Coaches & Directors

David S Ponte

Head Swimming Coach

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Dave Ponte leads the SouthCoast Aquatics Program. As a local product of Trix Whalen (New Bedford YWCA) and Jim Medeiros (NBHS), David attended Southern Connecticut State University where he competed for the late Dr. Bruce Hutchinson. While there,the NCAA Division-II program ranked 10th in the country in 1987 and earned three New England Championships (1987, ‘88 and ’89). Dave is a certified Level III coach by the American Swimming Coaches Association and is a member of the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association. He has qualified numerous swimmers for the Speedo Sectional Meet, Eastern Zone All-Star Meet, New England Senior Championships, and the New England Open Championships. Many of Dave’s swimmers have also earned New England Swimming’s “Top 10 award” (for athletes who have achieved one of the ten fastest times in an event during any meet held in New England). SCA swimmers have gone on to become high school state champions and recipients of college scholarships!

In addition, Dave is also the Head Coach at Bishop Stang High School. Individually, his Spartan swimmers have earned many conference, sectional, and state titles along with numerous all-star selections and eleven Standard Times Swimmer of the Year Awards. His athletes have gone on to attend and compete at schools such as: Duke, Pepperdine, Tufts, Southern Conn. State, U-Mass Amherst & Dartmouth, Occidental, Bryant, Connecticut College, Univ. of Tampa, and Bridgewater State College.

Since 1993, the Lady Spartans have earned a dual meet record of 116-69-2 along with five Southern Conference Team Titles (1999, ’00, ’03, ’04, ‘07), one MIAA South Sectional Team Title (2004) and five runners-up team finishes at the MIAA State Championships in the last six years (2004, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, '09). In 2004, Dave was awarded coach of the year honors by the Boston Globe. While his men’s program is just beginning to mature (established ’00-01), they have earned a 61-15 dual meet record and won their first ever Southern Conference Team Championship in 2008. After winning the conference title, finishing third at the sectionals and fourth at the MIAA State Finals, Dave was awarded coach of the year honors for 2008 by the Eastern Massachusetts Interscholastic Swim Coaches Academy.

Catherine Motta

Head Masters Swimming Coach

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Coach Motta returns to SCA as the Head Masters Swim Coach.There’s no doubt that success has been a hallmark of Cathy Motta’s six seasons as head coach of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth swimming teams and she brings that wealth of experience to the area’s local masters swimmers & triathletes. She has served as the President of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association for the last two years. That same group named her Women’s Coach of the Year after the 2000-01 season. A 1991 graduate of UMass Dartmouth when it was known as Southeastern Massachusetts University, Motta was a member of the Corsairs’ swimming and diving team as an undergraduate. She set two school records and had the privilege of coaching Amy Stucchi, who broke both of them before she graduated in 2004. After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at UMD, Motta earned another Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education from Westfield State College, with a concentration in athletic training/health and fitness.  In 1997, she completed work on an Associate of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy from Bristol Community College. Prior to joining the staff at UMass Dartmouth, Motta was an assistant swimming coach at SouthCoast Aquatics (formerly the Dartmouth Swim Academy).  She also served as an assistant swimming coach while a student at Westfield State. Motta is an American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer and is certified in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.  She holds CPR, First Aid and Advanced Lifesaving certificates from the American Red Cross. 

Koby Verran

Head Swim Coach - NBHS Satellite

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Head Coach at SCA's New Bedford High School Satellite. Koby was a competitive swimmer for Dave Ponte at the Greater New Bedford YMCA, and competed for Tim Curry as a member of the New Bedford High School Swim Team. Koby then went to attend and compete for Bridgewater State College.  He is currently a math teacher in the New Bedford Public School System and the Head Coach of New Bedford High's Men's Swimming & Diving Program.

