We are here to support your needs. If your questions are related to workouts, meets, events, goal setting, and other swimming related needs, please contact one of the coaches. For all questions related to administrative, such as dues, safety, or policy issues, please contact one of the board members.
During the summer of
2008, Matthew worked out an agreement with the Gloucester County
Vocational School District to privatize the US Swim
Program. GCIT had owned and operated GCIT Swimming since
September 1994. The new program, now known as Greater
Philadelphia Aquatics, would operate as a private entity and pay
the school a monthly rental fee. Matthew is the owner of
Greater Philadelphia Aquatic Enterprises, LLC which operates GPAC
and the GPAC Swim School.
Matthew started coaching
in the summer of 1995 as an assistant to Gloucester County Sports
Hall of Fame member Tony Lisa with the Greenwood Park Frogs of the
Tri-County Summer League and would continue in that position every
summer from 1995-1999. Matthew first came to
GCIT Swimming in May 1998 as an assistant age group coach and
worked in this capacity for three years until being named the Head
Age Group Coach in September, 2001. Matthew has also served
as the Head Coach at Greenwood Park (2002-2003), an Assistant Coach
at Rowan University (2000-2001), and the lead assistant coach at
NCAA Divison I Binghamton University (2003-2004).
While with GCIT/GPAC
Matthew has coached Olympic Trials qualifiers, Senior National
qualifiers, Junior National Qualifiers, and numerous
USA Swimming Top-16 ranked swimmers. However Matt feels
the program's greatest accomplishment is the success shown by
former GCIT/GPAC swimmers at the collegiate level.
Former team members are frequently Conference champions and record
holders. Six former swimmers have qualified for the Division
I NCAA Championship Meet with Bill Cregar (first male -
2008 - Georgia) and Jamie Marks (first female - 2009 - Arkansas)
becoming the first former team members to score points at the
meet. Cregar took home the title in the 400 IM at the 2011
Men's NCAA Championship Meet.
At the 2007
NCSA Junior National Meet the team finished in 7th place
overall. Six team members (Bill Cregar, Emily Creran, Jamie
Marks, Mike Joyce, Joanna Thomas, and Blake Trabuchi-Downey) were
selected for the NCSA All-American team. Matthew was
selected at the Head Coach for the East Women at this meet which
took place in Honolulu, Hawaii in June.
Matthew currently sits on
the Middle Atlantic Board of Directors as the General Chair.
Previously he served as the Senior Coach Rep (2009-2010) and the
Age Group Vice Chair (2006-2009). He was awarded the Middle
Atlantic ConocoPhillips Outstanding Service Award in 2007 for his
work with the MA Age Group program.
Matthew graduated from
Rowan University in 2000 with a B.A. in History. He received
a Masters degree from Temple University in 2005 in Sports and
Recreation Administration. While at Rowan he was an Aacdemic
All-American (twice) and a Swimming All-American (three
times). In 2000 he was awarded the Athletic Director's Award
for having the highest GPA of all Rowan male athletes.
Matthew and his wife
Tjitske live in Gloucester County, New Jersey. They have one
son, Keegan, to go along with their very energetic dog, Izzy, and
not very energetic cat, Bella.
Matt comes to the GPAC
with 10 years of coaching experience at all levels, age group
through collegiate. In that time, he has had the opportunity
to work with Pennsylvania High School State Champions and State
Record holders, National Top 16 finishers in multiple age groups,
United States National Youth Team Members, one of which served as
the Team Captain in 2009. Beckwith has also worked with Junior
National and National Qualifiers, Olympic Trial Qualifiers, one
Olympic Trial Semi-Finalist (Kristen Shickora 2008 100bk), NCAA
Champions and All-Americans and one National Age Group Record
Breaker (Jessica Guro, 2009 100bk). Matt was named a 2007
Coach of Excellence by the American Swim Coaches Association, he is
also certified ASCA Level 4. Beckwith coached 2007 United States
National Team member Kristen Shickora while serving as the Head
Coach of the Atlantis Aquatic Club in Bethlehem, PA. He has
served as an Assistant Coach for the 2008 National Team Altitude
Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO and
also at the 2010 Eastern Zone Select Camp.
Matt graduated from the
University of Connecticut in 2002 with a degree in Political
Science and was also a varsity swimmer while at
UConn.
Mark has been coaching
swimming since 2004 at both the collegiate and club level. He
started out at Lafayette College where he worked as an assistant
coach for three seasons. In the summers he worked as both the
Interim Head Coach of Lehigh Valley Aquatics and Lead Age Group
coach. In 2010 he decided to get a Master’s in
psychology and work as a Graduate Assistant at Washington College,
where he was in charge of the Distance group. While coaching
at Lafayette Mark had the opportunity to work at the Michigan
Wolverine, Naval Academy, and Washington College Swim
Camps.
After growing up in Bucks
County and Swimming for Tri-Hampton YMCA he attended college and
get a degree in Exercise Science and Coaching at McDaniel
College. At McDaniel he served as team captain his junior and
senior seasons and was named team MVP. Mark feels that
through many great coaches and role models he has worked to develop
a coaching philosophy which consists of encouraging stroke
efficiency. Once swimmers demonstrate stroke efficiency he
believes in teaching swimmers the proper way to train and
incorporate their technique into races.
