Michael Fleming
Head Coach
Michael is entering his second year as Head Coach of the McGaw YMCA Swim Team. He is an ASCA Level 3 coach with an extensive background in working with both Age Group and Senior level swimmers. Under his guidance MYST swimmers have been finalists at Districts, States, and YMCA Nationals. As the MYST Head Coach, Michael hopes that all swimmers benefit from their time on the team and enjoy learning how to become better swimmers.
Contact Michael at: MichaelF@McGawYMCA.org
Lyndsay Whitfield
Blue and Purple
Lyndsay is starting her fourth year with MYST and will be working with the Blue and Purple groups. Lyndsay has been swimming competitively since the age of 6 and swam for Illinois State University where her favorite events were the 200 Butterfly and the 1650 Freestyle. Coaching and many of the MYST swimmers have inspired her to change careers from Engineering to Education. She just graduated with her Masters in Elementary Education from DePaul University and currently works at East Prairie Elementary in Skokie.
Heather Collins
Red
Heather has coached for over twenty years at all levels of age group swimming from squid squad to high school age swimmers. Heather competed in age group through college level swimming She joined MYST in 2000 and is currently working with red level and above.
Madison Graham
Orange
Madison will be running the Orange group while also helping out with many of the other groups. She is a former MYST swimmer and longtime coach with the team.
Marla Martin
Yellow
This is Marla’s 12th year coaching for MYST. She has been a life-long swimmer, having not only competed for the University of Illinois, but also as a professional marathon swimmer. In addition, she now splits her time between being a swimming coach and a personal trainer.
When Marla’s not pursuing the above activities, she can be found spending time with two very special beagles.
Jeanette Hollingsworth
Green
This is Jeanette’s sixth year coaching for MYST. She will be leading the Green team this year and looks forward to watching the progress that group makes this season. She is an avid swimmer who is also the mother to three current MYST swimmers.
Mary Carr
Squid Squad
Mary has been teaching swimming for over 20 years and is an invaluable member of the MYST coaching staff, having worked with our developmental team for 13 years.
She is an “Evanston Mom” with three of her four children swimming on MYST, one of whom also assists her in teaching a parent-tot class at the Y.
Colleen Cox
Squid Squad
This is Colleen’s fifth season helping out the Squid Squad. She also has a daughter, Elizabeth, who is a swimmer on MYST.
Jim Schick
Purple and Blue
This is Jim’s fourth year with MYST. He comes to us with years of coaching experience, having previously worked with CWAC and High Ridge before that. Many MYST swimmers will recognize Jim as the head coach of the Lincolnwood Lightning Swim Team that we swim with over the summer.
Joe Agnew
Squid Squad
Joe is enjoying his 15th year as a MYST coach. He has been teaching swimming to people of all ages and abilities for 30-plus years. In addition to coaching Squid Squad, Joe also works with swimmers from beginning to intermediate to Masters level. He has been a regular morning lap swimmer at the McGaw Y since 1988.
Michelle Lajko
Red, Orange, and Green
This is Michelle’s third year with MYST and she will be helping out with the Red and Green groups this season and also competing as a member of our Senior team. She was a Varsity level swimmer at Naperville Central where she competed in the 200 and 500 Freestyle as well as a ten year member of her local club team. She is currently a senior at Loyola University, where she is majoring in Biology on a Pre-Med track.
