ELLEN JOHNSTON, Head Coach
Ellen, who was named Head Coach in the spring of 2012, celebrated 30 years with the Water Rat Swim Team in 2016. Ellen joined the team in November 1986 as an assistant coach, working with swimmers at every level in the program. She quickly became a full-time assistant coach and was promoted to Senior Coach in 1990.
Prior to working in Westport, Ellen coached at the Bulldog Swim Club in Bowie, Maryland, where she was the Senior II and Head Age Group Coach. She also coached all levels of the South Carolina Aquatic Team in Columbia. Ellen was named YMCA National Coach of the Year in 2015. She also has been named Connecticut Senior Coach of the Year twice and was nominated for the honor again in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Ellen strives to help her swimmers mature as individuals as they progress from the age group to senior level and she encourages them to challenge themselves physically and mentally every day.
Listen to Ellen on the Coaches Corner Podcast
OMAR CRUZ, Assistant Senior Coach
Level 3 ASCA Certification
Omar joins the Water Rat family as an assistant with the senior practice groups. Most recently, Omar spent 15 years as Head Coach with the Zeus Swim Team where he has had much success on a local, regional, and national level.
Omar left ZEUS as he has become managing partner of Executive Real Estate Premier Properties, a real estate business in Westport. Helping with the senior team a couple of days a week allows Omar to continue to follow his passion of coaching, but also to spend the time needed to be successful with his real estate business and more importantly, to spend time with his family.
KRISTEN FINNEGAN, Age Group Coordinator
Level 3 ASCA Certification
Kristen, a valued member of the Water Rat coaching staff since 2012, currently leads our Discovery I and II groups and serves as the Age Group Coordinator, overseeing all 12&Under practice groups. She has coached several CT Age Group Champions, Eastern Zone Champions, National Age Group Top 10, and CT State and Resident Record holders within the Discovery program.
Kristen began her journey at the Family Y in 2006 as a swim instructor. She has served several seasons on the Connecticut Zone Team Coaching Staff, the Staples High School Girls’ team as well as 5 years as the full time Assistant Swim Coach at Sacred Heart University, a Division 1 women’s program in Fairfield, CT.
Kristen graduated from St. John’s University in 2011 with a degree in Biology and holds a Graduate Certificate in Leadership from Sacred Heart University. She is actively involved in Governance, serving on the Connecticut Swimming Inc. Board of Directors, the Connecticut Swimming Inc. Age Group Committee, as well as heading the Women’s Initiative Task Force. In 2025 she was named 1 of 54 participants from around the country to take part in the USA Swimming Women In Governance Program and in November 2025 was honored as the Connecticut Swimming 2024-2025 Bill Krumm Age Group Coach of the Year.
JAMIE GREMP, Assistant 8 & Under Coach
Jamie joined the coaching staff in the fall of 2019 and brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Water Rats.
Following a swimming career in high school at the Badger Swim Club and college at Fordham University, where she graduated in 2004, Jamie coached at American University in Washington, D.C. from 2004-2005, University of Connecticut from 2005-2006, Missouri State University from 2007-2009 and then at the College of New Rochelle from 2009-2013.
Jamie has also coached at several summer clubs, in New York and Connecticut over the years. She brings her many years of coaching experience to our 8/under group, primarily working with the Blue and Red groups. Jamie and her husband Carter live in Bridgeport with their four children William, James, Joseph & Brendan.
JOHN WHITESIDE, Assistant Coach
John became part of our coaching staff in the Fall of 2022, focusing primarily on our 8-and-under swimmers and pre-competitive programs.
Hailing from Fairfield, CT, John is a former Water Rat. After graduating from Fairfield Ludlowe High School in 2016, he continued his swimming career at the University of Virginia. At the 2016 YMCA Short Course National Championships, John claimed the title of Y Nationals Champion in the 100 Freestyle, which earned him a place on our Team’s Wall of Excellence.
Alongside his coaching responsibilities, John serves as a Special Education Paraprofessional at an elementary school in Fairfield. In his leisure time, he prefers to stay away from the pool, instead enjoying cooking and hiking.
RICH CARTER, Lead Coach
Rich has been a member of the Water Rat coaching staff since the spring of 2019. He holds an ASCA Level 3 certification and is the lead coach of the Challenger 1 and Discovery 3 groups. He is also on deck for all Senior 1 & 2 practices.
He is a native of New Canaan who swam for the Water Rats from 1988 to 1996 under coach Ellen Johnston. During his swimming career he set multiple state, team, and school records on the way to becoming an Eastern Zone champion and YMCA National finalist. Rich attended Villanova University where he was a standout defenseman for the Wildcats division one lacrosse program.
In the summers, he is the Head Swim Coach at the New Canaan Field Club and outside of the pool he serves as the Executive Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands Lacrosse Association, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Rich and his wife Regina reside in Rye Brook, NY.
CHARLIE NADEL, Assistant Coach
Coach Charlie joined the staff in the spring of 2024. He is a Westport native who grew up swimming on the Water Rats team from 2006 to 2018.
He brings a wealth of competitive swimming experience to the staff following his swimming career at Staples High School and Bates College, where he swam and played Water Polo from 2018 to 2022. Charlie continues to train and compete with the Masters team and in open water competitions.
Charlie mainly works with the Discovery and Challenger levels of our program. Outside of the pool, he is a developer specializing in process automation, data analytics and B2B sales.
TODD STEVENS, Lead Coach
Coach Todd brings 38 years of coaching experience to the Water Rats staff. He is an ASCA Level 4 certified coach who served as Director of Competitive Swimming and Senior Coach with the Wilton Wahoos from 1998-2025.
Todd also served as the Head Coach of the Wilton High School boy’s & girls’ teams from 1998-2025. He was recognized as the ASCA Age Group Coach of the year in 2013, the CHSCA Coach of the year in 2009 and the CISCA Coach of the year in 2008. He was a college All American and record holder at Ithaca College before beginning his coaching career with the Woodbridge Aquatic Club in 1987. He is the lead coach for our Challenger 2 & Senior 3 groups and assists at Senior 1 & 2 practices. Coach Todd lives in Trumbull and is the developmental coach at the New Canaan Field Club in the summers.
ADRIENNE WILLIAMS, Team Administrator
Adrienne’s current role is as the Team Administrator. She is involved in team registration, meet management, team apparel orders, communications between swim families, the coaching staff, and Y staff, and maintaining the team’s website. She served as Co-President of the Westport Water Rats Parents’ Club from September 2011 to August 2014. She served as the Meet Chair from September 2009 – August 2011 and helped managed and planned all aspects of team-hosted swim meets working with the Head Coach and meet managers. Adrienne’s children grew up with the Water Rats program and one of them swam in college. Adrienne has her Law Degree from George Washington University and B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. She practiced law for thirteen years before staying at home to raise her children and becoming a swim mom.