Chris began coaching with
GPAC in 2006 and is currently the Head Coach for the Gold 1
group. Chris has, in the past, worked with the Mini, Bronze,
Silver, and Senior 1 groups.
Chris has been coaching
competitive swimming since 2001. Prior to accepting his position as
Head Coach at Wenonah Swim Club in 2011 he served nine years as an
assistant at Green-Fields Swim Club. Chris has also spent
four seasons as an assistant coach at West Deptford High School and
Pitman High School and one year as the Boys & Girls Head Swim
Coach at Clearview Regional High School. He also serves as a
volunteer assistant coach for the Rowan University Men’s and
Women’s Teams.
Chris graduated from
Rowan University in 2008 with a degree in Health and Exercise
Science with a Teachers Certification. While at Rowan he swam
2 seasons, where he was an All-American in Butterfly during his
Senior year.
Chris currently resides
in West Deptford and is a teacher in the Mantua School
District.
David Wakeley has been
coaching for the past 15 years in the Middle Atlantic Swimming
LSC. In addition, he did some summer coaching in State
College, PA while in college. He brings great excitement and
enthusiasm to pool deck … and his engineering
background. He encourages his swimmers to achieve their
highest level possible and not be satisfied with average
performance. Many of the swimmers have achieved levels of
participation in the following events: Mini Champs (including
high point winners and record holders), Junior Olympics (including
individual and are group high point winners and record holders), MA
Zone Team (including top 8 finishers), USA Swimming Top Sixteen,
Sectionals (including top 8 and 16 finishers), Junior Nationals,
Nationals, US Open and Olympic Trials (2012). He has also
served 3 years as a MA Zone coach and 1 summer as Head MA Zone
coach. He has earned a reputation as a stickler for stroke
mechanic detail and is a true student of the coaching
profession. He will leave no stone unturned to encourage our
swimmers improve at every level of their development. He
enjoys seeing his swimmers continue to improve at college level and
beyond.
Coach Dave and his wife
have six children: Jonathan (Liberty University), Joshua (Penn
State University), Bethany (Liberty University), Hannah (Liberty
University), and Peter and Laura. He graduated with a degree
in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University and brings his
scientific, technical bent to his coaching. He competed on
the colleges swimming and water polo teams and set the 200
Butterfly school record and swam the butterfly leg in the 400
Medley Relay team which set the freshman school
record.
Currently, Coach
Gordon isreturning as an Assistant for Senior 1.
Prior to this position he has been the Head Coach for the Silver,
Bronze & Mini teams and an Assistant Coach for the Gold teams
as well.
Prior to joining
GPAC, Gordon held coaching positions at the USA Swimming
Hurricanes, the successor program to the Voyager Swim Club of
Voorhees, NJ. He has been coaching Age Group swimming for 30+
years and has prided himself on providing a solid foundation for
many Age Group swimmers who chose to continue their competitive
swimming in College & at Olympic Trials.
Erin is in her 3rd year as
assistant coach at GPAC. She is currently working with the Mini amd
Silver groups.
Erin has been involved
with competitive swimming since the age of 7. She has competed at
all levels of swimming including Tri County swimming , national
level age group, and NCAA swimming.
Erin began her coaching
career 12 years ago at Stratford Swim Club where she would serve as
an assistant coach for 10 years. She was also head coach for Triton
High School Varsity Swim Team for 8 years. Her coaching experiences
have allowed her to work will children of all ages.
Erin attended The College
of NJ and Rowan University where she competed collegiately for four
years. She graduated in 2001with and BA in History and worked in
education for two years. After starting a family, Erin
attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ where she
received her BSN in nursing. She currently works at Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital.
Erin lives in Stratford,
NJ with her husband Matt and their
4 children.
Danielle started coaching
two years ago as an assistant coach with Salvation Army Kroc
Aquatics in Philadelphia. She is currently the head coach
at her local summer club, Woodbine Swim Club, of the Tri County
Summer Swim League. She is an ASCA Level 2 certified coach and
was picked as an ASCA fellow for the class of 2012. Danielle
currently serves on the board of Middle Atlantic Swimming and
is the Diversity Chair of Middle Atlantic Swimming's Diversity
Committee. This year, Danielle received the Conoco
Phillips Outstanding Service Award for her work with the Diversity
Committee.
Danielle
has an extensive swimming career competing at the national and
international levels. She competed in 3 Olympic Trials
and was a member of the National Jr Team in 1989 and 1990.
Danielle was ranked top 25 in the World in 1990-1991 in the 100 and
200 butterfly. She was also a Pennsylvania High School State
Champion in 100 fly and 50 free with North Penn High
School and a two time National Prep School Champion in
the 50 free and 100 fly where she swam with
Germantown Academy. Danielle went on to swim at the University of
Texas where she was a 13 time All American and graduated
with a degree in
journalism.
Danielle lives in Merchantville, NJ with her husband
George and their 3 children.
