Our Instructors

Katherine was a true competitive swimmer! She comes from a family of All American swimmers, having trained at Germantown Academy Aquatic Club and LESD & Hawken School swimming programs. Starting at age 6, she swam competitively through her first year of college at Miami University in Oxford Ohio, qualifying for states 2 years in high school. She grew up as a certified lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor and continued to teach swim lessons throughout her years as a stay at home mom & freelance artist. Her experience includes:

• BA in Fine Arts, Miami of Ohio
• Aquatics Manager, Fanny Chapman Swimming Pools
• Aquatics Instructor, Bucks County YMCA

Katherine’s main philosophy for teaching swimming is that it must be FUN! She uses play when teaching children and meaningful analogies with adults to make swimmers feel comfortable and to develop trust. Once swimmers are comfortable with her and the water, stroke instruction can begin. Katherine wants her swimmers to learn invaluable water skills, as well as enjoy swimming throughout their lives.

She finds joy in spending time with her husband, family and friends, doing photography, gardening, hiking & being creative. Much of her time is spent now following her children in their college competitive sports and musical activities, and teaching new swimmers her love of the sport!

Melissa grew up in Montgomery County playing and coaching field hockey. She went to Catholic University and played varsity field hockey for the school. She has a BS in Psychology and worked all throughout college as a swim instructor and lifeguard.

She has diverse work experience in the fields of school counseling, a one-on-one for children with special needs and a mobile family therapist. She has two beautiful children, one with special needs.

If she has any spare time, she likes to workout, shop, hang out with friends, and enjoy going to the beach.

Claire grew up in Ohio and always enjoyed swimming. She was a lifeguard for four summers at a camp in Minnesota. She’s been teaching swimming for over five years.

Claire also teaches French and previously worked in the environmental sector (water quality, and sediment and erosion control). In her free time she likes to cook, read, travel, play tennis, explore and tries her hand at new things.

Rachel grew up in northeast Philadelphia, and later moved to lower Montgomery County. She started swimming competitively at age eight, training with Somerton Sharks Swim Team, Stormchasers Swimming and Lower Moreland Swimming and Diving. At age 14 she started coaching competitive swimming, and at age 15 she started lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons. In 2019 she began coaching for the Special Olympics.

Rachel is a full-time honors student at West Chester University where she is studying Political Science. She plans to attend law school upon graduation. In her free time, she enjoys being with her family and dog, baking, cooking and finding the worlds best coffee.

Laura grew up in Bucks County, and swam for her local swim team and CB South. She has been teaching swimming for over 15 years, and coached for USA Swimming for over 10 years. She currently works in data acquisition for the pharmaceutical industry.

In her spare time, Laura enjoys doing yoga and working on home projects.

Faith grew up in Bucks County, enjoying swimming in the summers with her friends at Menlo Park. She completed her BS in Education and French at Colgate University, moving back to Bucks County in 2022.

Faith has years of experience teaching young children how to swim. She loves working with the younger children, and wants to share her love of learning and the water. Her motto when teaching is “whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”

In her spare time, Faith enjoys walking her dog, reading a good book and playing the piano.

Emma grew up in Doylestown, swimming competitively year round and spending her summers
teaching swim lessons at Fanny Chapman. She now attends Boston University, where she’s
studying Psychology and Behavior & Health, with plans to pursue nursing post-grad. She loves
working with kids, and is passionate about teaching swimming skills and water safety in a fun
way! In her free time, Emma enjoys being in nature, listening to music, and spending time with
her family and dog

Kaylin started swimming competitively when she was seven, training with several teams in the Bucks County area. She has been teaching swim lessons for more than five years. Most recently, she started her first season as an assistant coach for the Warrington Swim Team and has also become a member of the executive board for her club swim team at college!

Kaylin is currently studying health sciences and occupational therapy at James Madison University. When she’s not by the poolside, you can find her enjoying the outdoors or traveling to new places!

Emma was raised in the Warminster area. She moved to Horsham and now goes to school at Gwynedd Mercy High School. She has been swimming competitively since the young age of 7! Emma has swum for Hatboro-Horsham, Warrington swim team, Nor-Gwyn swim team, and currently swims for Gwynedd Mercy.  

In her free time, she loves playing with her 4 siblings and swimming. She loves spending time with family members. She enjoys playing with pets and being outside.

Julie is a dedicated professional with over 15 years of experience in serving the Special Needs Community.

Julie’s formal education led to a Masters in Recreation Administration from California State University of Long Beach. Her Graduate Thesis was about the  friendships that are created in a recreation environment between people with and without disabilities.

Currently, she holds the position of Facilitator of Fun (FOF) at Snoop Dogg’s Special Stars, a renowned football league for children and adults with disabilities in Los Angeles, California. Julie’s commitment to creating inclusive and enjoyable experiences for individuals with disabilities is also evident at KickSmart Swimming.

Michaela resides in Harleysville and started swimming competitively at 7 years old. She swam at Souderton Area High school while also swimming on club teams competing at Junior Olympics. She played Water Polo in High School and played for half of her time in college. She started as a swim team helper at age 14 and transitioned into a coach at The Harleysville Swim team at age 16. She coached on the swim team until age 19. She has been giving private swim lessons on her own for the past 5 summers and worked at a different swim school the past two years. Along with working at KickSmart Swimming, she also nannies 3 young children part time.

Michaela is currently a Full-time student at Temple University majoring in Psychology and graduates in May. In the fall, she plans to begin her master’s for Clinical Counseling. In her free time, she loves to be submerged in nature, moving her body, and singing.

Michaela stands strong with the idea that each child learns differently, and that is 100% okay. Being different is what makes us unique, and differences should be celebrated and embraced, never suppressed. She strives to be patient and very encouraging, but never forceful.

Liv was born and raised in Horsham PA and is a current student at Gwynedd Mercy Highschool and will be attending Auburn University starting in the Fall of 2025. Liv has been swimming ever since she could at 3 years old. She started competitively swimming as young as she could for Manufacterers country club. She has also swam for Hatboro Horsham, and her high school Gwynedd swim team.

When Liv isn’t in the pool she loves spending time with friends and working out.