Coaching Staff

Meet the experienced and passionate coaches who guide our athletes both in and out of the pool.

Chris Wolford comes to New Trier Aquatics after 2 years as Head Coach at Carolina Aquatics and 3 years with South Carolina Swimming as Sports Performance Director. In his time with South Carolina Swimming, Wolford advised clubs on training and administrative issues, designed and ran the state’s select camps and consulted with the LSC on policies and programs to improve competitiveness.

Prior to moving to South Carolina, Wolford was CEO & Head Coach for the Cincinnati Marlins from 2000-2017 where he grew the club from 170 to over 500 members and added water polo to the suite of programming. From 1996-2000, Wolford was Head Coach for the Greater Toledo Aquatic Club and St. Francis de Sales High School where he grew the club from 60 to 170 swimmers. Wolford successfully grew these clubs while maintaining the highest levels of performance.

Over his coaching career:

• Certified Level 5 (of 5) Coach with the American Swim Coaches Association
• Coached1999 Colombian National Champion
• Coached Dan Ketchum to the 2003 Pan American Games Team
• Coached David Mosko to the 2011 World University Games
• Coached 2 Swimmers to the 2015 NCSA National Team competing in Ireland
• Five athletes named to the US Junior National Team
• Guided Greater Toledo Aquatic Club to the 2000 Women’s Junior National Team Title
• Guided Cincinnati Marlins to the 2006 Men’s Junior National Team Title
• Coached over 20 Junior National Champions
• National High School Record in the boys 400 Free-Relay
• Coached over 20 Olympic Trials Qualifiers with two semi-finalists and one finalist
• Named Ohio Swimming Coach of the year 1999 & 2015
• 7 National Age-Group Records from 2013-2017

Laszlo comes to New Trier Aquatics with a wide range of coaching experience throughout all ages and skill levels. The Hungarian native built a well-known reputation of developing players and programs both domestically and internationally. He coached on four different continents and his players continuously compete and won in the NCAA, University Games, World Championships and some even made Olympic teams for various Nations.

Currently, he is a FINA lecturer, conducting coaches’ clinics around the world in his free time. In addition, recently he worked with the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity program to reestablish a sustainable water polo program in Barbados and this fall in Ghana.

In Illinois, he worked tirelessly with numerous programs and athletes to try to grow and elevate the prestige of Illinois Water Polo. He has worked with several high school and club programs and helped many athletes to get to the collegiate level. He even started an “elite” water polo training session where he invites the top players from around the State for some high-performance training.

On the colleigate level, he worked with Arizona State University and Michigan State University - the latter to back to back Big Ten Championship (2008, 2009) and to the National Championship (2008). He also, earned the prestigious Big Ten Coach of the Year Award in 2009.

"I am very excited to get this opportunity with New Trier Aquatics. The club’s vision for water polo is unparalleled in the State of Illinois or even in the Nation, and I’m so honored to lead it. As a director of Water Polo, I can promise you that I will work tirelessly to help every single athlete to reach their full potential, not just as an athlete, but as a successful member of our community."

Jeremy comes to New Trier Aquatics after a 10 year stint as a Head Site Coach with the Academy Bullets Swim Club. While with Academy, Jeremy oversaw the growth and development of swimmers from Bartlett, Schaumburg, and the surrounding areas. In his time there, he coached several state champions and record holders, over a dozen Winter/Summer Junior Qualifiers, two Olympic Trials Qualifiers, and saw one of his swimmers selected to Team Canada for the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

While Jeremy was coaching with the Academy Bullets, he was also the Head Coach of the Co-Op HS team out of Bartlett and Streamwood, where the girls team there broke every school record multiple times. Both the boys and girls team saw their first state qualifiers in 5+ years, the Sabrehawks Girls Team placed 7th at the IHSA State Meet in 2016, and Jeremy was named IHSA Sectional Coach of the Year in 2017.