Bethany Daniels

Head Age Group Swimming Coach

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Bethany Daniels joins SCA with an array of talent and excitement for athletics. She has a passion to keep young athletes healthy with proper nutrition and strength and conditioning opportunities. Bethany swam for New Bedford High School under the successful head coach of Jim Medeiros.  She continued her dedication to the sport with New Bedford YMCA Hurricanes under Head Coach Dave Ponte and continued to swim while attending Bridgewater State College.   Bethany has a degree in Early Childhood Education and Physical Education from Bridgewater State College and a Certificate in Non-Profit Studies from Rhode Island College. She began coaching, during her time in college, assisting Dave with Dartmouth Swim Academy during its formative years of 1999-2000. She has continued to educate children and adults thru the years with private lessons. Most recently, a personal drive encouraged her to ride in the 2005, and 2006 Pan Mass Challenge to help the Dana Farber Cancer Institute find a cure for Cancer.  Bethany has also competed in many 5k road races, and Sprint Triathlons to support local charities. Bethany residences in Dartmouth, MA. with her favorite swimming partner, Baylor (Portuguese Water Dog). She is a Teacher Assistant at Dartmouth High School and the Junior Varsity Softball Coach.

Norm Meltzer

Strength & Conditioning Coach, CSCS

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Norm is a graduate of Clark University (’90) and president of MW Strength & Conditioning where he conducts Personal Training, group education, program development, and facility design consulting for teams, individuals, schools, and businesses. His vast experience includes working with Mike Boyle as an instructor in the Boston University weight room, teaching proper weightlifting mechanics to professional and Olympic hockey players. He has consulted for the University of Connecticut Women’s Volleyball Team designing their plyometric training program. Norm also assists Sports Agent David Weinshel in preparing potential draft picks for the NFL combine. He also has worked with Paul Vincent of the Tampa Bay Lightening Developing the off-ice component of his Pro camp. Norm has served Merrimack College & the University of Massachusetts, Lowell as their Head Strength and Conditioning coach for men’s hockey along with running preseason-training camp for Switzerland’s National Hockey Team. He has authored articles for publication in SWIM Magazine, TennisPro, and Perform Better News & Views. He has also been a guest expert on the Mike Adams Sports Show (NECN) and for WFNX radio out of Boston. He is a member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association along with the United States Weightlifting Federation. Norm currently holds two IAWA world weightlifting records and is a Four-Time New England weightlifting champion. In 1989, he was a member of the US Weightlifting Team for the Maccabiah Games.

Gerald Jennings

Head Diving Coach

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Coach Jennings has been associated with UMass Dartmouth athletics since 1987. During his time as Head Diving Coach, his athletes have earned: 8 NCAA All-America Awards, 8 Individual Little East Championship Titles,7 Individual New EnglandChampionship Titles and 2 Individual NCAA National Championship Titles. Between 1989 and 2006, he was a honored five times as New England Intercollegiate Diving Coach of the year. In 1992, Jennings was selected as the NCAA Diving Coach of the year. Previously, he was the Head Diving coach at the University of Maryland, West Virginia University, and Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. He produced nearly twenty All- America athletes at W&J, including the first ever NCAA Champion. A native of Rhode Island, Jennings was inducted into that states’ Aquatic Hall of Fame in 1989 for honors received as an All America athlete, Coach, and NCAA Championships administrator. Coach Jennings holds degrees from Maryland & West Virginia Universities. QUESTIONS? (Call: (508-999-9255) or Email: GJennings@umassd.edu)

Tim Curry

Head Coach: Learn-to-Dive Program

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Amalia Zychowicz

Assistant Swimming Coach

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Bio Coming Soon!

Caitlyn Zielinski

Assistant Swimming Coach

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Bio Coming Soon!

Amanda Beahn

Assistant Swim Coach

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Matt Fahey

Diving Coach

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Andrew Haughey

Assistant Swim Coach

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Kim Moore

Assistant Swim Coach

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Nick Poliseno

Assistant Swim Coach

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Megan Brady

Assistant Swim Coach

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Carly Suzan

Assistant Swimming Coach

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Carly is a former collegiate swimmer for Keene State College where she is currently a junior. She is majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Psychology. Carly attended Bishop Stang High School where she competed all four years and was a senior captain for the Lady Spartans. She enters her 3rd season with SCA as a swim coach, but prior to that taught lessons for 2 years while competing for SCA since age twelve. She also is a certified lifeguard for UMass-Dartmouth.