Dynamo Swim Team

About Dynamo

Dynamo is a three season (fall, winter, spring) swim team for youth and teens. We are a diverse and competitive team that serves swimmers from first time team members to national competitors. While Dynamo is a competitive team at heart, our goal is to meet each swimmer exactly where they are. All practices are held at the Greater Burlington YMCA on College Street, in Burlington, Vermont.

We offer stroke development clinics during September/October and April/May. Our short course season begins in October and ends in March. All swim with all meets are 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.

Practice Group Descriptions + Expectations

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

Fall Stroke Development Clinics

We are pleased to offer swim opportunities that will run between September 9 and October 4, 2024 (5 weeks). The offerings will include:

Age 8-11 Stroke Clinic —

Dates: September 9-October 11, Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:00-5:00 PM

Registration details:
• open to any child (returners and non-returners) aged 8-11
• understanding/working knowledge of all 4 strokes required

Clinic details:
Throughout the 10 practices offered, these swimmers will work through age-appropriate skills and drill progressions for all 4 strokes. Individualized stroke and film feedback will be provided for each athlete.

Age 12 and Over Stroke Clinic —

Dates: September 9-October 11, Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:45-6:00 PM

Registration details:
• open to any child (returners and non-returners) aged 12 & over
• understanding/working knowledge of all 4 strokes required

Clinic details:
For the first 15 minutes of each practice, these swimmers will meet in the lobby conference room to study and discuss content (videos, articles, etc) of the relevant skills applied to our hour-long practice thereafter. Individualized stroke and film feedback will be provided for each athlete.

Member registration opens August 19 / Non-Member registration opens August 26

2024 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pre-Season

Dates: September 4-October 18, MWF, 4:00-7:30 PM

Clinic details:
We have instituted a new practice group structure for the 2024-2025 season, and are providing the opportunity for swimmers** to begin their ’24-’25 season early to work towards competing at the first USA Swimming meet of the season at UVAC on October 12 as a committed and dedicated group.

Registration details:
• **The swimmers invited to this program will be contacted by Coach Maddy by August 5th.
• Practice groups and practice times will be assigned based on registration and level of interest

Pre-Season and Clinics Schedule

Dynamo Swim Team Practices

Practices for the 2024/2025 season run October 21, 2024 – March 21, 2025. Practice days and times TBD.

Season Registration

Registration for returning Dynamo Swim Team swimmers will run August 12 – September 6. If you are a returning swimmer and you have not received the link to register for our 2024-2025 season, please email [email protected].

The Prospective Swimmer waitlist will open on August 12; this is a mandatory registration to show interest in joining the team (an information session will be held). We will open any additional slots to prospective swimmers by September 6, and those who remain interested with no additional space will stay on our waitlist. Waitlisted swimmers will be notified for up to one month into the season should children shift groups, decline a spot on the team, or fail to meet our attendance policy expectations.

Prospective Swimmers Register for the waitlist by clicking the button below.

Swim Team Coaches

Maddy Kovacs

Dynamo Head Coach

Maddy Kovacs was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated from UVM in 2021. At UVM, Maddy was a member of the D1 Swim and Dive program where she predominantly swam mid-distance 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 to 22, as a summer league coach at BCC and Winooski, and as a swim instructor in both Arizona and Vermont. This is Maddy’s third season with Dynamo, and she is beyond excited for the opportunity to continue working with such resilient and supportive swimmers, families, and coaches!

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

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Hilary grew up in Plattsburgh, NY, 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 Willis

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Anna was born and raised in Vermont and has been swimming since the age of 6. Her early years in the water were with her neighborhood team in Winooski before she joined the YMCA Dynamos in 2014. Throughout her time as a competitive swimmer she swam at many championship meets in Vermont and beyond, winning the State Championship in two events in 2021. Anna has also been involved in aquatics through lifeguarding, teaching swim lessons, and coaching the swim team. Anna is now a second-year nursing student at UVM and received her EMT license early in the summer. This is Anna’s second year coaching with Dynamo and she’s excited to continue in her long-standing relationship with the team.

Kari Cuneo

Dynamo Assistant Coach

At the University of San Francisco, Kari lettered in four varsity sports and was inducted into the USF athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2005, Kari was honored (along with Bill Russel and Bill Cartwright) as a Legend of the Hilltop—one of the USF’s top 75 athletes of all time. Kari worked at the Edge beginning in 2008, where she coached for Edge Swim Club for over 10 years. For the past two summers, Kari has coached at Burlington Tennis Club.

Taylor Antal

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Growing up in Manistee, Michigan, Taylor’s swimming journey began at age 7 on the local summer recreational team. The love of swimming stayed with her through college, where she swam and graduated from Albion College in 2019. At Albion College, Taylor primarily swam distance freestyle events with her favorite race being the 500 freestyle. Coaching has been a passion of her’s since her senior year of high school, and she has been coaching beginner to high school age swimmers ever since. After completing her Master’s degree at the University of Michigan, she moved to Vermont in the summer 2022 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to the thriving swimming community at the Burlington YMCA.

Jamie Heath

Dynamo Assistant Coach

Jamie has been swimming since she was three years old and swimming competitively since she was six years old. She grew up in Central Vermont and graduated from Norwich University in April 2022. When she’s not at the pool, she’s at her day job as the Operations Manager at Make-A-Wish® Vermont.

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/