Prior to coaching with Academy, Jeremy coached with New Trier Aquatics from 2008-2012. Primarily responsible for all 13-14's in the NTA program, Jeremy led several of them to Top 10 finishes, and coached two NCSA Qualifiers and one Summer Junior Qualifier. The NTA 13-14's were consistently among the top 50 in USA-Swimming's Virtual Club Championships.

Before his first run with NTA, Jeremy was the Head Coach/CEO of the South Central Swim Team in Wisconsin. In his four years with the SCST, Jeremy oversaw the expansion and growth of a team that almost tripled in size, culminating in a 8th place finish at the Wisconsin Senior State Championships prior to his departure.

In his 20+ years as a coach, Jeremy has helped over 40 swimmers go on to compete for college teams in both the US and Canada.



Jeremy was a member of Illinois Swimming's Age Group Committee from 2011-2022, and is now a member of the Governance Committee.

Misty joins our staff after a long stint as the Program Director for Swim With Bill and a coach for the Academy Bullets in the western suburbs of Chicago.

At Swim With Bill, she oversaw the expansion of the program to 4 locations and developed key partnerships with local park districts and water safety organizations to offer swimming lessons to underprivelidged youth.

As a coach, Misty has been responsible for the development of several State Champion 10&Unders, 11-12s, and 13-14s, and also coached a number of 12-14 year olds to Junior National qualifying times. She was an Illinois Swimming Developmental Coach of the Year Finalist in 2017 and was named Illinois Swimming's Age Group Coach of the Year in 2023.

In addition to her age group coaching, Misty coaches for Rosary High School in Aurora, where she's helped lead the Beads to 4 IHSA state titles in the last 10 years.



Misty has a passion for working with children, helping them achieve their goals, and teaching kids how to be safe and confident in and around the water.

Grant Bramer comes to NTA after spending the last six years in Hawaii, where he served as the Head Coach/CEO of the Aloha Aquatics Association and Mililani High School.

His club and high school teams in Hawaii are consistently at the top of the team rankings in Oahu, and toward the top of all of the Hawaiian Islands.

Prior to his time in Hawaii, Grant spent 8 years leading Club and High School Programs in Rock Island and Byron, where his teams won Conference and Sectional titles, with swimmers who broke school records and claimed All-Conference, All-State, and All-American Honors.

In addition to his work with our NTA Athletes, Grant will be working with the NTHS Boys Team this Winter!

Michael is a recent Master’s graduate in Sports Management from the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the NCAA Division I swim team for three years. He qualified for the SEC Championships each year, reaching finals in both the 100y and 200y breaststroke. Michael also contributed as an assistant coach during Alabama’s summer swim clinics.

He began his collegiate career at Indian River State College, where he was ranked #1 in the NJCAA as a freshman, earning All-America honors in the 200y breaststroke and CSCAA All-America recognition. As a sophomore, he repeated All-America performances in the 100y and 200y breaststroke and was ranked #2 nationally.

Originally from South Africa, Michael represented the national Junior and Open teams, competing at the Junior World Championships in Budapest. A multi-time national medalist, he was also a provincial age-group record holder. After high school, Michael coached junior swimmers at his home club, Waterborn.

James restarted his coaching career working long course seasons with the Lincolnwood Lightning several years ago. Most recently, he was with the Iguanas Swim Club (Chicago) where he was an extremely successful lead age group coach.

Coach James has proven track record of developing proper stroke technique had the unique opportunity to work with and successfully develop swimmers of multiple skill levels. He is extremely excited to bring his energy, passion and love of swimming to New Trier Aquatics. Helm has been privileged to work with multiple Club Team Record Holders, ISI Regional, ISI State, Central Zone and Speedo Sectional Levels qualifiers and Champions.



James is a native of the south side and attended Mount Carmel High School (Chicago) where he swam and played water polo all four years. Helm continued his swimming career at the University of Findlay (Ohio), excelling in short distance sprints. He was an individual record holder, National Qualifier and member of four school record setting All-American relays.

