The YMCA of the Triangle Area (YOTA) Swim Team is excited to announce the addition of Jamie Bloom as the new Assistant Director of Competitive Swimming and Senior Assistant Coach. Jamie leaves the YMCA of Greater Westfield in Massachusetts, where she had been the Head Coach of that program since 2005. Previous to that, she was the top assistant for the women’s swimming and diving team at the University of Tennessee (2000 – 2005). Jamie got her start in coaching as the Head Coach of James Buchanan High School and the Mercersburg Area Swim Club in Pennsylvania (1982 – 2000).
Head Coach and Director of Competitive Swimming Chad Onken can’t wait to have Jamie on board. “We are very honored and excited to welcome Jamie Bloom to the YOTA Swim Team family. She will make an immediate positive impact on our program in more ways than one. Not only is Jamie a phenomenal coach, but she believes in placing the individual over the athlete and helping develop character within the athletes that she works with.” said Onken.
In addition to her coaching duties, Jamie has been extremely active in the New England Zone, USA Swimming, and YMCA Swimming communities – serving on various committees and administrative roles throughout the country. Additionally, she even was a part of Team USA as a manager at the 2012 Duel in the Pool in Glasgow, Scotland; as well as the World Junior Championships in Singapore in 2015.
“We are extremely lucky to have a coach and person of Jamie’s caliber joining our program. She believes in our training philosophy and team first mentality. Jamie understands the value of character development and using swimming as a vehicle to teach life lessons. Most importantly, Jamie believes in “the process” of long-term athletic development.” continued Chad Onken.
A native of Lexington, Mass., Bloom earned her undergraduate degree in health and physical education from Slippery Rock University in 1982 and her master’s degree in physical education and athletic administration from Western Maryland College in 1989. At Slippery Rock, she was the women’s swim team manager for four years and was a member of the school’s nationally-ranked women’s water polo team.
In her spare time, Bloom enjoys playing golf and breeding Labrador retrievers, owning three dogs of her own as well as two cats. A life-long Boston Red Sox fan, Bloom finally celebrated a Red Sox World Series Championship in 2004 and 2007, something she had come to believe she would never experience in her lifetime.
YOTA Swim Team contributed this report.