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John Fitzpatrick John Fitzpatrick is the owner and head coach of Chicago Blue Dolphins, an adult aquatic fitness business based in downtown Chicago. He was recently selected \"Best Swim Instructor\" in \"Chicago Magazine Best of 2006\" magazine. He is a Total Immersion Teaching Professional (TITP) and a Director at Total Immersion Weekend Workshops. He is an member of the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and an ASCA Certified Level 2 Masters Coach. He completed 4 weeks of training with Rob and Kathy McKay\'s Lifestyle Swim School in Boca Raton, FL where he learned their system for infant-toddler instruction. He is also a USA Triathlon (USAT) Level 1 certified coach, an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor (WSI), and an American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor. He has been a competitive swimmer for over twenty-five years and competes as a Masters swimmer in backstroke and individual medley events. He enjoys teaching and coaching swimmers of all ability levels as he learns new things about swimming from watching each of them engage the sport in their own way.

Alyssa Degner-Lopez Alyssa started competitive swimming at the age of 5 in the Northern Virginia Swim League, Curl Burke Swim Club, high school, and then at the University of Chicago on the varsity team. She has coached for 8 years on various teams and capacities and for all age groups and skill levels. She worked as a Head Student Coach for Curl Burke Swim Services and at Nadar Por Vida. Nadar Por Vida is a nationally recognized and awarded program created by her family eight years ago as an outreach to Hispanic youth to teach swimming and reduce drowning accidents. She has always loved swimming, even when the meets and practices got tough in college. Swimming has always been part of her life, and she wants to continue that with Chicago Blue Dolphins.

Trisha DeSalvo Trisha started swimming competitively at age 8 up in Milwaukee and carried through her senior year at Nicolet High School where she was captain of her swim team. Her best events were the backstroke and IM events. She has coached and taught children of all ages from 6 months and up; her team coaching focused on ages 7 to 13. She is certified by the Red Cross as a Water Safety Instructor. She is currently attending DePaul University as a computer science major. She loves her time with the Blue Dolphins because it keeps her in touch with the sport she loves.

Dakota Hughes Dakota Hughes is currently attending Loyola University Chicago, working towards a Bachelor\'s degrees in Criminal Justice & Psychology. She grew up swimming and joined her hometown swim team at 8 years of age, staying with the team for 10 years. While swimming on the team, she also had the opportunity to lifeguard at the local pool and teach her favorite thing: swimming. Teaching children and adults to swim is a real passion of her because she wants everyone else to feel the way she does in the water and to love the sport no matter the skill level.

Chris Lancaster Chris has been a competitive swimmer for 18 years with a career culminating as an All-American butterflier and water polo player. He has taught children from as young as 4 how to swim and has worked with older children and young adults on stroke technique, racing skills, and on completion/endurance training. In addition to coaching with CBD, Chris is ISSA certified and is pursuing a career in personal training.

Mike Maggard Mike is a commodities trader by day and a swim swami by night. During his college years at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, Mike specialized in the 200 IM and Breaststroke events, receiving Division III All-American honors his freshman year and setting two school records that still hold today. Before arriving in Chicago in 2006, Mike coached age groupers for the Sun Valley Dolphins and Masters for Zenergy Health Club in Sun Valley, ID. In his free time he enjoys swimming, cycling, golf, and Frisbee golf, a favorite past time from his college years.

Erin O\'Connell Erin swam competitively for 12 years, her high school swim captain, and varsity swimmer at Roger Williams University. Erin’s specialties were the 100 & 200 breaststroke. During her high school and college years, Erin taught private and group lessons to children and adults as well as coached a team of over 100 children for two years. She graduated from Roger Williams University in 2010 with a BBA in Marketing and a minor in Music (Voice). When she’s not swimming or coaching, she is the lead server at an Indian restaurant in downtown Chicago.