In his spare time when not coaching swimming, basketball or baseball, Coach James enjoys spending time with his family and walking his disobedient dog, Daisy.

Steve Iida comes to NTA after spending the last four years as an assistant coach at Northwestern.

Prior to his time at NU, Iida spent 20 years as the head coach of the Glenview Titan Aquatic Club and the Glenbrook Swim Club, where he coached several swimmers to great success, including American Record Holder, Olivia Smoliga.

Iida has placed swimmers on USA Swimming’s Junior National and National teams. His swimmers have achieved an American record, state, and national high school records, as well as Illinois Swimming records.

USA Swimming recognized Iida’s coaching by selecting him as an assistant coach for the 2013 Duel in the Pool held in Glasgow, Scotland, and he has been selected as a USA National Team Coach four times. 

Joe returns to the New Trier coaching staff after a decade on deck with Academy Bullets. Before that he was a lead age group coach at NTSC for two years, and a shark for many more. For the last ten years Joe has been the lead coach of multiple high-achieving groups of 14 & Unders, fostering the development of several age group state/national champions and scorers. His experience also includes assisting with every training group under the sun in order to create inclusive, fulfilling spaces for kids of all ages and abilities. Prior to becoming a coach Joe studied at Columbia University after graduating from New Trier in 2009. When he's not on a pool deck, Joe spends his time mostly doing nerdy things like running games of D&D and playing board games. He's been getting into running lately too, but it's not pretty.

Coaching philosophy

"A team above all. Above all a team."

Previous club experience

New Trier High School, JV Girls Water Polo Coach, January 2016 – January 2019
Nautical Club of Patras, Swim Instructor, June 2002 – August 2013

Career Highlights

Swimmer until 17 years old (from 1988 to1997 ) at Nautical Club of Patras

Swimming Best results:

• 1st in 1993 and 1994 western division Boys U14 championship in 100m and 200m Breastroke
• 1st in 1995 and 1996 western division Boys U16 championship in 200m and 400m IM
• 10th in 1996 Greek National championship Boys U16 in 400m IM
• 4th in 1997 Greek National championship Boys U16 in 200m freestyle
• Professional water polo player in several WP Clubs of Greece from 1999 to 2013.
• Played in Greece’s A1 and A2 Pro-Divisions and B semi-pro Division, Greek Water Polo Cup and the European LEN Trophy Cup

Water Polo Best results:

• Captain of Nautical Club of Patras U18 team that finished 8th in the National Greek U18 Championship in 1999
• Thriamvos Club of Patras A2 division 3rd place in 2003
• Nautical Club of Patras A2 division 3rd place in 2006, 2nd place in 2007 promoted in A1 division
• Nautical Club of Kalamata B division, 3rd place in 2009
• Club of Nireas Lamias B division, 1st place in 2012, Champions, promoted in A2 division
• Club of NE Lamias B division, 1st place in 2013, Champions, promoted in A2 division

Andrew Webber comes to NTA after 12 years of coaching in Colorado, most recently as the Associate Head Coach of the Front Range Barracudas.

Prior to his time with the Barracudas, Andrew was the Head Coach of the Lifetime Fitness Westminster site and Northglenn Fusion Swim Club, where he coached swimmers to State, Sectionals, Zones, and Futures qualifications.

Andrew started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Fort Collins High School and the Fort Collins Area Swim Team, where he developed a coaching philosophy based on positive reinforcement, teaching proper technique, pushing swimmers to achieve in and out of the water, and having a little fun!

Nate moved to the North Shore in 2022 with his family. Already equipped with vast swimming experience as a high school state championship finalist and a top 8 finisher in the 1650 freestyle in South Carolina. Nate increased his coaching knowledge with many years as a swim lesson instructor and swim coach. 

Nate took over as the lead coach for our Bronze 1, Bronze 2, and Silver 1 groups in March of 2024, and continues to provide our youngest swimmers with a fantastic introduction to competitive swimming!

