Westfield YMCA

Brian Guidera - 6th season
Director, Competitive Aquatics

Walter Kempner - 7th season
Assistant Coach

Jennifer Mack - 7th season
Assistant Coach

Bart Thomas - 23rd season
Assistant Coach

Jim Thomas - 9th season
Assistant Coach

Jenny Fowler - 2nd season
Assistant Coach

While the head coach will be directly responsible for the National and Senior practice groups, he will also be involved directly and indirectly with all the training groups. Each Assistant Coach will be put in charge of a group or a facet of each group. Each Assistant Coach will be reporting progress and overall group status to the Head Coach.

Every effort will be made by the coaching staff to become the best coach he/she can be. This includes staying current on the latest ideas and techniques within the coaching community. There will also be several Westfield Area Y Coaches' Meetings to discuss problem solving and the ever-changing team dynamics.

Bio’s

Brian Guidera – Brian has earned a B.S. in Business Finance from the College of Staten Island. He is a member of the American Swimming Coaches Association - Level 3 certified coach. Brian also is the owner and head coach of Sky High Diving since 2000. He started swimming when he was 8 years old. In high school, Brian was a member of the swimming and diving team at Monsignor Farrell HS and he played water polo for St. Francis College Club Team. During Brian’s high school career he won the Lester Scholen Career Diving Award for placing in the top 5 at CHSAA each season for the duration of his high school career. Brian was also a member of the Westfield YMCA Diving Team and was a YMCA National Qualifier (’94). While a member of the St. Francis College Club Team, Brian made the Empire State Team for New York City that went on to win the gold medal at the Empire State Games (’94). Brian went on to attend Hartwick College, where he played water polo and was a member of Swimming and Diving Team.

Walter Kempner – While growing up in Mountainside, Walter swam on the Westfield YMCA swim team from 1975 until 1984. During that time, they were a very competitive team and his career highlight was swimming at the 1984 Y Nationals in Fort Lauderdale. He also swam for Seton Hall Prep, helping that team win four consecutive Essex County Championships. After graduating from the College of William and Mary, he worked in finance and sports marketing. Walter has earned his teacher certification from Rider University. He is currently teaching High School social studies at New Providence High School, New Providence, NJ. He is the Head Swim Coach of the NPHS Boys Swim team. He looks forward to working with Coach Casazza and the team to continue the excellent swimming tradition that exists at Westfield.

Jenn Mack – This is Jenn’s sixth year with the Devilfish. Currently she is working with an alternative program. She graduated from Kean University with a B.A. in Elementary Education. At Kean, she swam and played lacrosse for four years. She was a very versatile swimmer and a co-captain of her team. She is excited to be coaching this year and to see each child learn and grow from swimming competitively.

Bart Thomas – Bart has been part of the coaching staff for 23 years. He began coaching back in 1976 with the Warrenbrook County Club (’76-80), in Warren, NJ. In 1982, Bart became a member of Westfield YMCA Coaching Staff under the legendary Perry Coultas. Bart earned a BS in Animal Science, from Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA and earned his Masters Degree in Reproductive Physiology from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Bart is currently employed at Novartis Pharmacia Corporation, East Hanover, NJ. (’82-Present) Bart started swimming with the Brookhill Swim Club. He went on to swim for his high school team at North Plainfield High School, NJ.

Jim Thomas – Jim coached at the Westfield YMCA in the mid 1980’s for 5 years. He has coached swimming at the Plainfield Country Club from 1978 to present. He coached swimming at the Metuchen High School for the past 3 years. He has coached tennis at the Metuchen High School since 1980, and basketball at Metuchen High School for 5 years.

Jenny Fowler - is a recent graduate from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Her area of study was education; with a focus on elementary education in both regular and special instruction. Jenny was a member of the Westfield Y Devilfish Team for ten years and competed with the Westfield High School swim team for two years. Jenny was a member of both the Spring Short Course and Summer Long Course Y national teams in 2000 and 2001. She continued her swimming career during all four years at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; where she is currently a three time record holder.