
Coach Steve is from Tucson, AZ and moved to Columbia Md in 1992. Steve attended elementary, middle and high school in Howard County. At Wilde Lake High School Steve was a 3-year letterman in Football, Wrestling, and the captain of the Lacrosse team. Coach Steve started swimming in 1992 for the Wilde Lake Watercats (CNSL) and eventually the Columbia Clippers. He began his coaching career with the Columbia Clippers coaching various competitive groups before working his way up to lead coach for the Senior Elite group. During the summers of 2007 & 2008 Steve served as an intern at the University of Maryland for the Football Strength & Conditioning Department. Steve returned to swimming in summer of 2009 as Head Coach at Thunder Hill (CNSL) where he coached 4 years, including 2 undefeated seasons. Steve is most well known for his 11 year tenure with UMBC Swimming & Diving/Retriever Aquatic Club where he served as National Training Group Assistant Swim Coach under Brandt Nigro(Army -West Point) and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. Steve began coaching at NSJ in 2012 and holds two Division 1 CMSL titles. Steve holds bachelor’s degrees in Kinesiology(Towson University) and Exercise Science(Arizona) and Master’s degree in Secondary Education & Educational Leadership(Towson University).
Coach Elisa has always loved swimming and hanging out at the pool. She began swimming competitively at 9 years old, eventually joining GBSA to swim year-round. Elisa became a NSJ Blue Marlin when she was 14 and swam on the team until graduating from Mount Hebron in 2012. She attended McDaniel College from 2012-2016, where she was a member of the Green Terror swim team as she pursued degrees in Psychology and Elementary Education. Over her years at McDaniel and since graduating, Elisa has returned to NSJ as an assistant coach for the last 13 seasons. During the school year she is a teacher in Howard County. She has taught third grade, second grade, and is currently teaching fifth grade at Phelps Luck Elementary School. Elisa is also working on pursuing her Masters degree with certificates in Elementary Mathematics Instructional Leadership and Administration. She is very excited to get back to NSJ for another summer of fun and swimming! Let’s go Blue Marlins!
Coach Abbi is excited to return for her 8th summer as an assistant coach at NSJ. She herself was a former NSJ Blue Marlin and spent her younger years at NSJ lifeguarding, teaching swim lessons, and helping as a junior coach for the 6 & under group. She grew up swimming competitively for GBSA until she graduated from Mount Hebron High School in 2015. She then went on to swim at the University of Maryland on the club swim team. In 2019, she graduated from UMD with a degree in Animal Science. She recently returned to school to receive her Masters of Arts in Teaching at UMBC and now works as a high school biology teacher in Baltimore City
Coach Alyssa (Aly) has been swimming since she was 4. She moved to Ellicott City and began swimming for NSJ when she was 6. Coach Alyssa swam for the Y in Catonsville from 2007-2014, then she swam for the Retriever Aquatic Club from 2014-2021. Last year, Coach Alyssa graduated from Mount Hebron High School. Now she is attending the University of Tennessee studying Secondary Math Education. Over her swimming career, she broke numerous team records and qualified for Maryland State Championships every year. This year, Coach Alyssa swam for the club team at UT and qualified for the National Championship meet. Coach Alyssa is also a soccer player, playing from age 4 up to the club level at UT this year as well. She has coached soccer for a few years and is very excited for her first year of coaching swimming here at NSJ. During her breaks from school Coach Alyssa is working at various Howard County Public schools. When she’s not coaching or teaching, Coach Alyssa likes to play soccer, hang out by the pool, and volunteer for Swim Across America. This year, she helped restart Swim Across America in Nashville, raising money for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, after many years with SAA Baltimore.

Coach Gailen is super excited to be a part of the NSJ coaching staff for his third year this season. He started his swimming journey as a 6 and under on NSJ and hasn’t looked back since. Gailen started swimming year-round at GBSA at the age of 7 before switching to Eagle Swim Team at the age of 9 where he swam until he graduated in 2022 from Centennial High School. Gailen is heavily involved in the NSJ community and you can catch him giving lessons and hanging out at the pool. Gailen just finished his sophmore year at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey where he is working on his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Gailen is also a member of the men's varsity swim team at Stevens and loves to train and compete in the water. Feel free to say hello on the pool deck and as always, Go Blue Marlins!