Shannon started as a competitive swimmer in Montgomery County Four decades ago. Since that time, she has added professional USA swim coaching and swim program building to her resume. Shannon is an American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Level III Certified Coach. She is in her 9thyear-round club season with Joe Flaherty’s Dolphins as a Senior Coach. In this role, she has worked with swimmers of all ages and experience, from beginners to competitive athletes who have ranked number 1 to top 10 in the United States. In addition to team coaching she now oversees the swim lesson, stroke clinic and coach training programs for JFD. Shannon was instrumental in the development and refinement of the training programs and has trained more than 100 coaches. She has used those programs as a foundation to successfully grow community-based, learn-to-swim programs as well as community swim teams in Clarksburg, Germantown and Gaithersburg. She has coached in MCSL for nine years and has been Head Coach for the Manchester Farm Blue Dolphins for the past five years. Shannon’s coaching philosophy is simple: to create a positive, lifelong impact on youth through the sport of swimming, including: fitness, character, teamwork, a persistent drive for excellence in an environment that fosters an appreciation between hard work and personal success.