Lauren is starting her coaching career after playing water polo as a goalie for Adlai E. Stevenson High School ('16) and Brown University ('20). During her time at Stevenson, the team placed 1st and 3rd in State, getting her named to the All-State Team. She participated in Junior Olympics with NIPC and the Olympic Development Program before being recruited to Brown. At Brown, she was named "Rookie of the Week" and "Defensive Player of the Week" three times by the CWPA. She graduated in 2020 with a degree in Health and Human Biology and is transitioning to work in Data Science. She looks forward to passing on her water polo knowledge to the next generation of athletes.

Sam has been coaching swimmers for over a decade — from beginners learning their first strokes to athletes breaking records and reaching championship meets. Most recently, she led Holy Names Academy in Seattle to its best state finish in 12 years, with six school records falling in her first season.

A Regina Dominican and University of Missouri grad (and lifelong swim nerd), Sam holds certifications from the University of Washington’s Center for Leadership in Athletics and has developed adaptive swim programs for youth with special needs. She believes great coaching is equal parts strategy, confidence-building, and keeping things fun — even on the days the sets aren’t.

Sarah Crewe is an All-American and All-World Age Group triathlete who has been racing all triathlon distances and World Championships, including competing in Masters swim meets, for over 30 years. After a 16 year career as a Private Banker in Chicago, in 2007 she moved and changed careers—starting an Age Group swim team in Ruidoso, NM. In addition to her USA swim Level 2 certification, she certified as a USAT coach where she coached triathletes in NM before moving back to the North Shore, where she joined NTA as an Age Group coach in 2014. Sarah also coaches Masters swimmers at Life Time Fitness and lives in Glenview with her husband, Patrick Connor, and their daughters, who played Water Polo and swam with NTA.

Sandra Dold comes to New Trier Aquatics as an Assistant Coach for Bronze 1 & Bronze 2 swimmers. Sandra is a lifelong competitive athlete, swimming competitively in AG at SRCC and later at GBN High-school holding the record in the 100 Breaststroke for 2 decades.



Post-graduate school, she competed as marathon horseback jockey in the Middle East & Europe, and triathlete, these sports damaged her lower spinal cord and she returned to competitive swimming as a Masters Swimmer in 2021. Currently, Sandra is ranked in the top 5 in the Nation with the USMS in the 100Y, 200Y, 50M, 100M in breaststroke. She received her first All-American in the 3000Y in 2023. Sandra is working on diversifying her events by focusing on placing in the top 10 in the for the 400 IM.

Sandra grew up in the North Shore, she is a graduate of Glenbrook North High-school and holds a master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan. She is a licensed professional Architect in the State of Illinois & Indiana. She has two daughters in the NTA program. Sandra has been a volunteer coach in the AYSO and Glencoe Softball programs.

John had the wonderfully unique experience of getting to coach and be associated with 7 different groups this past year at NTA. This was a welcomed opportunity where he was fortunate enough to assist with coaching: Bronze 1, Bronze 2, Silver 1, Silver 2, Blue Sharks, Gold 2, and Senior 1.

John is most appreciative of this rare honor as he was able to gain valuable insight as to how each lead coach used their own individual voice and different coaching style to effectively communicate the team’s goals and expectations.

John is also extremely grateful to have been able to watch the swimmers develop over the season as NTA swam to 20 team records in the short course yards in spring and to 10 team records in meters over the summer. Way to go, NTA!!!

Not only did John coach at NTA in the mornings this past summer, but he was also able to be head swim coach at Old Willow Club in the afternoons.

