Town North Family YMCA Sea Otters

One of the longest-running swim teams in the state can be found at the Town North Family YMCA in Dallas. The location was started in 1958 and its founders were immediately focused on a strong, competitive swim program. Jack Semones, who led the group, liked to say they had a swim team before they had a building.

Their first summer coaches were SMU swimmers and among that group were future coaching giants George McMillan and Richard Quick. Throughout the years, their swimmers have included two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Jerry Heidenreich; accomplished Masters swimmers Ellen Cook, David Hudek, and Brian Jensen; and USC All-American Bob Tierney.

Focused now on the growth of individual swimmers, the program still sees athletes use their discipline and talent in the pool to help pay for college educations. As coach Patti Stewart put it: “While we have not been recently blessed with the luminaries of our past, we continue to use our sport and our YMCA core values to enrich the lives of our swimmers and their families.”