits and race suits can be ordered through the team in team colors.

Swimmer Nutrition: http://www.usaswimming.org/

New England Swimming LSC: http://www.neswim.com/

USA Swimming: http://usaswimming.org

National YMCA Swimming: http://www.ymcaswimminganddiving.org/


Contact Information

Dynamo Head Coach: Maddy Kovacs, mkovacs@gbymca.org

Aquatics Director: Jess Lukas, jlukas@gbymca.org or 802-652-8143