John is originally from Northbrook where he still happily resides with his wife and 3 daughters

Bill Farmer has been involved in water polo for over 20 years. He was an All-State player at New Trier High School, 2x Collegiate Club National Champion and All-American at UCLA, 2x IHSA State Champion assistant coach for the New Trier Boys, and continues playing on a local Masters team. His motivations in coaching include developing well-rounded athletes who know themselves, the game, and their role on a team; fostering competitiveness and a drive to win while handling losing constructively; and continuing to grow and elevate the sport of water polo in and around the New Trier area at all ages

Kerry Goodspeed began her water polo career as a goalie at Glenbrook North High School ('14). She then went on to play Division III water polo at Chapman University where she was a team captain, Defensive Player of the Year, and an All American ('18). In her coaching career, Kerry has coached frosh/soph boys at Glenbrook South (2019-2022) and varsity boys at St. Patrick (2023) before arriving in her current position as the head coach for boys water polo at Lane Tech High School where she also teaches English. Kerry has been coaching with New Trier Aquatics since 2019. She focuses on 18U girls and all program goalies. 

Coach Max has been coaching with NTA since 2017. He has coached all of our competitive groups in his tenure here, and is now primarily working with our Gold III swimmers.

Max started swimming with NTA at the age of 8. As an age grouper, coaches and teammates inspired him to champion Illinois Age Group State, IHSA State, NCSA Junior Nationals, and eventually qualify for the Olympic Trials in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

Having been selected to the USA-Swimming Junior National team in 2012, as well as swimming for both the University of Missouri and Louisville, Max had the opportunity to be coached by and work with various Olympic-level coaches and athletes. He hopes to utilize his exposure to the variety of coaching styles and insight to help his home team grow.

Max has also given private lessons since 2008 and is thankful for the depth of experience these provide by focusing on individual technique, as well as emphasizing the importance of effective, engaging, and encouraging communication.

Throughout his coaching career, Greg has proudly guided swimmers to multiple Club Team Records, ISI Regional, ISI State, Central Zone, Speedo Sectional, NCSA National, USA Junior National, USA Senior National, and Olympic Trial Levels. Many of his former athletes have moved on to compete and excel at the collegiate level. Greg believes in a "Think, Swim, Fast, Win" philosophy. This philosophy lends the various aspects of commitment and hard work developed through the sport of competitive swimming to overall development of an individual. This belief provides the competitive athlete an experience that will extend well beyond the pool.

Greg currently holds an ASCA Level IV coaching level, is a current American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor, a legistative member with Illinois Swimming Inc. on their Safe Sport Committee, and is the Lead Aquatics Specialist at Evanston Township High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2002 with a B.S. in Kinesiology. Greg currently resides in Norwood Park with his wife, 2 daughters, and his dog.

Byron is a New Trier graduate and alumni of the boys swimming and water polo teams.He attended Colorado State University where he continued his swimming experience in freestyle and butterfly events and was a member of the water polo team. During the summers, Byron worked at Centennial Pool in Wilmette where he coached the age group teams, taught and supervised the swim school and was the pool manager for two seasons. Byron joins us this year as an Assistant Coach working with the age group and high school swim teams. Byron and his wife Marianne have four children and reside in Glenview.

David has been teaching science at Glenbrook South HS for the last 23 years. In his time at GBS, he has amassed a 409-205-5 record as the Head Coach of the Boys Water Polo team, and he is also an Assistant Coach of the Boys Swim Team. The Boys Water Polo team was conference champions in 2008 and 2019, qualified for state in 2008 and 2009, and placed 3rd in the 2008 State Tournament. David has coached 6 all-state athletes and 2 all-american athletes at GBS.

David has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. He lives in the area with his wife and two kids.

Bio coming soon...

Katie comes to NTA as a scholarship athlete at Grand Valley State University, where she placed 7th at NCAA in the 400 IM and broke GVSU's Freshman Record.

Katie grew up swimming for the Academy Bullets in Illinois, where she was a Winter National and Summer Junior National qualifier and earned several individual and relay state titles.

Katie has been teaching swimming lessons to young children for 5 years, and with an interest in Elementary Education, she is looking forward to beginning her coaching career with NTA!

Bio coming soon...