Kyle Reynolds Kyle Reynolds was born and raised in the western suburbs of Downers Grove. He started swimming competitively at the age of 8 with the Downers Grove Swim and Raquet Club Dolphins. When he was 15, he was certified as a lifeguard and began working as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the DGSRC while continuing to practice and compete with the team during the summer. Kyle swam at the Downers Grove South High School where he competed on Junior Varsity as a Freshman and Varsity for the next three years. Kyle attended college at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan where he received his Water Safety Instructor certification and continued to work as a lifeguard and swim instructor. He was also a coach of a newly formed youth swim club for Big Rapids. Today, Kyle works as a paralegal at an Entertainment Law Firm and continues to enjoy coaching and swimming.

Maureen Serpe Maureen has had a lifelong passion for swimming as a competitive swimmer through high school, a lifeguard, and then as a teacher of lessons to children and adults of all ages. Maureen was a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) during college and taught swim lessons to children primarily from ages 6-12. She’s currently a NASM-certified personal trainer, a USA Triathlon (USAT) Level 1 coach, and swim teacher to her adult triathletes. She’s excited to come to CBD to work with children and adults to help them deeper their appreciation for the first sport that she truly loved.

Valerie Tyler Valerie joined the Chicago Blue Dolphins coaching staff almost 4 years ago and works primarily with our Level 1 group. Valerie brings to Chicago Blue Dolphins her athletic experience as a triathlete and marathoner, including competing in Half-Ironmans and ultra-marathons. She has been an assistant swim coach with the Team Dream Triathlon Club, a stretch-core and pace leader for ChicagoFit Marathon Training Group, and an aerobics instructor of Mayfair Academy. She\'s made her career in IT Sales and Sales Management and currently works as a National Sales Director for CDW Corporation. Additional activities and interests include run training with RunChicago, run training with CARA (Chicago Area Runner\'s Association) and she recently qualified for the Boston Marathon and will run in the April race. She also enjoys Bible study, serving on the Board of the Loretto Hospital and Arts & Business Council, a member of the A2 Book Club, skiing and roller-skating, and parenting a young adult that is going to work for JP Morgan Chase in New York after she graduates from Spelman College this year.

Laura Wegner Laura grew up in Batavia, IL and over the years used her natural athleticism in order to gain success in Swimming, Soccer, and Track. She started competitive swimming at age 5, and she quickly excelled in the sport, breaking numerous age group records for 8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and achieving a NRT (13th in the nation) in 9-10 Medley Relay. She qualified for the Junior Olympics in each age group for nearly 9 years, scooping up many Top Ten times for Butterfly, Breaststroke, and IM. Along with swimming, her club soccer team was a consistent top performer in the state, winning state championships and tournaments in the Midwest. In high school, she ran 110-meter hurdles and the 800-meter in track, played Varsity soccer, and swam independently representing her high school in the IHSA sectionals in the 100-yard breaststroke. She attended Concordia University in River Forest; suiting up for the soccer team, where she was the leading scorer on the team for two years and was selected All-Conference. She graduated with a degree in Exercise Science and Fitness Management, with a minor in Coaching. She currently holds a USA Swimming Coaching Certification, ASCA Level 1 Certification and is working on completing her USAT Level1 Certification. Laura has been coaching and instructing in the pool for over a decade. She believes the key to good swimming is proper form and technique, allowing for an efficient stroke. In her free time, she takes full advantage of the Chicago summers by being as near to the beach as possible, either swimming or running along the lakefront.

Kordian Zawisza Kordian Zawisza (pron. “zah-VEE-shaw” for those not fluent in Polish) is a lifelong competitive swimmer who finished with one year of collegiate swimming at the College of DuPage as a sprint freestyler and backstroker. He’s currently a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago pursuing a degree in Criminology, Law, and Justice. He’s an ISSA-certified personal trainer and EMT. During his time at Bally Total Fitness he taught adults and children private lessons. He enjoys the process of breaking down the strokes, helping new swimmers move fluently through the water, and getting them to make swimming part of a fitness regimen.

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